Citizenship Coursework A Essay Example

Citizenship Coursework A Essay Example Citizenship Coursework A Essay Citizenship Coursework A Essay I volunteered at a local old peoples day centre. I wanted to go there because I felt elderly people had a lot of interesting conversation and I could learn from the experience. My main aim was to learn something from people that were older than me, and teach them something about people my age. The Centre is called The David Bryce Centre, and it is specially designed to keep the elderly occupied, and socialising. The people there can come one to five days a week. They get a meal and tea at good prices, so it means they do not have to try and cook a meal for themselves, if they are unable. There is a bus that picks them up from their house and takes them there. This is specially equipped to deal with elderly and disabled people. I think this bus makes a big difference to them because it means they do not have to worry about travelling and getting around, and do not have to rely on family. The whole centre means they are not stuck alone in their houses, but can make friends, and enjoy t hemselves. Their aim is to promote the well-being of older people and help to make later life a more fulfilling and enjoyable experience. When I first offered to go there I agreed to help out with giving out tea and lunch, helping with the quizzes and activities, and generally talking to the people and keeping them occupied. I also had to make sure that none of the old people escaped when they werent supposed to. Knowing that I was there to check for anyone walking out the door helped the lead volunteer to concentrate on more important things. I think I made a big impact on the people there as not many younger people had worked there before, and it made a great change of conversation. I started in the morning by making the lunches with the cook. I think the cook appreciated this because it meant the cook had more hands to help her, so she did not have to rush as much, and therefore could make the lunches to a higher standard. I think the old people really enjoyed their lunch and were grateful for my helping out as I helped to hand out their lunches quickly, and poured drinks for them. A lot of the time they would start to get up to get their lunches, but with me there it meant they didnt have to try and get up, which I think they appreciated as some of them can be in a lot of pain. After lunch I planned a quiz with them. The quiz had different pictures of celebrity duos and they had to remember who the celebrities were. They passed round the sheets and had to write them down. At the end the person who won the quiz got a box of chocolates. I think it helped keep the old peoples memories active. They taught me a lot about the older celebrity pairs, and politicians, and I taught them a lot about the newer ones such as Ant and Dec! I think my quiz was a success because they all joined in, and all did very well in it, and seemed to enjoy it. I encouraged other people to join in the quiz, as I went round and talked to them and gave them clues. I think my planning of this activity was very good, as I took the time to stick pictures of the celebrities on sheets of paper to be passed around, and had them numbered. I then called out the answers and got them to swap their answers and mark each others. I had to collect in money for various trips and the old peoples tea, and then had to give out the tea and biscuits. I felt grateful that everyone trusted me with the money, and it was another small task that I could take off the volunteers hands. I think overall I made a great impact on the people there while I was there. I think I was a fresh face, and just talking to people alone taught me a lot about the older generation, and I think I changed the stereotype they had of young people.