30 Jan 2017
This afternoon at a Young At Heart ULO in Billingham we had a busy session. Sadly, we had no participants but we did have 4 potential new volunteers on site, so I took the opportunity to spend time getting to know the group.
To get the volunteers used to the kinds of activities that Young At Heart ULO participants might take part in, I asked the volunteers to write a letter to their past, present, or future self. This activity highlighted some barriers to participation for the volunteers and gave me a great opportunity to show them methods of overcoming those barriers that might be useful in the future for breaking down barriers for group members.
I look forward to working with the team of volunteers in the future, and to welcoming new members to our Billingham group in the coming weeks and months.
In Thornaby we had, and I quote, “The best session ever!”.
The group were welcomed with an extensive playlist of music covering 100 years of popular songs before we moved on to the refreshments and the routine orientation exercise with the group, we shared our good news stories (personal and from the news).
Our activity this week was for the group to take part in the parachute game, offering physical exercise and coordination, teamwork and, of course, some catchy music. It was obvious that the popcorn song was by far the favourite, so it was played twice before the group cooled down and chatted about activities for next week.
Next week the group will be taking part in a writing exercise, writing a letter to their past, present or future self.
