Elders projects around the country…
Here are a collection of projects based in student volunteering programmes across the country. They are responses to an email that I sent out on the WiSCV mailbase in May 2006 asking for ideas so please be aware that contact details may have changed.
All these workers were happy to be contacted by others who might be interested in finding out more about their projects.
Thanks to, in no particular order:
Loughborough SU
University of York
Leeds Metropolitan University Students Union
University of Southampton
University of Liverpool
University of York
University of Teesside
Liverpool John Moores University
Sheffield Hallam University
University of Manchester
Loughborough SU
One of our most popular projects is the Tea Dance. We hire out the local Masonic Hall, get Tuxedo Swing,our students big band, along, cut plates full of sandwiches and cakes, make endless cups of tea and invite loads of elderly local residents along to have brilliant time at a good old fashioned Tea Dance. It’s an absolute winner which we do annually. As soon as the invitations drop onto their doormats the old folks are ringing up madly to reserve their place.
We also do ‘A Flick Down Memory Lane’ which, as its name suggests is a cinematic showing of an old film. We rope in our film society to show the film and the volunteers dress as ushers and usherettes even holding torches and giving away choc ices in the interval.
Suzie Willcox
Community Action Administrator
Loughborough Students Union
Tel 01509 635042
University of York
One of our Student Action groups runs a Tea and Coffee club for elderly people. They collect the elderly people from their homes once a week and bring them on to campus. It gives the elderly people, who do not otherwise have much opportunity to get out of their homes,a chance to socialise withlike minded people of their own generation and also with students. The elderly people really appreciate the opportunity to chat, play cards and bingo etc and the students lovelistening to their stories. They also organise an outing at the end of each term such as a trip to the coast, a boat trip on the river or a trip to the theatre.
Holly Hennel
Project Officer
Community and Volunteering Unit
University of York
York
YO10 5DD
Tel: 01904 432498
Leeds Metropolitan University Students Union
Many projects working with older people including:
http://www.lmusu.org.uk/clubs_RenderPage.asp?clubid=5252&pageid=13710
http://www.lmusu.org.uk/clubs_RenderPage.asp?clubid=5252&pageid=21865
http://www.lmusu.org.uk/clubs_RenderPage.asp?clubid=5252&pageid=17794
http://www.lmusu.org.uk/clubs_RenderPage.asp?clubid=5252&pageid=20632
http://www.lmusu.org.uk/clubs_RenderPage.asp?clubid=5252&pageid=21373
http://www.lmusu.org.uk/clubs_RenderPage.asp?clubid=7594&pageid=21685
http://www.lmusu.org.uk/clubs_RenderPage.asp?clubid=7594&pageid=16925
http://www.lmusu.org.uk/clubs_RenderPage.asp?clubid=5252&pageid=20406
Anna Wallace
Volunteer Activities Manager
CALM
Leeds Met Student's Union
Civic Quarter
Calverley Street
Leeds, LS1 3HE
Tel: 0113 2098415
University of Southampton
We run a successful Music in Community Project, where students and now staff go into Care Homes and hospitals playing and singing to patients with dementia and Alzheimers. The patients join in with percussion instruments and sing along to the songs. We conducted research on the effects live music has on people with dementia and Alzheimers with very positive results which are due to be published in a medical journal very shortly. This has been running for 3 years and the majority of students come from Music or Occupational Therapy courses.
From this the university has now started a unit called Music Therapy and Community Music where students gain credit towards their degree when taking part in the MIC scheme. If you have a look at the website you will see photos of the project. www.soton.ac.uk/eds/volunteering
Kate Smith
Volunteer Activity Co-ordinator
University of Liverpool
LSCA has been running tea dances for the elderly for a number of years. The tea dances are held in the Guild and attract approx 80 elderly people, some of whom are 90 years plus! We have a compare who plays ballroom and sequence music and we serve tea, coffee and biscuits all afternoon. We hold a raffle to try to cover the costs, prizes are often donated; unwanted, unused gifts from staff or car boot items.
We get really positive feedback from the tea dances, but in an effort to keep the events enjoyable we are now piloting the Who, Where, When (www.)project, which aims to provide family tree information to clients who register with the project. We are still working on this project to develop policies and procedures, but I think it could be really popular with students who can't turn up to do their volunteering at a set time and place, but can research and interpret data and information via int and library. We intend to speak to the history department to see if they're interested in the project which could really be beneficial to students interview, research and presentational skills and for the clients who will be able to gain important information about their ancestors and unique history path.
Paula Atherton
Co-ordinator LSCA
P.O. Box 187
160 Mount Pleasant
Liverpool 69 7BR
Tel 0151 794 4142
Fax 0151 794 4174
University of York
One of our Student Action groups runs a Tea and Coffee club for elderly people. They collect the elderly people from their homes once a week and bring them on to campus. It gives the elderly people, who do not otherwise have much opportunity to get out of their homes,a chance to socialise withlike minded people of their own generation and also with students. The elderly people really appreciate the opportunity to chat, play cards and bingo etc and the students lovelistening to their stories. They also organise an outing at the end of each term such as a trip to the coast, a boat trip on the river or a trip to the theatre.
Holly
Project Officer
Community and Volunteering Unit
University of York
York
YO10 5DD
Tel: 01904 432498
University of Teesside
Two projects we’ve done are tea parties for the elderly, which have worked really well.
http://www.utsu.org.uk/clubs_RenderPage.asp?clubid=6077&pageid=19333
I also run a project with Cleveland Police called “Beware the Bogeyman”. Basically a police designed training package, warning the elderly about bogus callers coming to the door. The students have been trained by the police to deliver the package, then we have lunch, and then show them some old film material from the University film archive. They love it! And the students do too!
mailto:
One of the most successful project that we run is the Senior Citizen's Tea Parties of which we run 2 - 3 times each year:
Liverpool John Moores University
Silver Surfer project:
http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/volunteering/80234.htm
Gemma Paul
Student Volunteering Co-ordinator
Community Partnerships and Continued Learning
10 Rodney Street, Liverpool, L1 2TE
t: 0151 231 3159f: 0151 231 3428
m: 07968 422 457e:
w: www.ljmu.ac.uk
Sheffield Hallam
The first one, which has been running for about three years now is called 'Cafe Culture'. The idea behind it is that we invite groups of elderly people from local residential / care homes along to the union for a get-together, but theme each one around a different culture. We've had amongst others, a Mongolian Experience, Brazilian Carnival, Chinese Tea-Party and International Christmas Party. We have food and drink from the country in question, perhaps traditional activities / quizzes, and demonstrations - I believe that salsa dancers went down quite well at one of them! The other great thing about it is that it is a really good way of getting international students involved.
A new one which we started this year is 'Fit Club'. This involves a group of students going into a local residential home and running chair aerobics classes, with the aim being to increase the mobility of the residents. They've been quite innovative with their sessions, using things like beach balls - I seem to remember them playing parachute games at one of the sessions. Of course, it has ended up going beyond this and turning into a social opportunity as well, our volunteers often stay for an hour or two after the class for a chat and a cuppa. They've done a couple of parties as well at Christmas, Easter etc. The project leader for this is a qualified fitness instructor, which I think is probably a necessity, but the other volunteers have picked up how to lead the classes quite well, and they've all loved going in.
Stuart Mills
Information & Resource Co-ordinator / Sports Volunteer Co-ordinator Hallam Volunteering The HUBS Paternoster Row Sheffield S1 2QQ
Phone: (0114) 225 5005
Fax: (0114) 225 5004
Text: 07881 512045
Email:
Web: www.hallamunion.com/vol
University of Manchester
We run several student - led projects with the elderly at Student Action! A weekly social for the same 6 ladies and we run 3 parties, a hugely popular Christmas one as well as one in October and April!
We are also starting up a befriending scheme! If you would like more information on these projects please get in touch!
Kath Hunt
Co-ordinator
STUDENT ACTION MANCHESTER
Students' Union
Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PR
office: 0161 2752948
e-mail:
website: www.studentaction.org.uk
Compiled by:
Stephen Dale
Project Co-ordinator
UWE Community Volunteer Programme
www.uwe.ac.uk/volunteer
t: 0117 32 81351
e:
Centre for Student Affairs, Room 2D11, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QY