The Sooke Stories Across the Ages project can report a good level of success after three years of germination.
The project was originally conceived in 2010 by a local teenager and supported through the collaboration of locals from Pacific Centre Family Services Association (PCFSA), Ayre Manor, Sooke community and Edward Milne community school.
We supported a couple of youth through the early years of the project and have now reached a total of approximately 14 youth volunteering with this project, including some international students from EMCS.
Two of the 14 are continuing volunteering from last year. Each of them chat with at least one senior each visit, participate in the recreational activities and report to us their enjoyment of the project: (spelling has been changed). They expressed their feelings by saying, “I discovered that by taking a few hours out of my busy schedule and to spend it focusing on someone else really makes an impact of both our lives. I don’t know about the residents but my highlight of my weekend is always volunteering at Ayre.”
The project can give local youth recognised volunteer credits as well as personal fulfillment.
“Working at Ayre Manor is such a wonderful experience to have, and if I could recommend it to anybody else I would!”
We do expect the youth to commit to the orientation process and to developing respectful relationships with the seniors, and we continue to accept youth who are interested in the project.
As Mitzi Dean, Executive Director of Pacific Centre Family Services Association commented, “This is a win for everyone involved; there are benefits for the youth and seniors and ultimately the community. PCFSA will continue to support this project and the partnerships we’ve developed.”