Last week we had the pleasure of meeting ten year 7 pupils from Langdon Park School at the Spotlight Youth Centre in East London. This special group of students had come together for the launch of our intergenerational social action project. The kick-off was a chance for the young people, who are all based in Bow, to introduce themselves to some local older people based at Gawthorne Court - a Clarion retirement scheme in the heart of the community.
Younger and older people getting acquainted during Covid needed some thinking outside the box, so we worked with the team at Spotlight to make Christmas cards with a twist. The front would be decorated with a Christmas selfie and when the older person opened their card, they would receive a lovely personalised voice recording from our young volunteers, spreading festive cheer and a message of hope for 2021.
Before getting stuck into card making, we began by thinking about what it’s been like to be an older person during the pandemic. We had a flurry of thoughtful responses about how lonely a time it must have been and how older people may be feeling particularly scared about leaving their homes when the virus appears to impact them worse. We all agreed that sending something lovely in the post would definitely help to spread a bit of cheer during these difficult times.
After thinking deeply about these issues, it was time for the fun to begin. With a selection of Christmas classics blaring out through the speakers, we set to work creating some lovely cards to bring a smile to anyone’s face! Our work station was full of decorations, stickers and festive costumes and the young people threw themselves into creating unique pockets of their personality on paper to share with an older person at Christmas time.
After a few hours, the young people had created some beautiful cards with messages of comfort. In the words of Saif: “I know it’s been a hard time since coronavirus and I just wanted to say keep your head up” - a sentiment that rings true with all of us this year.
It was a wonderful start and we’re so excited to see what these young people will come up with next.
