📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
The project supports the largest care facility for elderly people in Vancouver. The Centre provides independent housing, assisted living and complex care for elders. It supports the Eden philosophy and is committed to creating a human habitat where life revolves around close and continuing contact with plants, animals, children and youth. The Centre aims at establishing a homelike environment that emphasizes a quality of life supporting the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual well-being of each person.
Volunteers will contribute to the quality of life of the elders by supporting them in a variety of therapeutic, social, and physical programs and special events. Activities include art, horticultural therapy, music therapy, exercise programs and seasonal/theme parties. Volunteers with musical interests are encouraged to bring their instrument. We also have several pianos on site.
💼 What the programme involves
Volunteers will work with residents in both one-to-one and group settings. There will be structured activities and a daily schedule of events but volunteers are also expected to be motivated, independent, and to make effective use of their unscheduled time. A typical day might include: making a collage, leading a discussion group, putting up party decorations, playing cards, and taking residents out for walks. Over the course of the summer there will also be various outings such as scenic drives, picnics, and visits to the aquarium and/or art gallery.
All volunteers are expected to be creative, flexible, respectful and responsive to the residents’ needs. The benefits to volunteering at this project are immeasurable. We are offering volunteers an amazing opportunity to develop relationships with interesting and loving seniors. The volunteers who have a person-centered approach to their volunteerism and who are looking for these personal connections are the ones that will benefit the most from this experience.
🏠 Accommodation on site
All volunteers will live at the Centre, sleeping quarters are co-ed dormitory-style and volunteers are asked to bring a sleeping bag. - Food will be provided.
📍 About the location
The project takes place in downtown Vancouver, close to museums, theatres, art gallery, and numerous other attractions. The centrepiece and green heart of Vancouver is Stanley Park, the city’s most famous landmark, and one of the largest parks in any urban centre in North America. There are wooded trails, open playing fields, secluded lakes, gorgeous gardens, and the Vancouver Aquarium, the largest in Canada. A seawall walkway meanders along the park’s perimeter, with beautiful views of the city skyline, the harbour, beaches, and the spectacular North Shore Mountains. Vancouver’s fame as one of the most beautiful cities in the world is tied to Stanley Park’s natural beauty.