As I was wandering around Hobbycraft last Saturday morning ahead of this month's Happiness Project visit, it dawned on me that it has been a year since our very first visit to Park View Care Home.
When I first made contact with Suzanne from Park View, I didn't know what the Happiness Project would involve. It was really just a chance for Girlguiding members to get involved in our local community; it might have lasted a couple of months, it might have lasted longer, it all really depended on the interest of the girls and the residents and whether they got on... and they definitely got on.
For our visit this month we decorated canvases, painting pictures of things that make us happy. We painted images of beautiful sun sets, summer days, and flowers. The conversations going on between the girls and the residents were brilliant; Hilda talked about how she made her own wedding dress, Nancy talked about her career as a paramedic, the girls listened and asked questions.
When I think about what makes me happy I generally think about sleep, or wine, or chocolate but whilst sitting in the lounge of the care home, looking around, I realised that this made me happy. This 90 minutes, on a Saturday afternoon, chatting to the residents and the girls, drawing pictures and making crafts. And if we're still doing this another year on from now, I will be even more happy as we continue to build links with the community, encourage relationships between the girls and the residents and generally continue to spread a little happiness 😍
This year The Happiness Project is part of the Co-op 1% Community Fund. Members of the Co-op can select us as their cause and when you purchase selected Co-op items, 1% of the spend is donated to us. We have lots of plans for how we could spend the money but at the top of my list is a book bringing together stories from the two generations - how lovely would it be to have a lasting memory of all of the conversations the residents and girls have had? To support our cause, please click on the link below:
https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/31374
K
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