Friends of the Elderly Transition Year Project

Photograph taken by Julie Bretaud

The central aim of the Friends of the Elderly Transition Year and CSPE Programmes is to give time for the young and old to enjoy each other's company. The planned activities will give the students a greater apprecation of the values of the elderly, of how life was lived in Ireland during the 30's, 40's and 50's, of what the elderly have achieved and what they are passing on to us. We hope that students will take with them the knowledge that the elderly are good company, that ageing is an integral part of life, and that a life well led should be celebrated.

The Friends of the Elderly Transition Year and CSPE Programmes be incorporated into the Community Care/Social Outreach content of the timetable. They are designed so that all students, either as individuals, as a class or as part of the entire Transition Year can participate and recieve certification on completion

A. The Friends of the Elderly Transition Year and CSPE Programme for Individual Students

The student must complete 3 of the activities below

1. Make a friendship commitment to an elderly person
2. Design and make Friendship Cards for the elderly.
3. Produce a Life and Times Biography for an elderly person
4. Produce a When My Elderly Friend Was Young essay.

B. The Friends of the Elderly Transition Year and CSPE Programme for the class

The clas must complete 4 of the activities below.

1. Make a friendship commitment to an elderly person
2. Design and make Friendship Cards for the elderly.
3. Produce a Life and Times Biography for an elderly person.
4. Produce a When My Elderly Friend Was Young essay.
5. Invite and elderly person to the school for an In My Day talk.
6. Bring an hour of entertainment to a day centre or nursing home for the elderly.
7. Organise an end-of-year display of work in the local library or your school.

C. The Friends of the Elderly Transition Year and CSPE Programme for the school year

The class must complete 5 of the activities below.

1. Make a friendship commitment to an elderly person
2. Design and make Friendship Cards for the elderly.
3. Produce a Life and Times Biography for an elderly person
4. Produce a When My Elderly Friend Was Young Essay.
5. Invite and elderly person to the school for an In My Day talk.
6. Bring an hour of entertainment to a day centre or nursing home for the elderly.
7. Organise an end-of-year display of work in the local library or your school.
8. Host an Elderly Hero Award in your school

    

On completion of the programme Certificates of Merit will be issued by Aine Brady TD and Minister for Older People and Health Promotion

"One thing stirs me when I look back at my youthful days; it is the fact that so many people gave me something or were something to me without knowing it. Such people had a decisive influence on me; they entered into my life and became powers within me. Much that I should not otherwise have felt so clearly or done so effectively was felt or done as it was, because I stand, as it were, under the sway of these people. Hence I always think that we all live spiritually by what others have given us in the significant hours of our life. .........If we had before us those who have been a blessing to us, and could tell them how it came about, they would be amazed to learn what passed over from their lives to ours."

Taken from : Memoirs of Youth and Childhood  by Albert Schweizer 

Please note - Friends of the Elderly is a registered Irish charity. We depend on voluntary donations. There is no charge for the Friends of the Elderly Transition Year Support Programmes. We would be grateful if your school or class could make a contribution or hold a class raffle or other fundraising activity to support our work.    

For more details about the Friends of the Elderly Transition Year and CSPE Programme and certification process please contact: Dermot Kirwan at Friends of the Elderly, 01 8731855.