The first thing I noticed when entering the Cheshire homes is how friendly everyone is and how happy people are to see a group of new interesting volunteers. My first day as a volunteer at the Cheshire homes was a little daunting; even with the training days you don’t really know what to expect, but the reception we got when entering was so friendly and the guests seemed so happy to see us and eager to talk to us that any nerves or anxiety went away immediately.

Being a Cheshire homes volunteer simply involves giving people company and someone new to talk to for an hour a week which for us is a very small commitment; however, after spending time with the guests, I realised how much a short visit from someone outside the home had on them, and how much they appreciated talking and telling us about their days and listening to our day’s activities too.

Many of the guests do have family who visit on a weekly basis, but others rarely have people visit them, so our short visits a week have a huge impact on their days and give them something to look forward to; it also gives guests the chance to have one-on-one conversations with us, whether they just listen to us moaning about how much work we have to do, or whether they tell us about what they watched on television last night.

Volunteering at the Cheshire homes is very rewarding and makes you more aware of disabilities and how they affect everyone. The guests are always eager to tell us about their nieces and nephews who come and visit in the Christmas holiday, which makes you realise this could be your uncle, aunt, grandma or grandpa, whom you will visit in the Christmas holiday but not sooner. So as a volunteer you fill a gap which family company fills and you are providing someone with a short session of games, chat or whatever they feel like doing each week, which can really brighten up their day and give them something to look forward to. It is a very rewarding community action to take part in and really can make a difference to someone’s day.

Rachel Efrat, Year 12

The Leonard Cheshire Homes provide support for disabled people across the world; every Tuesday girls from the Sixth Form at JAGS visit the residents of a Leonard Cheshire Home based at Athol House in Crystal Palace.  Usually we chat and play games with the residents (although after being beaten at four consecutive games of connect-4 by Pauline, I admitted defeat), and there are also themed activities organised by Begonia around special dates.  As part of the Halloween celebrations I remember hollowing out a pumpkin with Sheila, then inexpertly trying to carve it into a lantern, and when this failed we decided instead to stick on a pair of plastic ears.  The result was very funny, if perhaps not as spooky as we had hoped!  During warmer afternoons in the summer there were opportunities to go and sit in the lovely, leafy garden, where we watched to see if there was any wildlife around, or did the crossword, or simply talked about whether the sunny weather would hold throughout the summer.  Most rewarding was when we got to know the residents a little better, and discovered what subjects they liked; it was interesting to talk with Eva about horses, which she loves, and look together at pictures of show jumping on the computer and in the scrapbook that she had made.  JAGS girls have also helped at a fundraising fête held at Athol House, which many in the surrounding community came to, where we sold tickets and contributed to the fundraising by frequenting the cake stall fairly often.  Visiting Cheshire Homes is a great experience, and I have really had fun meeting the residents of Athol House; I hope that they too have enjoyed it.

Nicola Ingram, Year 13