Challenge Week 2017

1/27/2017

Harrison Faulkner

The new year offered our Grade 12 class plenty of interesting and challenging endeavours. The bulk of our class made their way to Costa Rica for a service learning trip during which they volunteered at a self-sustaining ranch. Four boys and four girls from our class gave back to the Toronto community during that week by volunteering for at local institutions. I, along with three other boys, had the opportunity to volunteer at the Arthur Meighen Retirement Centre, located just west of Davisville and Mount Pleasant.

Our first day of volunteering was devoted to learning the ropes. We were introduced to the people that run the building and the manager of the building, Adrien. She was incredibly welcoming to us and explained that a difficult part of the job is not getting too attached to the residents, as it is quite possible they could pass away. It was our first glimpse of how emotionally challenging working in an environment like this could be. But when the four of us began to observe the work that got done here, we were struck by how uplifting and pleasing it could be for us to work with the residents.

As teenagers, we are always told not to take good health for granted, but this lesson is often forgotten. It was not until my classmates and I sat down and had real, thoughtful conversations with the residents, that we realized that taking good health and youth for granted was was a mistake.

Each day, we arrived at the building and were briefed on what the activities taking place for the residents were, and when and where we needed to start transporting residents. As none of us are trained in long-term care, our work was mainly transporting the residents to different activities taking place inside the building such as morning excercises, trivia, bingo and music.

My biggest takeaway from volunteering was that if you don’t seize every moment, the last parts of our lives won’t be filled with as much happiness and joy. Each resident at the retirement centre brought something unique to the building, and each brought their own joy and memories. Memories are one of the things that we cherish most, and trying to overflow our lives with happy and pleasing memories can only leave us positive and bright feelings when we recognize that we may not have much time left.

I think it’s safe to say that the four of us at the retirement centre we were given an experience a lot of us were not expecting - one that was a pleasant surprise. As a Grade 12, I will be leaving Greenwood in June after 6 years, and each new year as a student has provided me with new experiences and new ways to view the world we live in. As I go to university next year, I will take all the experiences I had and always remember them.

Sasha Palmert

From January 9-13, three other Grade 12 students and I had the opportunity to volunteer at Sistering, a women’s shelter. Throughout the week we helped with inventory, food preparation (I’m pretty sure we cracked over 1000 eggs) and serving meals, and on one day even gave the women at the shelter manicures.

As we volunteered, we were able to hear the stories of some of the women that used the shelter. We heard stories about how women ended up on the street, the experiences women had while living on the street and how the shelter provided them with services that helped them overcome barriers. Helping around the shelter and conversing with these women provided me with a lot of insight. Our experience reminded all of us to be grateful for the warm home, food and loving family we have, but I think the main thing I took away from this experience was the importance of reserving judgement. We learned that many women end up on the street because their sexuality or mental health issues are not accepted by their family, and that once on the street they continue to face discrimination from other members of society.

Overall, this week was a very unique experience that provided the entire group with a reminder of the importance of empathy and giving back.

Back

Harrison, along with Andrew Kernerman, Quinn Pace and John Thompson, spent the week volunteering at the Meighen Manor Retirement Residence near the school.
Sasha was joined by Nikki Ross, Phoebe Knight and Sara Fuller at Sistering.

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Greenwood College School

443 Mount Pleasant Road
Toronto, ON M4S 2L8
Tel: 416 482 9811

We acknowledge with gratitude the Ancestral lands upon which our main campus is situated. These lands are the Ancestral territories of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Anishinabek and the Wendake. The shared responsibility of this land is honoured in the Dish with One Spoon Treaty and we strive to care for the land, the waters, and all creatures in the spirit of peace. We are responsible for respecting and supporting the enduring presence of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. When away from this campus we vow to be respectful to the land by protecting and honouring it. We will create relationships with the people and the land we may visit by understanding the territories we enter and the nations who inhabit them.