Winifred Dell Care Home in Brentwood has recently been supporting a GCSE student from a local school with an intergenerational project.
Olivia’s project was focused on celebrating the value of the older generation and showcasing the skills they developed during their working careers. To help showcase these stories, Olivia reached out to care homes in her local area to see if they would support her project. Many agreed to take part, including the team at Winifred Dell so she was able to meet a lot of people from all different backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures – all who had a variety of interesting careers.
During Olivia’s visits, she completed paintings, sketches and sculptures of the people she met, so during her visit to Winifred Dell she wanted to capture pictures with residents as they spoke with her about their school life and careers.
At Winifred Dell, Olivia met gardeners, teachers, social workers, bank clerks, and hospital nurses. She had many interesting conversations and learnt lots about the lifelong careers of the people living at Winifred Dell. These discussions helped to highlight how technology has changed the way people now do these jobs, with many residents saying the skilled traditional methods of doing things are now forgotten as technology has advanced so rapidly.
Not only did Olivia get some useful insight for her schoolwork, but also boosted wellbeing around the home. Residents love to interact with the younger generations and hear about their lives, studies and goals for the future. Each person who took part had a brilliant time discussing their lives with Olivia and sent their best wishes for her project and future.