I chose this elective to give back to the community. Giving back has so many benefits such as learning new skills and meeting new people. I’ve heard such great things about this unit from my siblings and friends at school. This elective is so different from the other electives that we can select. For example, the other electives don’t give us the chance to go out and face reality. The other electives don’t allow us to face new challenges the way this elective does. This elective gives us the chance to contact people and ask them questions.
I chose Y challenge to expand my knowledge on volunteering in my community. Volunteer work is helping out at your local nursing home or at community groups such as the Salvation Army to experience how it feels to help other people and assist them to become more independent. During this time when volunteering, we are asked to take public transport to and from the location. I think this is a great idea because most other electives don’t give us the chance to feel independent. Y challenge allows us to make phone calls, leave school grounds and face reality.
A couple of my friends experienced the Y challenge last year. Some went to their old primary school and others went to the local nursing home. My brother also went to a local primary school and every night I would hear about his day and how much he loved the activities and the class. People who did the unit also said it presented them with new career ideas. At the end of months of volunteering students were rewarded with an award certificate. I heard nothing but great feedback on the elective.
I’ve thought about where I would like to go and chose a local Op Shop. I thought I would feel comfortable in that setting and seeing the faces of people walk in and out brings a smile to my face knowing they just scored a bargain.
I have some experience in the workplace. When I was young, I used to go with my sister to her work in retail. I used to help make sure that all the clothes were on the rack rather than being on the floor. Throughout primary school and high school I was class leader and level leader a few times, which helped me to improve my communication skills. I wish to develop great communication skills further through volunteering and to create new friendships with both the customers and the workers. I would also like to learn new skills such as how to use a cash register.