Joyful Journeys

Erasmus+ Youth Participation projects gives groups of young people the chance to get involved in civic society and economic, social, cultural and political life. It encourages youth participation by supporting them in completing a project of their choice. 

We felt that it was a great opportunity for us to make a difference in our community in a way that meant something to us. This is our story. 

We’re a group of Ty interns with a common interest and passion in volunteering who came             together to help out in our community. We all joined through different paths into Localise and then joined together for this project. We all had visited Leo Street before and loved the people there. 

The project we decided to do was called ‘Joyful Journeys’. We wanted to take the elderly of Leo Street on fun day outings.

We hoped to improve the lives of the elderly of Leo Street by bringing a smile to their faces.

We took them on fun outings to places such as Powerscourt and Phoenix Park. Then we wrapped it all up with a lovely barbeque.

We went to the Mater to have a meeting with a couple members from their board. We showed our video and talked for a bit about the impacts of it. We talked about how the video will help with the security of funding for Leo street helping it to stay open. It felt great to know that our work has had a real positive influence on the community.

We learned a lot doing this project and it was such an amazing experience for us 

We felt that we truly made a difference in the lives of the residents of Leo Street. They had the opportunity to share their experiences and discuss the wonders of life with us. We believe we fostered a better environment for them, offering a fresh perspective on today’s younger generation. We created a safe space where they could be themselves, joke, and have fun without fear of judgement or mistreatment. In return, they taught us the true meaning of friendship and solidarity.

Beyond the impact we had on the residents, they profoundly influenced us by imparting new values and reminding us not to take the elderly for granted. They are just like us, enriched by their life experiences and lessons. We also documented our journey and the logistics involved in creating this project through a short video. This serves to demonstrate to decision-makers and funders the necessity of such initiatives, and we hope it paves the way for future projects. Our goal is to raise awareness about the importance of these efforts and the positive change they can bring.