Transition Year Work Experience

This past week, we at Localise took on TY Work Experience students from Gaelcholáiste Reachrann and Ashbourne Community School. Emily and Tara were great students to have around for the week as they were able to get stuck into some real work around the office, and use their own skills and talents to experience how volunteering can have such an impact on those in the local community.

Read their stories below to learn about what they got up to!

Tara’s experience:

This week I did my TY Work Experience with Localise and I had a great time.

On my first day here I was given the task of doing a volunteering challenge, to do something for a local cause. I decided to make some paintings for the Fairview Stepdown Unit. So I made six paintings of landmarks around Dublin. They turned out nice so I hope that they like them!

Aside from the challenge we were given small things to do to help like make Valentines Day cards and sew the faces onto to the knitted chicks that will raise money for the Muslim Sisters of Eire. This project was done with DCU Raising and Giving and the Crafty Ladies. This was a really fun experience as the ladies were funny and very lovely. It was really nice to help out with these small things while also having a great time.

All the staff here at Localise are so friendly and welcoming and they treated us so well. I’ve learnt so much more about volunteering in the community and how I can be a proactive citizen in my local area.

Emily’s experience:

This week I completed my LCVP work experience with Localise Youth Volunteering.

I came in for my first day on Wednesday the 8th of February. I met with Cat Scanlon from localise and another TY student Tara who was also on work experience, everyone at Localise was very friendly and willing to answer any questions we had. Throughout the week I had a chance to look at all the hard work Localise does for many different causes and organisations.

On this work experience I got to help with a project for the Muslim Sisters of Eire. For this project I met a group of women in called the Crafty ladies who with DCU Raising and Giving come together to support and work on community projects. They were all very welcoming and friendly, it was great to have a connection with people of all age groups coming together to work with each other to benefit the community. This project has everyone crocheting little chickens and ducks to hold Cadbury Cream Eggs to be sold on O’Connell Street in Dublin to raise money. I helped sew loads of little eyes and mouths onto the chicks.

On my last day of work experience we visited the staff and patients in Fairview Stepdown Unit where myself and Tara each gave what we could to make their day a little brighter. Tara made beautiful art throughout the week of different Dublin landmarks and donated them to Fairview and I played some tunes such as “Hallelujah” and everyone joined in. It was such a lovely experience, to see everyone’s reactions was heart-warming and really made me realise the benefits of giving back to the community. There isn’t a better feeling in the world.