During the first season of the service, we spent much of our time on-campus brainstorming ideas for the activities our elderly participants may be interested in taking part in. Taking into consideration factors such as mobility, gender, and language barriers, we ensured that our activities were suitable for a range of clients. Some of the ideas we came up with included ball games, card games, singing or instrumental performances, Christmas arts and crafts, or simply interacting with the clients at the center by initiating conversations.

Drawing from the activities that we carried out last year, I shared some of the feedback we received from the elderly that may help to weigh out the possible benefits and drawbacks of conducting specific activities. For instance, we found that many of our clients were not particularly interested in the spider gym activity as it required a lot of time and effort – thus by the time we reached the center at 4 pm, many individuals were already tired out from the day. Moving forward, we decided not to include the spider gym in the activities we would carry out.

We then specified the date of when each activity would be carried out, the materials needed, and the person who would be in charge of gathering the materials. This way, we knew what to expect before each session and maintained an organized approach.