My search for a CAS experience was not as difficult as I had anticipated. I wanted to try something new but worthwhile, and with that in mind, I found upon this organization, which assisted persons with down syndrome in interacting with the community. I wanted to take part in it because it was a selfless deed. My volunteer responsibilities included coming up with ideas and organizing the weekly Sunday sessions as well as participating in them. We had to interact with them (those with down syndrome) as volunteers in the hopes of making friends.

LO2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

I had participated in several events as a participant, but I had never helped in the process before, so volunteering was new to me. Although socializing has never been a problem for me, interacting with them was different. I faced difficulty because it was difficult for them to understand my words and my actions, but with time I learned and improved, leading to a strong friendship. As it was something different, I had to step out of my comfort zone and try my best to achieve the goal (to become friends with them).

LO4 – Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.

As previously noted, these sessions have been taking place on Sundays for the past 4-5 months both online and offline. My weekends are rarely productive, but after these sessions, I was inspired to change that. I put a lot of effort into organizing and frequently participated in the events.

LO5 – Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

A team’s ability to work together effectively is crucial; there were more volunteers with me. Since this was unfamiliar territory for most of us, we supported one another, brainstormed ideas, and used our words carefully to communicate (during the sessions)
Working as a team with the other volunteers also plays a huge role because this is something the volunteers are setting up for the children and everyone tries their best to make the event as engaging as possible. Teamwork is very important when singing together, and through our practice sessions, we were able to build that rapport which helped us smooth out our volunteering experience.

LO6 – Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

I have discovered that no matter how some people treat children with down syndrome the world, they are simply normal children like us who want to have fun and make friends. I am confident that I will continue to learn this throughout all of the volunteer sessions, as well as the ones that are still to come.

Evidences