The Rapid Reaction Fun Force

 

Putting a bit of sparkle into the lives of vulnerable people

 

Do you want to:

 

• Practise your speaking?

• Do your bit for the local community?

• Bring a little bit of laughter and sparkle to the lives of older people in SW1?

 

If your answer to the above questions are ‘YES’ then we would like to hear from you.

 

The Pullen Centre is a Day Care Centre for elderly people in London, SW1. The Centre provides a vital local service for people in their 70s, 80s, and 90s who are classed as ‘vulnerable adults’. That is people who are living on their own in the community but who, due to health or mobility problems, may have difficulty leaving their homes unaided and as a result of this, many feel vulnerable, lonely or isolated. Thus mini-buses collect them from their homes and bring them to the Centre so that they can natter, take part in quizzes and keep fit (in their chairs!).

 

The management at the Centre love to have people visit to give talks so... I wondered... might YOU be interested in the following:

 

• Do you have a humorous speech or comedy routine that you would like to give there?

 

• Could you give a talk there? Say about local history, your culture (and bring titbits to share perhaps?), or any other subject deemed appropriate? Due to loss of mobility and an increased dependence on others for help, many users of the Centre suffer from low self-esteem. So talks that could help to raise self-esteem would be just wonderful.

 

• Are you an entertainer? Eg can you juggle? Magic tricks? Or play an instrument (there’s a piano in the room)? Sing (singalongs with songs from the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s are popular)?

 

So, if you have ½ hour to spare and would like to bring some much needed sparkle to the lives of vulnerable adults, many of whom have lived through the economic depression of the 1920s / 1930s and the Second World War and are being forgotten about by family, friends and society, then your goodness would be appreciated by them and the Care Workers at the Centre.

 

The Centre is open 10:00-15:00 hours Monday to Friday. The preferred time slot for a ‘turn’ would be 13:00-13:30 hours any day of the week. As the Centre is a charity, they are unable to reimburse travel expenses unfortunately, but presenters would be give much thanks for their very valuable and hugely appreciated effort. Location: Pullen Centre, Garden Terrace, 7-9 Moreton Street, London, SW1V 2WP (nearest tubes = Victoria / Pimlico).

 

Benefits to you include: A forum for you to practise your speeches / performances; that buzz you get when doing something altruistic; putting a smile on the faces of others – a feeling that just can’t be beaten. This audience is a rich research resource too. For example, Service Users have helped the Archivists from Westminster and the City of London with their research into the 1948 London Olympics and Lyons’ Tea Houses respectively.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before saying ‘no’, consider this: Just as today’s elderly people were once vital, vibrant, mobile people just like you, in time, YOU will probably become a vulnerable adult. So, in a few years time, when you are immobile and feeling lonely and neglected, wouldn’t YOU like someone to put a bit of sparkle into YOUR life?

 

Feel free to pass this information on to others who may be able to help. For example, does the organisation that you work for have a staff outreach programme, whereby staff volunteer their services in the local community? Or if the location of the Pullen Centre is not handy for you, why not set up a Rapid Reaction Fun Force in your area? And, in so doing, put much sparkle in the lives of vulnerable people.

 

Top of page