Thursday 19 March 2009

The Pieces Come Together - by Vickie Crofts

Sadly as the academic year draws to a close so do all our Projects. For Jigsaw, this means picking up the pieces of their year-long activities, and preparing for their annual Fun Day."

The Fun Day this year will be held on Saturday 25th April and will be a celebration of the past year for volunteers and all those involved, as the Befriendee and their family all come together in a fun-packed activity day.

On a week by week basis, the project provides a befriending service to children aged between five and 18 who have been diagnosed with autism or Asperser’s Syndrome.

The level of support provided by the 13 Volunteers varies according to the needs of the befriendee, as joined project leader Sarah McGillivray explains: "Some children simply gain more confidence from having someone new to interact with. Others may find it's nice to have someone they can talk to and who will listen."

One of the appeals of the project for Sarah is: "Just spending time with my befriendee. She's so much fun to be with and it makes a nice break from all the stresses of third year to just go and be able to relax and have a bit of a laugh."

Extra volunteers are needed to help out at the Fun Day on Saturday 25th April, from 12-5pm. If you are interesting, and are CRB checked via Hallam Union, and have had some autism training, then please get in touch with Sarah on Sarah.L.McGillivray@student.shu.ac.uk

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