Sara Densmore and Brenden Butchart have discovered that the more they give of themselves, the more they receive in return.
Sara and Brenden are two of several Therapeutic Recreation students who volunteer at SCRI Society: The Club, a United Way-funded social and recreational program for persons with varied abilities. Both found out about it when Club founder and executive director Alice Evans, whose son Alfie is a participant, made a presentation at the Therapeutic Recreation orientation getaway at Camp Mush-A-Mush.
Getting active, getting creative and simply getting to know participants at The Club has given Sara and Brenden the chance to put their learning into practice. But more importantly, it’s allowed them to learn more about themselves.
“I’d never worked with people with varied abilities before, so coming here was a big eye-opener. I realized that I’m passionate about working with this population,” says Sara, who’s now a session leader with more organizational responsibility in her second year of volunteering at The Club.
“All of our courses are directly related to what’s happening here. We get to go to school, learn about this stuff and then literally apply it at The Club.”
Brenden began volunteering in September. Like Sara, his experience at The Club has been both novel and illuminating.
“It’s a whole other side of well-being and care and it’s helped me discover myself and where I want to be in the helping professions,” Brenden says. “The Club is a great example of encouraging people’s leisure and pushing people’s boundaries and getting people to explore themselves.
“That’s what recreational therapy is.”
Dal student Sara Densmore plays frisbee with Alfie McCarthy.
Laughter, friendship and freedom
As for what happens at The Club, it’s a mixture of organized and free activities. The Club features scheduled programs focusing on music, theatre, food and physical activity, but also holds drop-in sessions six days a week.
Brenden, speaking at the beginning of one drop-in gathering, says these sessions usually begin with volunteers and participants collaborating on the making of a healthy snack. Depending on the day, the snack might be followed by a walk outdoors, arts and crafts or free play in The Club’s gymnasium.
“We just hang out and get to know each other,” says Brenden. “We laugh a lot. It’s such a great space to be able to just be yourself and do whatever you feel like doing.”
As Sara notes, having a fun and safe space to be oneself is something especially valuable for people who encounter limited access to and inclusion in activities elsewhere in society.
“This is a place where people can come and be normal with everyone, because we all act ourselves here. And ‘ourselves’ can be wild and crazy here, because everyone accepts that.
“Basically, we do everything here that you would do with the friends in your life.”
According to Alice Evans, the friendship of Dal students like Sara and Brenden has helped create a family feeling at The Club.
“Dal students make The Club and they’re part of the Club family,” she says. “They donate so much more than just their hours and it’s a great example of the university benefitting the community.”
Finding inspiration
Sara and Brenden, meanwhile, say they benefit as much or more than anyone.
“Everyone I’ve met at the Club has just been so inspirational to me,” says Sara. “It’s been life-changing to take a break from my world and seeing things from their point of view.”
As Brenden puts it, his time at The Club sets the tone for his life outside of it.
“Whenever I leave the Club, I have a smile on my face. I’m elated, I’m on a high and I feel like I’ve done something to make a difference.
“I carry that feeling with me the whole week until I come back.”