Walpole, the volunteer program manager at the Ukrainian Canadian Care Centre in Toronto, has been searching for a project that she could use to bring youth and seniors together. She may have struck gold with the Legacy Project.

The Legacy Project involves the residents at the care centre being interviewed by the youth about their life and past experiences. Youth were also involved in photographing some of the seniors and anything the residents were willing to share will be compiled in a book in the near future.

Walpole says attracting volunteers has never been a problem for the centre, there are currently about 285, but attracting youth volunteers is a challenge.

You can’t imagine what takes place for a senior to become comfortable enough with the youths to open up about their past,” Walpole says, adding that each of the 15 students who volunteered to work on the project are still volunteering in some way, shape or form.

Combined, the youth put in more that 400 hours of service, Walpole says.

“One of the outcomes of the project was connecting students to other volunteer opportunities with seniors and it has done that,” Walpole says. “Some of the youth that came in don’t have grandparents; some of them have never been around an older person - someone in their seventies, eighties or nineties.”

Schon Faria, a university student in Toronto has been documenting the Legacy Project and has been writing stories on it for the Ukrainian Care Centre newsletter. She says it has been wonderful to work with the residents.

“I can honestly say that their strength of character, genuine humility, and incredible sense of empathy for others in the face of their own difficulties is inspiring,” Faria says. “The impression left on me by the residents themselves is what I will carry with me above everything else I have gained from this experience.”

Darka Nadia Dankowych, who volunteered her time to interview residents, says she was surprised at how much she enjoyed her time with the seniors, adding how much confidence she has gained from the experience.

“Originally I was afraid that I might feel a little sad working with such elderly people,” Dankowych says. “Their enthusiasm, kindness, humour and interesting life stories helped me quickly shed this fear and made my volunteering experience unforgettable.”

According to Walpole, not only is it important for the youth to take something away from their time with seniors, she believes it is necessary for seniors to learn a thing or two from the younger generation.

“I overhead a conversation and one of our volunteers and was talking to a senior about some of the peer pressure he faces at school and how difficult it is for him and here was this older person who had no idea how difficult it could be for youth today,” Walpole says.