"We enjoy our work incredibly much and we are very happy to live these experiences!" - Flora and Clara volunteering in Italy Blog

The house maintains three floors where the residents are living. There are also five flats for independent elderly people and a separate part for dementia patients. In addition to a public bar in the entrance area, it also includes much space for creative work and the activities from the leisure department of the house.

My name is Carla Weiss, I'm 18 years old, and I'm from Nördlingen. I work on one of the three floors in the house. I come for breakfast in the morning and help with the meals if necessary. I generally support the waitress in the mornings, clearing and setting tables or taking care of the dishwasher.

Once these tasks are done, I keep the residents busy. When the weather is nice, I go for walks with them a lot, play games, chat a lot, talk about my week, and listen to stories from their lives and childhood. I always have an open ear, even for the worries and problems of the elderly. In the afternoon, I like to take residents who want to go to the newly opened bar in the building and have a coffee or an ice cream with them and, of course, go on walks. In the evening, I take care of serving the meals, help with the food, and clear the tables and the dining area at the end. I generally help out wherever I'm needed. This can also include stowing deliveries, replenishing hygiene products in the senior citizens' rooms, or going to the bank with them together. The interactions with the residents always create wonderful moments.

I'm Flora Kreutzer, 18 years old, from Bremen. I work in the leisure activities department at the retirement home. I try to pass the residents' time with my work and sweeten their day. In addition to entertaining, playing, listening, and walking, our team organizes different activities every morning and afternoon. These include activities such as singing, arts and crafts, cooking and baking, movie afternoons, or even excursions.

I now also come up with my own activities and implement them with the senior citizens. For example, I often do interactive photo presentations. I show photos that I took while traveling through Italy and talk about my experiences I had there and the special features of the region. This always leads to great conversations with the people. Recently, I also organized a request concert where I made music with the residents. I particularly enjoyed that. I really enjoy being able to express myself so freely and creatively in my work here and seeing that I can make other people happy just by having a short conversation or going for a walk. The gratitude I receive in return is very valuable.

In our free time, we love to visit the nearby surroundings. We go hiking, skiing, and explore the traditions of the valley. We also did very wonderful trips to the southern part of Italy like Verona, Lago di Garda, Firenze, Roma, Napoli, Venezia...

We've been here at the retirement home for 10 months now and we feel extremely comfortable here. We enjoy our work incredibly much and we are very happy to live these experiences!