House Decorating - Ireland
As the Oblate Youth Service has grown over the years it's become obvious to longer standing members that a huge pool of diverse talents exists within the group. The Oblates have traditionally based themselves in areas of greater social need and as such there is little shortage of tasks which could be tackled within the parishes. A list of needs and possible volunteering opportunities was compiled by the OYS Irish Regional Committee and circulated among members and one of these was the idea of home decorating for people who maybe did not have the funds or wherewithal to tackle the tasks themselves.
We work in conjunction with St. Vincent de Paul who helf us identify parishioners who's houses have fallen into quite a bad state of disrepair over the years and who don't have the means to bring it up to a clean and healthy standard themselves.
So over the course of a weekend member of the OYS organise tools and materials and go to one of these homes to complete work and bring it up to standard for the person who lives there. The work may include, stripping wallpaper, repapering, relaying carpet, paintinting and general DIY work. This is a fantastic way to make a real difference to the lives of others by brightening up and improving the space within which they spend most of their days.
