CASHPOINT

CASHPOINT

CASHPOINT was one of the more powerful CAS activities that I took part in, this was because I took part in a helping homeless scheme. Homelessness is a global problem, people living in poverty, these people scrape by from day to day and appreciate any help they do get and I wanted to be part of that help, to make a difference for them. Therefore a group from school and I, set out to apply for a cash grant to put together care carepackages for homeless people. These consisted of basic sanitation goods and stuff like gloves and mouthwash. Our grant got accepted and we decided to then go hand out these care packages in a homeless shelter in Richmond. I was interested in seeing the world from the point of view that these people live out of, as I have never lived in poverty and it's important to see the world from another viewpoint to appreciate everything that is given to someone like me. 

Objectives

For this activity I had some basic objectives, I wanted to help these homeless people that live in poverty. Therefore I wanted help attain the cash grant and put together the care packages as well as then go on to give these out to homeless people and talk to some of the people to get a view into their lives and feel like I made a difference. 

Reflection

Upon completing this activity and reflecting upon it, I can say nothing else than that it was a success. We successfully got a grant to put together care packages, with basic hygiene needs in them. Then we went out to buy the supplies. We then got together bags to divide up the supplies, in addition we baked some goodies for the people at the shelter that day. That morning then I went by car to clapham to pick up the care packages as we had a good 50+ of them. We then loaded them up and made our way to the shelter in Richmond. 

(Us on our way to the shelter) 

We then arrived and then started unloading the care packages to the homeless centre. We were then introduced to the people who were there by the the person who was organising the shelter. Then we started going round talking to different people and giving them care packages, and the thing that stuck out to me always was the mood that these people were in, most of them were very jolly people and highly appreciative of what we gave them, also what interested me also was that some of these people were living like this by choice, it was a way of life for them. But it was touching to see how appreciative people were of what we did and therefore it just felt good to go through the process. To conclude I am happy that I took part in the project as I got to get to know some interesting people and see the world from their view and it was good to help these people who have a lot worse troubles in their lives than I have in mine. 

Photography

Photography
Another CAS activity that I planned to do was a photography project, I wanted to photograph various angles of London Life, including that of my home borough of Richmond upon-Thames and that of central London. I wanted to capture what London meant to me and how I saw it. London is where I grew up and spent most my time and I saw it in a certain way and I wanted to make pictures to share this view of bright lights and vibrant atmosphere, however also a quiet side with majestic views over the city. I was excited to do this project as I was using an old film camera and I wanted to learn about film photography, therefore I researched online and bought equipment.

Objectives
I wanted to take various shots of London, including a shot from Richmond Hill overlooking London and shots from Central, including nightlife SOHO, Picadilly, Bricklane, Winterwonderland. I also wanted to learn various effects of film photography and exposure techniques. As well as using different kind of film to document London. This was an exciting new activity for me and was creativity in a new way for me as I never did much arts except for music, this was a new challenge and I was anxious to start it.

Reflection
Upon completing this activity I came upon a devastating disappointment, this was because the pictures I had taken upon the film turned out blank when I went to get them developed. This was some sort of fault in the camera, this was quite the disappointment to me, as I had gone throughout London to take shots, however I did manage to take some photos digitally, so the project was not a total waste. From a CAS viewpoint, it fulfilled some learning outcomes, such as undertaking a new challenge, as this was new for me and it was the first time I had undertaken film photography. I learnt new photography skills although the pictures could not be developed, however the experience is also something matters and it gave me a chance to see again what makes London so great, just the great buzzing atmosphere you see throughout town on an evening and the people that make it special. I still see the project as a disappointment, but I am still happy that I initiated such a project, as I got have an epic tour of London. In addition it motivated me to do something similar in the future, which will help me grow my photography capability in the future as I have learnt certain techniques now. Therefore I see the project as a partial success.

Swimming

Swimming
Another CAS activity that I initiated was that of swimming. However, not just casual swimming, however swimming freestyle over a period of time was my aim. This I classed as a action activity, as in my view swimming was physically demanding and really required most of your physical strength to endure it's harshness. I planned this activity because I was never a strong swimmer and I thought that I could grow my skills and abilities in this area of sport. I planned to swim three times a week and have a specific program that I stuck to. This I did over a course of 4 weeks and I was relatively to test out my skills and endurance in the pool.

Objectives
I had certain aims for this activity, all of which focussed on the ability of my swimming or on the fitness level of myself. On one hand I wanted to improve my swimming ettiquett and technique, however I also wanted to improve my stamina and physical strength. I also wanted to make sure I endured the 4 week program and that I went three times a week, in addition I want to swim 1km freestyle at the end of the program, showing some sort of perseverance. I thought these objectives were reasonable and achievable goals that I could achieve and I was excited to test my limits out in this area.

Reflection
After completing this activity I had a new found respect for swimmers in the olympics and in any area of sport. The amount of fitness one needs to swim at a competitive level is amazing. I definitely noticed my limits and weaknesses in this area of sport. I noticed how I was really not fit enough to be swimming 1km freestyle, this was one of my objectives how I managed 600m in my last session, which I thought was quite good for a beginner swimmer after 4 weeks. However, I noticed that my technique was not too bad for a beginner swimmer, this I improved after the 4 weeks by doing a technique session before every real session to just swim lengths slowly, just concentrating on technique and I definitely feel more confident now that I swim with better technique. In this way I feel that I have become fitter and that I have been able to attend all sessions and show perseverance. Therefore I am happy with the way that I have done this activity although I did not completely manage to achieve all my goals, however I noticed what my weaknesses were and what my strength were, now I can grow in this area of sport and further my abilities from here on out.

Charity Run

Charity Run
This activity I signed up to do to help raise money for a neuro disability hospital local to our school. It consisted of me running a competitive race of 5km through the borough of Wandsworth. It took place on a wednesday during the last lessons of that day and it was seen as a action activity due to its physical requirement. The race itself was a lot more difficult than I thought and was challenging and a new experience for me as I had never done such a race before, therefore I was slightly anxious to get on with this activity. This race took place in may 2014.

Objectives
My objectives for this activity were quite clear and precise. I wanted to on one side help raise money and make a difference for the patients at the neuro disability hospital, however also I wanted to attain the first place in the race. These were realistic objectives for myself as at this time I was running on a regular bases as another CAS activity and I was feeling fairly confident that I had a good chance of winning the race.

Reflection
Reflecting upon this activity after completing it, I must say that I am on one side pleased with how it went, however also not. When the race started I made sure to keep a strong front position for myself, this was successful and I was running a good race, however I did not know the course and as I was first I was anxious that I would not find the way, however I relied on the marshals. However, at one point I was called back because I was running the wrong way because there were no marshals pointing me in the right way and that was it with my strong position. After that the once leading group was running a much longer course and therefore my position for fastest time was out of the question, therefore I am partially disappointed in my performance, however I am happy that I ran a strong race and that I was able to take part in this activity to help raise money to help the disabled patients of the hospital. All in all I undertook a new challenge as I had never run a competitive race before, I learnt somewhat running tactics (securing a strong position at the beginning), I had to show perseverance throughout the activity to acquire a strong racing position. To conclude, I was happy with the experience I gained on that day and that I took part in the race and initiated this project for myself.