Page 43 - MDS final deliverable

3a. SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
Making trusted friends is an important part in creating a positive customer experience for participants. Parents celebrate when their child makes a friend. There is a desire for the participants to ‘break out’ of their comfort zone or isolation and be more confident. We have observed that Centre-based locations become vacant in the afternoon when the participants leave for their activities. These spaces could be better leveraged, perhaps allowing other participants to use them to implement further positive initiatives.
8. HOST FUNDRAISING SOCIAL EVENTS
MDS can host fundraising social events such as bingo, trivia or a games night, where MDS can promote its mission and brand while raising some money. It also allows participants and families to attend and have fun in a social setting. MDS can also encourage family members to volunteer more for these events to ensure they are constantly in the loop regarding MDS and its activities.
9. HOLD COFFEE CATCH UP’S THROUGH POP UP’S
Most participants enjoy coffee and love the idea of socializing over a cup of coffee with their friends. There is an opportunity to leverage the Pathways to Employment Café more fully to allow participants to socialise and in turn gain employment experience. There is an opportunity to extend the services of the café beyond MDS to the wider community through Café Pop Up’s at various events.
10. IMPLEMENT A BUDDY UP PROGRAM
Introduce a Peer Mentoring or Buddy-up program to assist participants form friendship circles. This will help participants within MDS to assist and support each other when needed. The program can ‘pair’ up participants with similar disabilities get to know each other and create a stronger bond within the MDS community.
Commercial in confidence
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