AggieTiff

Last year was my first Volunteer Appreciation so I have just that experience to share.... I went to the dollar store and found some very nice crystal frames ..each a dollar. I then found a poem that I printed out in nice font on linen paper and framed it. They loved the message / poem/...it really hit on what we think of our volunteers and how much they are appreciated. We have a lot of teen volunteers so we presented the gifts at a pizza party. It was fun and the residetns enjoyed it, too. Tiff

The residents that are in chairs need assistance, for the most part, so someone was always with them durring the short parade. Really the parade did not last long or go far...just around the hall in each "Neighborhood". Short stramers around the front of the walkers and on the "handle bars" and arms of the chairs....maybd some baloons on the ""Handle bars" and then the resident will have thier hands free to hold the masks. Tiff

Last year we had a Parade. We made masks, decorated walkers and chairs and had a lot of fun. We alswo had a social with king cake (talked about the history) and beads and really hamed it up. This year we are doing all the usual but we have started doing "themed" dinner parties once a month or so...so we are doing a Mardi Gras Dinner Party with creol and cajun dishes. We will do a social, as well, with the king cake and hurricanes (real and mock). Mardi Gras has always been real big in my family and social circle so I always go all out with decorations and traditions. We used to keep two christmas trees up in our Alzheimers Neighborhood that we decorated with each season. They were a big hit. They got taken down this year, I think by mistake, and put in storage....I kind of miss them. I think that is a fun idea. "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" Tiff

Do not forget to put a baby in your cake so someone will find it. There is even a story behind the history of the cake to share with your residents. I am sure you can find teh history by doing a search or looking on nola.com. Tiff

If you are in Texas, I would second the recommendation in contacting Natalie Davis. She really takes her time in explaining what you need. Where are you located? Tiff

We have BINGO scheduled only 3 times a week. We probably play more than that in an average week. We have to have so many other things on our schedule that BINGO more than this will not fit. Our corporation has guidelines set that have to be followed, we have the room to be creative but we have to have so many cooking activities, cultural, outings, religious, and so on. We try to go beyond bingo but the residents love it so much that we do sneak in an extra game or two if we have nothing else going on....but they have to agree that we might be just playing for fun and just a few games, as time permits. For our scheduled bingo games the prizes include snacks, candy, dollar bin items, donated items such as lotions and powders. I think we all seem t have the same items for prizes and for the most part the residents like this. I ask at the activity committee and residents council meetings for suggestions and I rarely get them. I am in an ALF now but when I was in a IL/Retirement community we had BINGO only 2 times a month and it was always a big deal with as many as 30 or more showing up....the prizes were really good. Each game won a set that cost about 5 dollars that included the makings of a spegetti dinner (dried pasta, sauce, canned veggies, etc), paper goods (kleenex, toilet paper, paper towels), cleaning supplies or laundry supplies....things that were needed. They did not like knick knacks and brick bracks. The grand prize was always wine, if I did not get wine I would hear about it until the next game. We had a great time playing and everyone really got into it...but that was a retirement community and they were VERY independant with thier own apts w/ kitchens. Tiff

I would highly suggest having a consent signed by the power of attorney for photos and names being used....just to cover your self. We just had a memorial for a group of residents who have passed over teh last few months, one of the hospice providers arranged this and we did have some photos and "in memory" listings. The families really liked this and it gave the care staff a bit of closure....but you never know who you are going to upset so get it in writing. Better safe than sorry. Tiff

I do not know much about the law to it all but there is a little note under the calendar that mentions copywrite. Along with that little note is an email and a telephone number. Call that number and see what they say about it. Maybe if you give credit to the source....I dont know. Let us know what you find out, please. Thanks, Tiff

I see what you are talking about, now. It amazes me how many families do not change these addresses themselves. If my loved one was not able to take care of his own affairs I would make sure everything came to my home so I would not miss anything. Some families need a lesson is responsibility. Tiff

At my community the mail man passes the mail. well, he puts it in the residents box. I am at an AL community. The concierge (reception) sorts the Dept heads mail and places in our box, which really is not that much and she can do this in between calls and such. Unless we are all misunderstanding your vent...of course. But if you are refering to the residents mail, do they not have thier own boxes? Every place I have worked the residents have thier own boxes and it really was an activity in itself for them all to meet down and wait for the mail man everyday after lunch. The comments when he was not there on THIER time were very funny. If you are passing the mail to residents make it an activity where they all meet for "mail call" and coffee....or use it as a 1:1 activity for those who can not come out of thier rooms. Help them open and read if needed. This would be a great way to visit with individuals who are hard to talk to. I know this must get very time consuming for a larger community. Tiff

This is the best job I have ever had. Sure sometimes it gets stressful and overwhelming, but if you keep yourself organised that should not happen often. What other job can you plan parties, sit and gossip (that is what one of my reisdents call our 1;1 chats), go out for coffee and lunch with really cool people, play games, sing sogs and dance like crazy, and wear silly red hats (just to name a few fun things we do)? Use your creativity (or sites like this to get ideas from others) and have a blast...I know I do. Tiff

We have invited a group of highschoolers in that volunteer all year round. They are a young men's group. We will have pizza and all the usual snacks and beer and such. I am in an assisted living and the ones who are on special diets are considered,,...the pizza can be pureed (we have pizza night once a month and it is a huge success). This will act as our super bowl party as well as a volunteer appreciation for the boys. I thihk it will be fun. We have a ladies group coming in that day as well, for the ladies who are not interested in football. They are going to do a craft for valentines day. Tiff

There is no way to think of everything you will need. Something will always "come up". The best advice I can give you is to sit down with your exec director or whoever knows what goes to whos budget and make sure you do not pay for things that others should be paying for. Examples....business supplies (office supplies, postage, etc) might be handled by an office supplies acct. Snacks and food for socials and happy hours might be handled by the dinning services dept. When I first started I just assumed everything that to do with an activity came from my budget, I was wrong and was spending money that I should not have been spending. Of course every company is different so you should have a sit down with your exec to get an idea of what is what. :-) Tiff

I highly reccomend activityconection.com for communities with dementia residents. I have had a membership to the site for sometime now for the puzzles and everyday "fillers" to my program...but I just did my febuary calendar and used their special events and other things...and I did my calendar in half the time. We have an assisted living and an Alzheimers neighborhood, with seperate calendars...so this site is a big help and worth the 14.95 a month. I have been using all of the online sites such as this one and activityconnection more and more and it really helps when I get a creative block. Congrats on the new position. I hope you love being an AD as much as I (and I am sure most of us) do. It is a great way to spend the day. Tiff

I dress for the occasion. I am pretty unpredictable at other times... Example, for New Years Eve and the day of our Christmas Parties I wore shiney dressy outfits to get the residents and staff excited. I always get complimented when I dress up and the residents love it, esp the Alzheimer's residents. They seem to like the "flash". Most of the time it is business casual unless there is a call for more professional attire. If I am out in the community with marketing or volunteer recruiting, I dress as the people at the meeting would. In the summer I tend to be more casual with capris and tastful sundresses. In my last job, it was very casual....I even wore PJ bottom styled pants. That group was a very hip retirement community. I dress respectful to the population. We are not allowed to wear scrubs, at all. Big NO NO. I hardly ever wear makeup anymore. I used to wear alot of makeup but the residents seem to like me without...,and that is OK by me...LOL. Tiff