heavenstar

thanks, I never thought about the library! Great idea! This is why I posted the question.

I have a lot (about 300) VHS movies that I would like to donate to a good cause. Does anyone know of a place in Houston that will accept them? I have tried the VA and Star of Hope. Also, if you are in Houston and would like to add to your library-- please let me know! Angie

no-- but it sounds like fun! Let us know if it works out

We are dyeing easter eggs and also making chorosis for passover-- all in one day because the holidays are so close together. If you need a good and very easy recipe for chorosis here it is: 6 apples-- peeled, cored and shredded 3/4 cup sweet grape wine- like Manischevitz (you can also just use grape juice like Kadeem) 3 handfuls of ground walnuts 2 Tbsp cinammon Mix all together and serve I got this from www.cooks.com

When we have a group of volunteers-- and little or no money--- we play bingo. We have some small snack and give away prizes instead of the usual small amount of cash. When we have a group and a nice budget-- at least $300-- we throw a party complete with dancing! One group comes every year and spends about $2000-- we play bingo and have a catered bbq dinner. (This will serve about 150 people with lots of $25 gift cards for prizes.) It also depends on the age of the volunteers-- Those I listed above were for high school and adults. If we have middle school (and supervision) then we do game days, carnivals, American Idol, Talent Shows, Wii bowling tournaments, crafts etc. When one person comes to volunteer-- I usually put them as a computer teacher to give individual lessons-- there is just not enough of me to go around and this is the area that the seniors want most. We also have individual volunteers teach a class or lead a group (whatever they want to do or are good at), scrapbook our photo album, assist with bingo on regular bingo nights, the same with birthday party nights, or any other special occasion. It is all about knowing what you need or would like to have-- and matching someone with their talents and time. Hope this helps.

I have had the same problems. I am constantly asking the "active" men what they would like to do. Last year it was having a poker night. I got commitments from 5 men-- on the night of the poker game, one man showed up, and four ladies who also wanted to play poker. They wanted to do a game day with outside games (croquet, ladderball, horseshoes, bocce, etc). Only one man showed up. They have also asked for a bbq pit in our park--- so we are working on it. Since I love to grill, I will probably try to have a lot of activities out there once it gets set up--- it may not make it to a men's group, but an added activity will always be good. This year the men want to go to an Astro's baseball game. We will try it out! I doubt we could get enough men to go though. I feel your pain! Some other ideas are: woodworking bike repair (and then donate the bikes to a good cause like a boy's home, big brother program, etc!) Make an intergenerational program-- have boys (cub scouts?) build bird houses with the men. Also, do a pinewood derby race with the scouts-- (or raingutter regata) Today, I am taking my group fishing (but there are women too)-- and while we are there, we will play games, cook the fish we catch, and make smore's Good Luck~!

Here is my list: 1. American Idol 2. Computer Classes 3. People Bingo 4. Bingo 5. Dances 6. Carnival 7. Tea Parties 8. Cooking together 9. Purim 10. Scrapbooking 11.Bubbles 12. Photography Clubs 13. Dear Abby 14. Quilt making 15. Pictionary 16. Dying Easter Eggs 17. Planting / Maintaining the Garden 18-- Our all time favorite: Grand Talent Show using Grandparents and grandchildren

What I am doing today is adding a bit of food color to Sprite and Diet Sprite. That's it.

The place where I would start is Hobby Lobby, Target or other Scrapbooking store. They have lots of pages for sale that are complete packets to make one or two scrapbook pages-- they include stickers, layouts, tags, ribbons, die cuts and everything else. You can take these and photocopy them (if you have a color copier) to pass out to everyone. About $9.00 each page. Target (I saw this last night) has a book (index card size) of journaling prompting questions for you to write in. There are several topics and several copies of each one-- so no copying needed! One of them that I remember was: What I wanted to be when I grew up: Also another idea is to purchase already made scrapbooks-- all you do is add pictures and journaling. They are about $15-$30-- depending on what you want. Just buy lots of the same one and you have it already finished! Plus, they turn out great!!!! You can always add more stuff, embellishments, journaling, pages or whatever to make it more unique or time consuming. But it is the cheapest and easiest way to go!

[We would love to have a pen pal program with you! I am starting a new email class today-- so I will get you a list of emails by Friday! This is fantastic! Thanks

Just checking in with you.... How is the program going? Do you like it and is it worth the money?

Great! Thanks-- I will definitely email you soon!

Hi guys. In case you don't know, I work for a HUD low income apartment complex for the elderly. Very similar to independent living--although we can't call it that. Many residents here are lower functioning ( although they do not qualify for nursing home care) and get along just fine with help of caregivers. Also, 95% of the residents speak either Russian or Chinese. With that being said, all of my activities must be open to all residents. We have a group of residents that make up our program committee (anyone can attend and give input) that decide what activities and events to do the next month. Of course the only residents who attend are those who are very involved and active and therefore, that is all our programs consist of. Now, with all that, here is my question: I want to start a group that appeals to those who are lower functioning, not able to actively participate in our regular activities, but still have the desire to do things. I need to market this so that the active people will know it is not for them, although I can't say that or deny them from participating. I need a name for the group and key words to throw in to market it. I want the group to consist of many different things-- meeting once a week and doing bingo on a lower level, armchair travels, brain games, crafts, cooking, etc. I am not allowed to go apartment to apartment asking people to be in the group and I have to advertise it in the newsletter and it must say open to everyone. It is all in the wording-- and that is where I need your help! Thanks! Angie

Well said (written)! If everyone chose to speak in an optimistic voice and write the same way, we would all have completely different attitudes about work, coworkers, residents and life in general. More positive and productive things come about when people have better attitudes and outlooks-- and not focus on "problems!" I have a great example of how words and attitudes affect things. Because of Hurricane Ike back in September, we had to evacuate 88 residents and only a few have been able to come back (and that was last week)! Construction is a nightmare and it is one problem after the other. While no one expected this to be good, the attitude and feeling of the staff and residents is so depressing!!! Everyone comes in moaning and groaning and complaining. The residents complain, and the stress level has exceeded everyone's limit! All of the staff have been sick-- two in the hospital. Seven residents have passed away since Christmas and with that, the outlook on life just keeps getting worse! I try to point out the positive things that are happening, and our nurse and social worker does the same, but it is an uphill battle! I have seen first hand how just the way we word things, the optimistic attitudes and the general feeling about everyone can really make a tremendous difference in life! Now if only we can get back to that!!!

Great Ideas!

Can you make her a volunteer of some sort and give her a special job to do during bingo? Maybe she can organize something, make copies, get items ready for the next activity, or something along those lines that she can do independently? If you make her feel needed and keep her busy with something else during bingo then she won't feel excluded from bingo. Also it was a good idea to have bingo with some other residents who won't mind her at a different time like the other reply. That way she still gets her bingo "fix".

I do the same thing with lesson plans! I feel like a teacher! But every time I have a class-- I change and modify to make it evolve into what the group needs at that time. Many times, I have group classes, at least the first class-- and then I break them into individual sessions once they learn the basics. It is too difficult to teach a class who is on so many different levels and learning curves!

I teach classes all year round to my residents and now I have other residents helping me teach in Chinese and in Russian. The most popular class is the basic-- how to use a mouse. I know of a great website that helps teach residents how to do this and we just go through it together. it is: http://www.instruction.greenriver.edu/Aver...MouseSkills.htm we only get as far as we can in 30 minutes-- which is about page 21 or so. Then we start over. I also start with a handout that I made that has a picture of a mouse, and another picture with a hand holding a mouse. There are labels on the different parts of the mouse and then another handout with pictures of the different parts of the computer: tower, printer, monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc. The second class, we do the website again, and again if needed. We also go over a different handout that shows pictures of the desktop, icons, programs, etc. We learn how to open and close programs and start a game. Other classes that I do and that are very popular are: email-- basic and advanced, digital photography (a favorite!), Begining and intermediate internet, greeting cards, Google Earth, Troubleshooting, Scams, Frauds and Ads, flashdrives and other storage devices (obviously for the more advanced!) Google Earth is great because you can show different parts of the world, their hometowns, etc. Good luck! Angie

A thank you letter is enough. In fact, you should never put the dollar amount in the letter (unless they donated money). Just thank them for whatever they donated. I usually list the items they donated, but I am not specific. Hope this helps!

Stell, I understand what you are saying. I have a degree in Psychology and sociology so I also knew I wanted to work with people. I had bigger plans about going to grad school, but life got in the way and I ended up working after graduation. I worked with juvenile delinquent boys who were mostly sex offenders and I HATED it so much! I found a job in the paper looking for someone to run programs and volunteers for seniors. After I got the job, I knew I found my niche in life. This job fits me to a T and is perfect for me. There are lots of different types of degrees you can get--- like Theraputic Recreation, gerontology, etc. It is always a good idea to volunteer somewhere. Volunteer a few times a week at different places--a nursing home or assisted living. Volunteer with a social worker at another place, then do something else. You will get a hands on view of what it takes and what you like.

I agree 100% that free food is the best way to get residents to attend, my problem lies with the Residents' Council who are the one's who purchase the food. They hate buying food for any activity. It is an ongoing issue between the management and the Residents' Council. With that being said, I have had to find other ways to get them involved. One, translate everything in their language (requires me to translate in at least 3 languages for the newlsetter, Meetings, signs and posters) Two: do lots of surveys, Three: have program meetings where the residents come to and decide what to do. Four: Ask the residents to volunteer Five: Have quality entertainment or activity-- not just basic run of the mill --- plus , it must be very low cost or free. Six: Give enough advance notice--- About a month in my case that is featured in the newsletter. Then the day or two before, post signs at the elevators reminding them. On the day of event: posting a new sign on the elevators. It is a lot of work, but we have a very active group of people --about 370. This is independent Living too.

To answer your question, yes, we do have a vote to see what programs to offer. The way it works is we have a program meeting once a month. All residents are invited and then we sit down at a table and discuss who we want for the birthday party next month and where we want to go for a trip. Also, we discuss any fundraising ideas-- we try to do one a month. And then any new groups, programs and whether to keep the existing programs or not. Also the most important part of this meeting is that if we plan on doing a new program, I ask for volunteers to do things. If there are no volunteers, then we don't do it. We will try to find people to help us before the next month's meeting. My job is to prepare an agenda to pass out, to include a calendar of the future month's events already scheduled and to include ideas on what to do and where to go. Since we like to keep to a routine, I know that if June is coming up, I will include a bake sale, in December, we will go and look at Christmas Lights. We just vary it all a little bit. In November, we usually have a Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner. This year, we are inviting the fire department and police department to share with us so that we can give them thanks for all they do.

No, I don't have an assistant-- but there are times when I would love one! I do however, use my residents as volunteers and a couple have become my assistants! This is the most wonderful thing I can think of. One lady loves doing activities, so she runs all of the exercise programs (videotapes) and movies. She was an electrical engineer in China and loves all kinds of electronics and computer stuff. She is also very helpful when other residents need help in the computer room. The president of the Residents' Council comes to my aid a lot when I have parties or trips that I can't attend. She takes charge and runs everything. I know I am unique because I work in Independent Living and therefore, most of my residents are very capable and independent and are able to do most things themselves! I would not be able to do my job without them!