Recharging Retirees in Retirement Communities

As the activities director at my retirement community , it is very important that the new residents and older residents have a program to get to know one another. As I mentioned in my Welcoming New Residents article , after new residents move into the community, they are treated to a special lunch so that this new “class of residents” is welcome onto our “campus.” That, along with a few other items done within the first few months of their arrival is key to their immediate socialization and happiness within the community. Please see the article to learn what else we do for our “newbies.” The next step is to introduce them to the community at large. I like to host a Getting to Know You Party once a year. We have 5 separate buildings on our campus. I usually invite two or three of the building at a time to the social. The pizza party has been the most popular so far. I ask the residents to sign up for the party, and charge them a minimum fee to cover the pizza. I order the pizza fro...

At my retirement community we have a theme party every other month. My next one is going to be a country club theme. We usually have these special events around the resident's dinner hour, so that they do not have to make a special trip to the club house before dinner. For the country club theme party , I am asking the residents to dress in their tennis and golf outfits. They love getting dressed for the party and the men really like it when it means that they do not have to wear a jacket into the dining room! Here are some ideas that I have for the evening. If you have any, please share them with us!! Use plaid to decorate the serving tables Use a tennis racket (with the head covered in plastic wrap) to serve cheese balls or other hors oeuvres on Make a country club style "crest" that represents our community and place it in a prominent place for the party Have a putting area for the residents to golf inside.  Get some used golf balls and craft items, and hav...

Here is a great article and two videos about seniors and exercise . The couple in the red shirts are from my community! We were very excited to be featured on the front page of the Life section of the USA Today this morning!!

Here is a news article about a few of my residents in action. This is a  reading program where volunteers go to the elementary school   and is a program that you can get started for the upcoming school year. It is a win-win situation for the residents, children, the teachers, and you! Guess that makes it a win-win-win-win situation!