No Wine-ing – It’s a new year!

As I sit here to do what I enjoy – write about being an Activities Director, I find myself whining that I’m too busy. I’ve worked Monday through Saturday so far, and will be going in today for a few hours. I am looking forward to presenting a community favorite again this holiday season, a student harp recital, but, the truth is I have house work to do, shopping to get done, and this article. It’s whining, and I know it! Then it dawned on me that I had my subject for this article….. Wine-ing!

The community where I work has had a “no alcohol in the common areas” policy since the doors opened. Just recently, we’ve opened a wine section in our main dining room and have allowed residents to bring their beverage of choice into the private dining room, which is assigned to private parties.  A staff representative however, cannot provide alcohol to a community event still. For example, for themed activities such as an Evening in Paris or Oktoberfest, I have provided non-alcoholic beer and wines. The residents seem to enjoy them and those who would prefer the real thing usually make a joke about it and have a good laugh with me, or bring their own to the wine section in the dining room.

Recently, I had a new resident come to me and ask about providing a wine tasting program for the community. I hesitated a bit at first, but then remembered what I say to everyone about my job…. I am there to facilitate the resident’s recreational wishes. After checking with my supervisor, I returned to the resident and told him that he could host his event. I reminded him of our company’s policy and told him that if he was the lead-person from start to finish for this activity that it would be feasible.  I told him that I would put it on the community calendar and advertise it on all the communications formats in the community.  I also told him that I would provide the cheese and crackers for his event. His job was to secure the private dining room, collect the money involved, provide the wine and any other supplies that he would need, such as handouts, for his program. He agreed and he now has a full list of people interested and most of the money is in his hands.

I share this story with you because it would have been just as easy for me to whine and say I can’t participate in this activity because there is wine involved – but I found a way to say YES, a way to meet the resident in the middle.  It also was a way to add another activity onto my calendar, a way to permit a resident to get involved and share his talents with the community, and a way for residents to learn from someone they may or may not know in the community.  I have found that resident run programs like this are usually pretty successful. I encourage you to get to know your residents. Listen when they offer to host a program. Interview them as you would an outside, paid guest and book them if it seems right. (You know the price will be.) Once you do this a few times, you might have other residents in the community step forward to share their passion.  It is a win-win situation.  CHEERS to a great new year with new activities on your calendar!

p.s. If you are permitted to host a wine tasting activity in your community, you might be interested in this how-to host a wine tasting party article from Real Simple magazine.

Happy Holidays? YES!

Happy Holidays? Yes! Here are some quick pointers for inspiration during this hectic month:

Have a plan, but be willing to stray from it

Adjust your attitude. Take a deep breath, put on your best face and enjoy every day – even in December

Personify your best Elf! Work efficiently, and ask for help when you need it

Put something new on your calendar this month…. And each month after that

You can get it all done and if you don’t, most of the time, no one but you knows the difference, so relax

Honor your community’s traditions, but throw in a twist with either a new activity or decoration

Organize this year! When you pack away the decorations, toss what you can, label what you keep

Look for free special events to add to your calendar this season…. And each month after that

Identify local programs that residents enjoy attending and take them there

Dare to push the limit this year……for the holiday season and each month after that

Adventure outside your comfort zone. Use the internet to find inspiration

You selected this career for a reason. Take time to remember and let that drive you

Spend the last bit of money in your budget for the year. Chances are you won’t see your budget raised by the difference you saved next year

"YOU CAN DO IT! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!"

Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples is a game of comparisons and lots of laughs! In my retirement community, there has been a consistent group that has played Scattergories for the past few years, and they were starting to get a bit bored. As I mentioned in an earlier article about Scattergories, they went from playing once a week to every other week. This past year, they decided to take a break over the summer. When the volunteer leader came to me we spoke and decided to try to introduce another game.

I brought in Apples to Apples and we played for the first time this week. It was such a fun night. For those who've played before, you will see that I took the basics and added another step to the game in order to bring the group of 20 together. This is what I did:

• Set-up card tables with 4 chairs per table
• The RED cards were divided by the number of tables that we had full and each portion was placed onto the center of each card table
• Invited the group to come in and be seated at the tables. Most of them had heard that they were going to be in groups of 4, so they came prepared. Others accepted new faces at their table
• I asked the table to mix the cards up - face down, to create their draw pile
• I explained the goal of the game and showed them the difference of the cards
• I encouraged them to "talk-up" their card so that the "judge" would select it
• I directed each person to take 7 cards and put them into their hand like they would any other card game (fanned out so they could see the writing)
• I read the GREEN card to them and asked them to select the card in their had that best fit the Green card's definition and place it FACE DOWN on the table.
• I then asked them as a table to select the best card of the 4 that they would want to send to me - the “Judge" in this round.
• The reason I did it this way was because I wanted each person to play independently at their table by selecting their card without being influenced by the other cards being played - and that is the way the real game goes. 
• After the group selects the best card, the Judge goes to the tables, and gets the card that they want to play and then takes the 3 discarded cards from the round. I used the lid of the box to put those into and held onto the "winning card" from each team.
• I read the green card again to remind them of the word we were after and then the red answers from the group
• I encouraged them to convince me and then made my choice. 
• The winning team received the green card.
• Each person was told to take another card because you should always have 7 in your hand when the green card is introduced.
• I then went to the table next to the one I was sitting at, and asked for the person who wanted to be judge next.
• I sat in the seat of the person who got up and took their cards to be mine for the rest of the game.
• The rotation continued until all tables/teams served as the judge.
• We believe that without all of the explanation time, that when the group plays again they will be able to go around 3 times in the 1.5 hours that they stay for.

I did tell the group that if the table/team does not have someone who wants to be the judge that they can simply "pass" that job and we will move onto the next table/team. Also, if the job of judge is shared within a team, that is even better. 

You will find that there are people who step up and take the lead and others who will not. I did find one lady who wanted to always make the selection at the table and I did have to model the behavior again for her that it is a team decision. I would assume that the people who were sitting with her will not sit with her again if she continues that behavior, or that they don't want to make the decision and are fine with leaving it up to her. I'm not going to worry about it as I do feel it will work itself out.

This was a very fun night for those who attended. I hope that they will tell their friends and that we will have a bigger group next time. (Ps. This game could be played at individual tables as it is designed by the game company, but I choose to do it this way to unite the whole group together.)

Cruise Around the World

You probably have held a Cruise Night, a Cinco de Mayo, an Evening in Paris, Luau, Oktoberfest and other theme parties which were destination based. Those types of parties are all lots of fun and you might have done them time after time, with a twist, I 'm sure, with much success. The next time you sit down to plan such a theme party, stop thinking about them as separate events!

Recently, I started out planning a Cruise Night and then I switched it up to be Cruise Around the World Night. I used the basis of the cruise night theme for my decorations and then enhanced the decorations with items from different world-cruise ports of call. My favorite decoration out of my cruise box are peel an stick port holes that show the ocean outside. I put them around the walls of the lobby so that it looked like we were on-board the ship. I invited the residents to participate in the evening by dressing as if they were tourists, or locals from their favorite port of call. I had a few men dress up like the Captain of the ship, which was fun, and others who were their Hawaiian shirts, their t-shirt that they got for participating in a cruise ship's fitness program, and so on.

Resident participation could have been different if I had asked them to bring a memento from cruise destination to share, or if I had asked them in advance to share their favorite memories for our in-house t.v. station or monthly newsletter, prior to the actual theme party. These are ideas that you can use in your community or that I might use for another activity. I think it is a good, cheap way to start getting people in the proper mindset for the upcoming special event. In the past we have done pictures with the Captain and I dressed my Executive Director up as the Captain. I made a photo wall with the ships wheel, etc. See the Activities Director's store under the resources tab at the top of this page for items that you can use.

The food for my Cruise Around the World Night was in two parts. As some of you might recall, I host a reception prior to dinner in our main lobby first, have a special dinner menu in the dining rooms, followed by a show designed for the theme.  The reception food had three banquet tables, with two port-of-call's food and decor each on them. The decorations had to be accents to the tables because of the chaffing dishes and platters that we served from.

One table was Mexico and Italy. It was decorated with a red table skirt, a white table cloth and green sheer fabric for the "fluff." I used red, white, and green flowers and the leaning Tower of Pisa to enhance the Italian side of the table. The food that was served was bruschetta.  On the Mexican side, I used a pinata and a multi colored poncho to decorate, and the food was beef empanadas. The second table had Greek and Sweden on it. The table had a white skirt on it and white cloth. I used blue fabric for the "fluff" and some simple decorations. For the Greek side, I used plastic columns that you can find in cake decorating store, along with Greek props I bought from the store.The food was spanakopita. For the Swedish side, I used a fish statue and a brass mariner's telescope, that was part of our everyday nick-nacks in a wall unit in the Lobby. The food was, a community favorite, Swedish Meatballs. I also used yellow flowers on this table because it is part of their flag's colors. And the last table was French and Asian. The table was skirted in white and the overlay "fluff" was split since these two locations did not share a color of which I had enough fabric. For the French side, we used red on top and the Asian we used yellow. For the French side, I used a cut out of their flag and some other paper items that I found at the party store. I also accented it with a decorative figurine of a lady's bodice (idea being: fashion) and a decorative box with more fashion items on it. The food here was goat cheese flat bread. The Asian table had decorative umbrellas and red lanterns on it. The food was Pot Stickers.  Check out what else you can use for Asian decor and lots of other ports of call, including some that you might want to include that I did not. 

The meal inside the dining room was high end, as if they were at the captains dinner on board the ship. You could also carry the theme into the dining room buy offering a specialty entree from different ports of call. My culinary department did not go this route and as much as I was disappointed, the menu they served was first class and I ended up pleased with their effort.

The show that I had afterwards was unique. There is an entertainer in my area who creates a slide show presentation and plays the piano as the background music for the show. He speaks between each musical selection and tells you what you will be seeing and what you will be listening to. The show that he provided us was Around the World in 80 Ways. It included a cruise ship, along with other methods of transportation. It was like watching a set of mini-travelogues and listening to a great concert at the same time. The residents loved him. It is very important to have the right show on a theme night like this for the evening to be a success. Most of the time I select my theme nights in advance which gives me time to find just the right show. This particular program, I had the basic idea, Cruise Night, but when I learned about his show, changed it and called it Cruise Around the World. 

The entire event was a lot of work, because, instead of bringing one box of decorations down from storage, I found myself with a box for Cruise, French, Mexico, Italian, Asian, Greek, and boxes for all the silk flowers that I thought that I'd need. I encourage you to think out of the box and see what you can do when you mix and match your existing decorations and create a new theme night for your residents to enjoy!

Invest in Your Volunteers for Big Dividends

I love it when a resident is enthusiastic about providing an activity for the community! I will do just about anything that I can to support him or her, so that they can succeed. I am sure, that as the director of activities in your retirement community, you would too. I have residents running many different programs and have written about this in a past blog called Resident Run Programs for Success. 

This post is about one of the programs I started a few years ago with an introductory program one evening. The game is called Scattergories, and it is played in teams. When I introduced the game to the community, my goal was two parted. The first part was to show those in attendance how easy and fun it was to play the game. I explained to them that sometimes the people on your team will be able to offer something to the question being asked, and other times they will not. This was to encourage all participants involved by allowing them to be passive if they wanted to be and that it was alright.  The next thing that I wanted to share was how much fun it was to lead the program. It was my first time leading this activity, and I let the group know that. Yes, I played at home once, but not with a group of this size.  I shared this with them on purpose so that they can see that it was something any one of them could do.

After the evening was over, I spoke to a few of the residents who had attended the introduction of Scattergories to the community. I found someone who said he would give it a try.... and he has been the leader of the program ever since. He is also the "judge" and the score keeper.  The program was held once a week and then they switched to every other week. The first year they played 12 months a year. Afterwards, they have opted to stop for the summer.  Listen to your volunteer and they will tell you how often they feel they can lead the group and how often the group wants to meet.

My volunteer came to me last week and asked if there were any new questions for the game, because he felt that those who attend would appreciate them as the new season started. I did find some new questions on-line and he was thrilled. While we waited for them to print out, I talked to him about the success of the game in the community and thanked him for the time that he has put into the activity. I talked to him about introducing a new game to the community which is another group game that I thought would be fun. He said yes, and we have a plan to share Apples to Apples with the group on one of the next Scattergories nights. As before, I will be there to share it with the players and to show the volunteer how to lead it.... and then I am sure that it will be off and running. 

The lesson that I've learned is that a little bit of time on my part can pay big dividends when I set up the activity so that a resident volunteer can take on the program and run it like a pro!  What can you do in your community that would have a big pay-off like that!

p.s. There are different versions of Apples to Apples that I have put into my Activities Director's Store, under Games, on my blog that are worth looking at if you want religious concepts or a junior version.

Cat Gallery Brings Community Together

For years now, we honor the dogs in our retirement community with a dog show during the Dog Days of Summer. This annual event is a big hit and draws a large audience. But with every activity that I do, I ask myself how I can make it better. In the past, I wanted to showcase that we have just as many cat owners and allow them a chance to show their pride for their pet too but knew that a cat show would not really work well. This year, I learned that "Hug your Cat" day is June 4 this year so, I made that day the cat owner's special day in our community and though it is not as big as a show, it is something special for the cat lovers.

I've asked the residents to bring a picture of themselves with their cat to me. I will be making a display area to feature their photos and place it in our main lobby for a few key hours on "Hug Your Cat" day. I will decorate the table with their photos with cat items that I have and that residents have shared with me. I have one resident who has a written a poem and will display that as well.

The cat display is not as involved as a dog show, but already it has create conversations with resident cat owners and with cat owners and me (a dog and cat owner). I really do believe that even the simplest programs like this are essential for your community. One resident said to me the other day, that sometimes it is difficult to come up with new conversations when you see the same people all the time and that it was frustrating for her. I think when we, as activity directors, host any kind of special program, be them complex or simple, that it offers the community something new to talk about....... and happier residents.  What new program will you try next?

Rainbow Theme Party

In our retirement community we have 5 different buildings and people get to know those who live in their building pretty well. I'm always trying to find an idea that gives the residents in one building a reason to talk with a resident from another building. In the past I have held pizza socials and invited different buildings to come together and they were successful, and I have created special events for the same purpose. The Rainbow Theme Party is a new special event that I introduced to the community this summer. Here are the details, so that you can plan it for yourself.

 

First, let me tell you that my inspiration came from Pinterest. Please take a minute to see my board for Rainbows.  You will find food and decoration ideas that are very cool. (I did not get my inspiration from searching adult rainbow party on the Internet and I suggest you save the time and the embarrassment and skip that step. And no, this is not a gay theme party - but could be if you wanted it to be, I guess.)

 

We held a reception at 4:30 p.m. in our Club House Lobby. We find this is the best place and time as residents are coming a distance to go to the nearby dining room which opens soon after the party ends. Each building was assigned a color of the rainbow and residents were asked to wear their specific color. Yes, there are more colors than I have buildings, so I selected what I thought they would have in their closet and would make a statement when mixed together. Those who wore their building's color received a raffle ticket for a prize drawing later that night. (I actually gave everyone a raffle ticket, hoping that it would draw them to the Auditorium after dinner to see the show. I suggest not saying that is what you will do ahead of time in order to get the most people dressing in their color.) Most of the people dressed in their colors and some got crazy with it. It was easy and fun for them to get into!

 

The Lobby was decorated with a rainbow balloon arch and it was the centerpiece of the evening! (I hired a professional for this.) This party was full of color. I made balloon bouquets that had one of each of the building’s colors in the bunch and placed them around the Lobby. The tables were covered with rainbow table covers, and the food was as close to picture perfect as the ones I have on Pinterest. (Suggestion: show your culinary department the ideas well in advance to determine what is do-able for them.) Make sure to look at the Activities Director's Store  to get a lot more supplies for your party (candy, clothing, decorations, etc.) I did buy rainbow bowties for the waiters/waitress to wear that evening.

 

For the entertainment, I found a performer who I've worked with in the past and told her the idea for the night. She sang songs with colors in their titles or lyrics as well as the most famous, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." She loved the concept of the party and shared that feeling during her show, which really helped to sell it. It was a hit.

 

This sounds very basic, but I honestly feel that sometimes you do not have to go all out, spend a ton of money, and bust your buns to make elaborate events to have the residents enjoy the special events that you create!

Source: Uploaded by user via Recharging Retirees on Pinterest

 

Summer Fitness for Seniors

Summer is almost here and that means it is time to bring back a summer class that our residents really enjoy. In my retirement community, I have a fitness instructor who creates the fitness elements of our monthly calendar. I am lucky in that respect, as the demands of the residents for fitness programs continues to increase all the time. It is a full time job to come up with programs that keep residents inspired and active.

The class that we revive each summer is water aerobics. The instructor teaches it from the pool deck, but it can also be taught from within the pool. Movements for students in this class are similar to those done on land, but provides a stress free environment, thanks to the water. If you don't have an instructor on staff, and are not budgeted to hire someone, you may consider teaching the class yourself. If you are like me, I love having a reason to get out of the office and interact with the residents.... and to think I would be working out also is an extra plus. Here is a video that I found on the web that explains how to teach water aerobics. I also found a DVD that is specific to senior adults.

Part of the pool class that is taught in my community includes the use of water weights. There are many benefits to strength training in the water. There is a cost involved in purchasing the weights and a consideration on where they will be stored when they are not in use, but it is well worth the investment.

Of course, when you think about the pool you probably think about swimming. Do you think that it is good for seniors, over the age of 60 or not? Well, studies show that it is! This is a hard "class" to lead, so I suggest that you and/or your fitness professional, remind the residents in your community of the benefits. You might add it to your calendar as a specific time to swim laps if your pool is designed to handle multiple swimmers. Our pool is not, and most of our lap swimmers have organized themselves to permit each other space to swim in the early morning hours.

Something new that we are considering is relaxation in the water. I know that it does not sound like anything, but as you would read in the previous link, relaxing is key in healing a person's body as well as their mind. Read all about and let me know if it sounds worthwhile to you or maybe your retirement community is already incorporating this into your existing fitness program.

And lastly, the newest craze, is performing yoga in the pool! Residents have been doing chair aerobics for awhile now, and the class is very well attended. I wonder if they would be willing to put their swim suits on and come to the pool to try yoga in the pool?  I did find an instructional video on water yoga that I found interesting on YouTube. If you want to own your own DVD, here is one that is available on Water Yoga. 

We also have a Tai Chi class that is held inside and done using chairs. Movements are done from a seated position as well as standing. This class can also be taken into the pool. Check this video out as another option for your calendar.

Remember that a good fitness and activities program includes something for everyone! What new summer exercise class will you try this summer?

Staff and Resident Social

As CCRCs work towards a more social model instead of the medical model, we see the need for changing the mindset of employees and residents. The concept of a universal worker or a what ever your community might call the position, leaves those just entering this new world wondering how it will work out.

The community where I work is taking big steps towards creating neighborhoods and staff being crossed trained, especially in the medical/health center and assisted living section of our community. I work in the independent living section of the CCRC and these concepts are slowly coming to my part of town. 

One of the best things that I have done so far towards this initiative is to have a Getting to Know You Reception for staff and residents. The hardest part of the event was to encourage the staff to stay for the party. Once the executive director told the department heads that they should schedule their staff to be there and to keep them on the clock for it, it seemed to help a lot. 

I set the event for Friday at 4:30 p.m. because I thought that during the week, staff might have family obligations to attend to with their children and because 4:30 p.m. is like our "happy hour" before the residents go into the dining room. Next time, I will ask the managers what their staff would prefer instead of making that assumption.

I promoted it strongly as a chance to get to know the staff when they were not rushing off to work. Even during the event, I found myself encouraging the residents to go to the staff members because I knew that due to language barriers and the nature of our particular set of staff members, they were not going to take the lead to mix.

The hour event went like this: I had 2 tables with 2 staff members at each. They provided name tags for those who came to the event and provided each person with their own question for the party. They were told to ask their question to as many people as they could by saying, "Hello, Jim, my name is Martha, and my question is...." We explained that after they asked their question and heard the answer that they should ask the person for their question if it is not offered right away. There were about 30 different questions, copied multiple times, available to be used as conversation starters.

I found the questions in a book called Getting to Know You. It did take time to read through them and select questions that would 1) inspire conversation 2) be something that both staff and residents could relate to and 3) feel comfortable answering. There are other books for mixers that would be helpful for this kind of event also that can be found in my Resources for Activities Directors section of my blog.

If you rather not take the time to read and select appropriate questions, feel free to take a look at the ones that I typed up. They can be found on-line.

This was so fun and interesting. It did require a lot of repetition as the directions were retold over and over, but that was alright. It also did require our staff to come out of their comfort zones a little bit, but that too was alright. Giving them permission to be the guests at the party was hard for some and at times they were reminded to mingle with the residents, not just stand with each other. 

This event, I believe, lays a good foundation for the success of our home-like, community, neighborhood community that we are striving to be. In order for this social model to work, we must know the residents who we serve, and they must know us, the employee - as people! Not as workers or as residents, but as humans, with strengths, weaknesses, talents, interests, etc.  It was not a hard event to do, but I believe it

will have big rewards in the future. Get your management on board, and then go for it.

Burn-out or New Beginning?

After 25 years working with seniors in CCRCs in activities, there are days when I think, "what else can I do for a job?" and then there are days where I know I am in the right place. I think, no matter what the job is, after while everyone feels a bit burned out, but it is what you do next that matters the most.

To be perfectly honest, for me there are a few things that I do when I am feeling burned out as the activities director in my independent living retirement community. Some of these ideas may work for you, and some may not. Here is what I do, in no particular order, and not necessarily each time that I feel I want to quit.

• Admit that I am have a feeling of burn-out. It's the way I feel. I own it and move on. I don't push it under the carpet or to the back of my mind. I try to address it and grow from it.
• Should I stay or should I go? If I am not sure, I start looking for another job. Somehow I feel that if the next job opportunity was out there for me, then I would have to get serious about taking the next step. Also, I believe that if I don't find my next job that it was a sign that I should stay where I am. There is a good feeling knowing that I have taken a step, by looking for another job, to determine if quiting is the right decision for me or not.  I always have a choice.
• I talk with other professionals in my field. I am lucky enough to have two co-workers in "sister-communities" who go through similar issues in their community. We remind each other of the positives of the job, offer each other solutions to problems, and encourage each other to step up our game, so we don't get bored. Find someone who you can relate with on a professional level. Look at on-line community groups such as Yahoo's AD Community, Activity Chat, or on FaceBook the Recharging Retirees Page. Of course there are actual groups who meet on a regular basis in your area too.
• A new challenge, a new twist on an old activity or theme event, a totally new addition to the calendar, etc. means that you are learning and growing. Don't let yourself get bored or stuck in your comfort zone. You are the leader, and though the residents may not think they want to try something different, if you are confident in presenting something new, and they have developed a good foundation of trust with you, they will give it a try too. How cool is that! When you grow, they benefit. How can you feel burn-out when you are growing and providing new experiences to those you serve? You can't!
• I think to myself that if I am not happy in my work, that the residents that I served probably are, or will become, unhappy with me and my work too. If I can not give the community something to get excited about at least once a month, then it is not fair to them. Holding onto my job as activities director just to have a paycheck affects the residents negatively and that is shameful. When I think like that, I press myself to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.
• Don't be afraid to try something new. I've arranged outings and programs in the community that I feel will be popular with the residents, and they are not. I say to myself, and to the residents, "you don't know until you try," and with that attitude, the residents appreciate the effort, creativity, and the bravery that it takes to present it to them. It is a learning opportunity and from some residents and/or staff, I get "props" for trying. Not a failure really.

"To fight fear, act. To increase fear - wait, put off postpone." Motivational Writer and Coach, David Joseph Schwartz

• Take a day off. Make a long weekend by taking Friday, Monday or both off if you can. Take a real vacation and find inspiration, or just get away from the office to recharge yourself.
• Get new ideas by opening yourself up to what is around you. What is your city doing? What is the local school doing? Is there a special event at the mall or the casino in your area? Did you hear about a unique entertainer while reading the newspaper? What have you seen on the Internet or TV? When you go through all of these (and many more) ask your self these questions: Would this be of interest my community's residents? And, how can I make this work in my community? Where there is a will, there is a way. It may not fit in right away, but somewhere down the line, it might. (For me, I love the ideas of having food trucks come to us, but so far, it has not been of interest to the food trucks because we don't have a large enough population to make it worth their while financially.... and at this point, we have not opened our property up to the outside community...... but sooner or later, I'll come up with something good and it will be worth the wait for everyone involved.)
• I have learned to say NO when I need to to protect myself from taking on to much. I usually feel it necessary to  provide a good explanation with my no..... (IE doing things right, well, timely, successfully, etc)
• I have started to ask for help from residents and staff. As a one person department, (which is a positive for me), this is difficult for me, but an area that I am working on..... personal growth. It helps reduce burn out for me and gives others join in providing something fun and positive to the community (which, I think is the main positive of the job of activities director!)
• I evaluate my home-life. Are there stressors that I'm bringing into work with me? Am I getting enough sleep?
• I recall all the positive reasons why I selected my job, my profession, in the first place.
• I spend time with a resident who I really enjoy. It is personal and valuable to me.

I hope these thoughts help you when you need them. It takes a special person to work in this field. Some say it is a calling. All I know is today, in this minute, I can not think of another job, at another place, that I'd rather be. I am thankful...... not burned-out.

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally." Journalist, David Frost

Volunteer Appreciation MINT Theme

I found an idea for my volunteer appreciation luncheon on Pinterest. When I saw this bag of mints, I knew that I could build an entire program around this theme and that the residents in my retirement community would love it. As you probably already know, Volunteer Appreciation week is April 21 - 27 this year (2013). Here are my thoughts for the celebration:.

The easiest part of the day will be the menu. There are so many different ways that you can incorporate mint into your menu without going overboard. I have a meeting next week with my culinary department to finalize our menu, but I'm sure that whatever you and your department come up will be just as good. I will post what we settle on afterwards and hope that if you use this theme that you too will return to the site and share what you did for the menu and the rest of the afternoon.

For the tables, my plan is to create a over sized mint for the center of each of the tables that will be used for this annual appreciation lunch.  I am thinking about an Andes mint or a red and white hard candy mint utilizing this process that I saw on Pinterest. My husband also thought that these floral arrangements would be good, but I think that I will save them for another occasion.  I will also place an assortment of the mints in a gift bag at each person place setting. 

The most creative part of the day will be the speech that I will give to the residents. Each year I try to do something different so that they know I care and really do appreciate them as volunteers enough to put some work into their appreciation luncheon program. I've written about some of the other ideas on this blog and encourage you to read those articles too.

This year, I wrote a speech that changed the words ending in "ment" to MINT. Words like commitment, fulfillment, acknowledgement and lots more. To see if there were any words that I didn't have on my list that might work into my speech, I went on-line and found this website.. .... morewords.com  Next, I will be creating a pictionary type presentation to show as I speak to the volunteers. An example would be, the word "judgement." It would have a picture of a judge and then a picture of a mint. I have selected 3 different kinds of mints so that they do not see the same ending over and over again. And, I am only doing the pictionary part of this for a handful of the words.... otherwise, I think it would be a bit overwhelming to follow what is being said.

I have shared my volunteer appreciation speech on-line. When you read it you will be able to see all the words that I've changed. You will also note that I put a few key words in the speech that are important in my community. They might not make sense to you and should be edited. The idea here is that I wanted to share is the use of the words and the ideas of thanking retired seniors who choose to volunteer in their community. Take those ideas and build on them with feelings that come from your heart and the value you know they provide to your community. You will have an awesome speech and leave the residents in amazeMINT of what you've put together for them.

Remember, please come back and share your ideas with everyone..... it takes a minute and it feels good to share knowing that you will help another professional and in turn make more seniors happy.

p.s. If you scroll down, under the mints is a slide show of some of the items I will order and put into the gift bag. Click on a picture for more information from Amazon. 

Your Theme Nights

I've written about a few unique theme parties that I have hosted in my retirement community in the past on this website. I was wondering what your most unique event was. Please post it in the comments below and give a brief description of what you did that was special! Also, make sure that you type in themes in the  search box to see all the different articles.

Lifelong Learning Lessons

At the beginning of the year, I posted the question, "what contribution to your community's calendar are you the most proud of in 2012?" One of the options was "add a new educational program" and it was not selected once. I was very surprised and it made me think to share some of the ways that I have added more educational opportunities to my retirement community's activity calendar. 

First, when I think about education and what would appeal to the independent living residents in my community, the subjects are varied and endless. Some of the topics off the top of my head are Art Appreciation, Crafts, Dance, Drawing, Picture Matting and Framing, Music Appreciation, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Theater, Environmental, Self-Improvement, Cooking, Sports, History, Current Events, Literature, Foreign Language, Digital Photo, Social Networking, Computers, Nature, Scrapbooking, Jewelry Making, Health and Wellness and more.

The benefits of participating in educational programs are great for the resident. Learning in their own community relieves the resident of  the pressure associated with attending a real class and they find like-minded residents who share a common interest with them. They can explore unfamiliar subjects, broaden their horizons, and feel more alive as they learn new concepts.

As the activities director, it is my job to provide these educational opportunities to the residents. There are two different was that I do this. The first is that when there are programs of interest happening in the city where we live, I get the details, promote the event and provide a bus for the interested residents to attend.  The other way to provide this type of program is to host an educational program in your own community. 

Some of the places that you will find educational opportunities, also know as life long learning, continuing education, or adult education are to take your residents to or to contact about coming to your community are:

• Libraries
• Places of Worship (Churches/ Temples)
• College and Universities
• Individual Professionals
• Parks and Recreation Department

You should be on the mailing lists for these places so that you can see what is offered. Then you are able to do the research necessary to find the professor, speaker, or presenter yourself.

With the colleges and universities, you can send the resident to attend a paid course, find out if there are free classes that they can sit in on (usually available after the paying students have sign up), or do your homework and hire the same professor to come to your community. Bringing the professor to your community usually means looking for their contact information from the catalogue the school provides for their lifelong learning course or seeking them on-line.

You might also find subject of interest to your residents on-line. Be careful that you are not bringing a business into your community whose intention is to sell your residents a product or service. One of the sites that I found helpful is USA.Gov  It takes a bit of your time to read through and find what might be of interest for you, but it would be worth it.  Another good source of programs that you could bring to your community are from Road Scholar (which use to be Elderhostel). These are DVD programs that you would buy and have in your community forever. 

Speaking? Face Your Fears!

A few years ago, my company started at Toastmasers club in our retirement community for any staff member who wanted to participate. As the activities director in the community, I am one of the people who is regularly on stage introducing programs and talking in front of groups of residents. I thought,  why do I need to join this program? Well, the answer was not far from the surface, once I took a good look at myself. “Because, I can be better!”

If you are like me, it is not a problem to introduce a speaker, entertainer, or to speak to “my” residents… or even to a group of fellow staff members. I use to be fearful when my boss was in the audience, but that is not the case anymore. When I asked myself the question, “Why join Toastmasters?” I realized that I am not be comfortable in other settings except the one inside my community’s four walls. I also felt that I had another weakness that could be reduced from joining the group, and that was to be sociable in situations where I was not the leader.

Toastmasters has a section of their meetings where members are asked to speak on their feet, called Table Topics. I found that this section of the meeting to be very helpful to me, because there are many times when I feel that unless I speak to the residents about a recent activity, their health, family or community issues, that I am uncomfortable in carrying on a worthwhile conversation. And of course, in a social setting outside of work, it is the same thing.

As you start the new year, I ask you, how can you step your game up? Have you taken a look at yourself honestly and found an area where you are uncomfortable or possibly even afraid? Those are areas within you that you can address this year! I’m sure you are great already – but in 2013, you can be better! For me, I will continue to work on my public speaking and one-one exchanges, along with other things. What will it be for you?

Joining the ToastMasters club at work has been an awesome opportunity for my personal and professional growth. Here are some free resources from ToastMasters that I found on-line. Also, take a look into the Resources for Activities Directors  tab at the top of my blog for some books on becoming a better speaker, which are available through Amazon.

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic. - Unknown

Fun Extras

It is the first day of the year and I am thinking about work on my day off. Shows you how much I love my job as activities director.... or some would say, how I "need to get out more!".... anyway, I am always looking for new inspiration for an activity and I found, again, a few websites that show us unique days  or themes for the month.

I like Holiday Insights.com a lot because when you click on the link, it gives you information about the special day. I think if you have the background information, it helps you promote the idea of the program to your residents. Some of these ideas inspired me as I reviewed them this time, because I've been trying to find a way to get resident's names and quick facts of interest out to the community, either through the monthly newsletter or our in-house TV channel. I believe that when they see their name, or that of their friends, that they will read or watch with greater interest. Another cute site that I like to get ideas for unique days to celebrate is brownielocks.com

And here is one that is food related: http://www.tfdutch.com/foodh.htm

The ideas that I got from the sites include:

• 2/17 - Random Acts of Kindness Day - Promote the day in advance, as for submissions from residents re: who did what kindness for them/what they did for others. Promote results on TV and/or newsletter.
• 6/4- Hug a Cat Day (June is Adopt a Cat Month) - Take pictures of residents holding their cats in advance and share them with the community..... Lobby wall display or TV channel (monthly newsletter costs per photo, so that is not a good option for me.)
• 8/13 - Left Hander's Day...... Ask the month before and list their names in the monthly newsletter as a "space filler" along side the information about the development of Left Hander's Day
• 9/8 - Grandparents Day - This might be a big list... so be careful what you ask for on this one.
• 9/21 - World Gratitude Day - Promote the day in advance, as for submissions from residents what they are thankful for, and promote the results on TV and/or newsletter.
• 10/7 - World Smile Day - Take random pictures of residents with great smiles - but just of their smiles, post them in the Lobby. Assign each photo a number and have a contest to see who can determine the most correct identifications of each smile. A prize can be an item with a yellow smiley face on it.... those are easy gift items to find
• 11/16 - Button Day - Ask residents to wear items with lots of buttons.....the most buttons is the winner, or maybe they have a large button that they never get to wear, encourage them to add it to their outfit. (ie. "Birthday Boy," or "Kiss Me, I'm Irish.")  It could be very funny. Or, make craft items with buttons and have them for sale by your craft group as a fund raiser for the craft group or your favorite charity. See my Pinterest page for some more pictures of crafts with buttons.

Source: Uploaded by user via Recharging Retirees on Pinterest

So there you have it, a few bits of inspiration. I hope they make you think of ways that you can add something fresh and simple to your calendar. Set your plan in motion now. These are fun add-ons to a calendar and newsletter that tends to be predictable at times.  If you don't follow through this year, there is always next year, and no one will know if you did them or not since they are fun extras! 

If you have any ideas that are along these lines, "fun, extras," please take a minute to post them in the comment section below so that we can all benefit from one another.