Friday, December 26, 2014

Don't be "DONE" in December!


This has been a heck of December as Activities Director at the retirement community where I work. This year I was more involved in the planning of the staff's holiday party than I have been in the past and I also escorted a group on a three-day trip at the beginning of the month. Between those two events and the usual Christmas chaos that takes place on the calendar, I fell behind very quickly. There were days when I came home and told my husband that I was done! Done, as in, not able to do one more thing! Done, as in, not interested in another December in my current job position. Just done!

Well, with a few good nights sleep, a paycheck that reflects all my hard work and lot of compliments from longtime residents and new to the community resident, I feel recharged. I have always been someone who has to learn lessons the hard way, and this month's experiences was no different. This is what I've learned this time.

I would be much happier in December if I would organize myself better and did not take a full week to decorate the community. I came to the realization that, even though I take a lot of pride in doing it, that I can no longer physically do it by myself. No one has ever expected me to do it alone. Staff and residents have always asked to help me. I have been selfish and kept it all to myself to do - with the exception of one tree, and with one resident's help, the past few years. I also believe that decorating the community is a gift to those who live in the community, and that they should not be putting their gift together..... so that is why I don't get more residents involved.

What I learned from working with the one resident is that I can bring out what I'd like to see on the tree and I can still put my own preference, style, etc. out into the community. After all, I am the one who buys all the decorations. I also have come to learn that I can"adjust" something if it is not the way I had envisioned it or that I might like it some one else way.

They say that if you have a goal that it is not really a goal until you have written it down or shared it with someone else. It makes you more accountable. So, I've written it down: I will share the job of decorating the community with my co-workers. And here is my simple plan. I will schedule one say at the beginning of December when everyone can help. I will have each area's decorations brought to that area - with only items that I'd like to use, and assign each person to an area. 

I really think that doing this will help our management team feel more united at this time of the year, and that together we will take pride in our community. It will be wonderful next year to be able to enjoy the holidays without as much stress. I can not wait until December next year!! I will be ready.
I encourage you to look at how you can lighten your load and make a plan. Then execute it!!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Thanksgiving Gratitude


An Activities Director’s Thanksgiving Gratitude
 

Thanksgiving is in the air! A time to give thanks and show your gratitude. Melody Beattie, Author of  Codependent No More said

 "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

As an activities director of 27 years, and the author of the Recharging Retirees blog for 3 years, I have so much to be thankful for. For those who have been in the field as long as I have, you know that there are good times and bad times - as there is with any profession. The quote from Melody Beattie speaks of unlocking the fullness of life. At first I thought that my profession allows me to do that for the residents…. Make their life fuller and to make their house more of a home. But then, I realized that it is my job that has allowed me to live a fuller life. Below are a few things that I am grateful for this Thanksgiving when it comes to my job as Activities Director.

  • This job is not a 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. kind of job. I appreciate those around me for understanding that I have to work on weekends, holidays, nights and for the Super Bowl.
  • A good company to work for
  • A great community of resident volunteers who create opportunities for others to enjoy
  • A network of local activity directors to borrow ideas and supplies from, and to share the work load at times with
  • The adventures, educational opportunities,and leisure experiences that I've been exposed to
  • The relationships that I've had with the residents and the lessons they've shared with me
  • The ability to find inspiration on-line. (On my blog there is a survey that asks where you get your inspiration from. The results are that most people find them on the Internet!) 
Here are a few websites, in no particular order, for which I am thankful for. I encourage you to click the links below and see what they are about. Each one has more to it than I could mention in the write-ups below. I hope they inspire you as they have at times when I needed it most!
  • The Activity Director's Office is a complete resource for Activity Directors. It has the best pages for monthly ideas I've seen on-line. Here is an example of their November information which features dates to celebrate, famous birthdays and more. It has been online for 10 years now!
  • Activity Directors Network includes links to many creative and supportive websites and offers a FREE monthly newsletter once you subscribe (no cost). There is also a chat forum  and Twitter page so you can connect with others who are experiencing the same issues you may be. And, if none of that gets you going at your current job, you can find a different job in the field at their job page.
  • Not Just Bingo is especially helpful for new activity professionals working with assisted living or nursing home/health center residents. There is a fee to become a member, but you can access a wealth of information as a non-member for free. 
  • Pinterest!! Check out Ideas for directors at retirement communities or find specific ideas about a theme party you have in mind... or might not have in mind yet. Plus soooo many more are on Pinterest! Just type in a keyword into the search box and see what others have to offer.
  • Easy Party Ideas and Games The link is for adult games, but you will see many different topics, such as holidays, decorations, etc. on this site also.
  • And of course, you can always Google for inspiration!
Being an Activities Director is something I am thankful for every day. Some would say it was my calling. As the holidays begin and the craziness of this awesome job elevates to another level, I encourage you to use the support resources offered above so that you can ride out the rough days.  I assume you care about your job, and the residents you serve. You want to be the best that you can be, that is why you are here reading this now! For that too, I am thankful.

"Do not get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time."  Galatians 6:9

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Decorations: Peel and Stick

A new statement  for Halloween in our Lobby


I found these in Target. They were easy to do and cover a lot of space!
Amazon has a bunch of these wall art stickers.There are some for Halloween and and other holidays and seasons.


Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Library Programs for Senior Adults



Let's go to the library! Boring you think? Maybe not these days! 

The retirement community where I work has a wonderful relationship with our city library. They provide us with a few programs to assist the residents get the books or other material they want from the library. Let me share with you what the library does for us first, and then I will share what the library does for the community that we are able to take part in.

Once a month, we have a speaker from the library come to the community and talk about books that he thinks that the residents will enjoy. He also brings books for the residents to check out if they want to. There is a system with the library and our community where residents can check-out the books from this once a month program, in addition to ordering them over the phone, or order them on-line. The books, no matter which way a resident requests them, are returned to our front desk when the resident is finished, and are picked up once a week by the library's representative. Books being ordered are also brought to the front desk on a weekly basis.

The library also has been a great resource for me as Activities Director. I've had a request for a certain movie or educational video series, and was not able to find it through other avenues. I simply email our community's representative and request it. He then brings it to me when he comes to the community to pick up or drop off books at our front desk. It's a great help and best of all, it is free!

The most exciting part of the library in my city is what they are doing for the city at large. On Sunday afternoons they are offering free concerts, speakers, and meet the author programs. The only things they ask of us is that we go online and reserve a spot for each person attending. They have made it very simple by putting the monthly calendar online. You just go to the event, click on it, and then add your information into the reservation request. I then print out each reservation and give it to the resident attending. 

I also have residents who want to go to the library and spend time there on their own. They want to be among the books, be in the quiet setting, do some research on their own, without having to use the Internet, which might be foreign to them, or for many other reasons. I've tried to schedule trips to the library for this kind of "activity," but seldom get the minimum number of participants necessary to get the bus to go from our community.  With the special programs mentioned above, I am now able to offer the resident who wants to go to the library a better opportunity of having enough people to go. Instead of going to the "show" they simple go to the library and do their own thing. It has been successful.  

While doing research for this article, I was surprised to see that other libraries are not offering programs like the one that is offered in my city. I did find one library who was written up and shares a video of their programs goals. It was in the Gwinnett Daily Post .  

I encourage you to check out the library's website in your community, if for no other reason than being able to borrow DVDs, CDs, etc. to help you do your job better. I also encourage you to go to the library and ask them if there is a way to get your residents more involved with the library. Maybe you invite them to come to your community and do a library card registration program, or a program on how to use the Internet to reserve a book, DVD or CD and then build from there.

Yes, my friend, it is time to go back to the library! Did I mention, it's all for FREE! Don't miss the bus on this one.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Tailgate Party!


Are you ready for some football?!?   Take "time-out" to read the how-to's and suggestions for this fun Tailgate Party that I hosted last week in my retirement community. In our community we host a pre-dinner party with appetizers, then the residents go into dinner and have a special meal based upon the theme of the theme of the evening, followed by a show in the auditorium after dinner, again based upon the theme. 

How-to's:

  • Tailgate food is a must. 5-layer taco dip, chips, mozzzerlla sticks, pigs in a blanket, deviled eggs, watermelon wedges, etc.
  • Serve food from football theme trays, bowls
  • Put drinks in coolers and serve them from there. (no bowl of punch here)
  • Decorate with pennants that are general in nature or NFL specific
  • Decorate with hanging football theme decorations
  • Decorate with Megaphones
  • Use a real truck if it will fit into your space to serve off of 
  • Decorations with footballs, referees, football players, etc
  • Buy themed paper goods 
  • Ask residents to wear their favorite team's apparel or colors 
  • For entertainment, host a team trivia game
  • Invite non-participants of the team trivia game to be the cheerleaders. Give them pom-poms and a team to cheer for.
  • Be the cheerleader's leader and stir the audience up after each right answer
Suggestions:
  • Plan earlier than the usual time frame for this kind of party if you are going to take it the next level of excitement. This might mean contacting a high school or college at the end of the school year and getting it lined up for the following school year, because this theme night works best in September.... the beginning of football season, and that is the start of school. 
  • Contact your local football teams. Start with the pros, then colleges, and then your area's high school.
  • Contact your local cheerleaders from the teams as listed above
  • Bring the football team's mascot
  • Once you know that a certain team is coming, encourage residents who don't have a team to support to wear that team's colors for the night
  • Offer the guests a meal if it is possible. You could invite them to eat with the residents so they can interact with each other. This would require pre-planning for success.
  • Offer the guests PUBLICITY for them being in your community.
  • If the guests are students, offer them community service hours if the students require them for graduation - and you are an eligible business (non-profit, etc.)
  • Show a good football movie if you'd rather instead of team trivia
  • Host this event before a football game that you take the community to or that you are going to watch on the big screen in your community (ie. the Super Bowl)
The Tailgating theme night was easy to do in its basic concept and the residents enjoyed it. They enjoyed dressing in their team's apparel. I watched as conversations were started over the jersey they had on with women who don't usually have much contact. It was a time of pride for some as they wore their college team's shirts. 

I did learn two lessons from this program. The first is what would be clear to understand as I shared the suggestions above: plan this in advance or you might end up with just the basics! And the other is if you are promoting a team trivia contest, it is better if you tell the community that it is not a sports trivia game. I never said that it was a general trivia game...but I never told them that it was not what they assumed it would be based upon the nature of the theme night..... football.

And for more inspiration, check out my board at Pinterest!

So there is the game plan. You are ready to "set-HIKE"!! Go get 'em team!!



Saturday, August 30, 2014

Wild West Night


As the weather cools off, it is a great time of the year to get WILD! Yes, this could mean a lot of different things to a creative person such as yourself.... a wild safari party, a wild night in Havana party, or maybe a WILD WEST party!

The residents at my independent living retirement community love this theme. It is one of those that I can repeat every few years and they look forward to it being the same - GREAT! This is what we do at my community:


  • Host the event outside. Usually by the pool where there is a large flat grass area right off of the sidewalks
  • Rent a large tent for the residents to sit under to dine
  • I found great balloon weights that I used on the tables for decorations. They were cowboy boots.
  • Erect 3 sided booths that our maintenance department made for these occasions (they come apart for easy storage)
  • Decorate the boots with western concepts....... the saloon, jail, post office, canteen, tack shop, etc. Make them personalized with your communities name in the titles if you can
  • These booths will house the food for your event. 
  • The balloon weights can also be used in front of the chaffing dish to hold the name of the food item inside
  • Create Wanted Posters  of staff members of your management team, or anyone else that your residents will recognize easily. For this you will need a few props - cowboy hats, toy guns, bandannas, toy handcuffs, etc. You will also need to be cleaver and come up with creative crimes to list for your wanted posters. (This is fun to do!)  I hung these signs inside the building to help encourage residents to walk outside...... some residents had not been to that side of our campus before.....
  • I brought in horses to have simply hang out. One year, we even found a woman who had a miniature that she uses in pet therapy! Residents were encouraged to come to the grazing area and have their pictures taken with the horse.
  • Of course, encourage the residents and the staff to wear their best western wear.
  • And if you or anyone you know has access to a western saddle or other tack, use it for decorations.
  • Get hay bales and put them around the tent. I used them to make sure no one tripped on the stakes of the tent
  • The organization I work for does not allow alcohol to be a party of any programs that we put on - but if yours does allow it... don't miss out on the Saloon. It could be a lot of fun.
  • Also, you might include a hay ride at this event.  
  • If you need more decoration ideas, please feel free to look at the Activities Director's Store I created on Amazon.

Well, there you have it Partner! "Happy Trails" to you and those you meet along the trails.


Tuesday, August 5, 2014

80-odd years of happy

Flamingo Fun Fosters Future Festivities!

The flamingo is a fun and interesting bird and one more reason to party!  Party you ask? Why not! It was about time that I hosted a dance in my retirement community and I usually create a theme for the dances in order to decorate and get the residents involved. Instead of doing the same old themes based around the holidays or seasons of the year, I created a Pink Flamingo Dance.


I asked the residents to dress in pink and almost everyone did! Of course, there was a man or two who declared that he did not own anything pink, but that was fine. I even suggested that they could dress like a flamingo if they wanted, which no one did, but a few people did wear their shirts with flamingos on them. 



I bought some great decorations through Amazon such as an inflatable 4ft flamingo to take photos with and pink flamingo floating coasters that I used as floats in our lobby's fountain. I put balloon weights and pink balloons in them for the reception that was held before dinner. I also use the floating beverage holders for the centerpieces of the tables at the dance.



In the picture above you will see me wearing a hat similar to one that I saw at Amazon. I happened to have been able to borrow mine from a resident who had some other pink flamingo items. This was actually one of the first programs where I had three different residents offer decor for the event. I really think that it helped having their items not only for the obvious reason of having more stuff to use, but because they were telling their friends that I was going to be using their stuff and it helped promote the event even more!


Sometimes my events are very elegant, sometimes they are really nice and sometimes they are more fun than they are stylish. This is one of those events where it is all about having fun. I could have gone crazy with all the pink things I saw at the store (cake serving stand, cups, etc.) but I made the focus really be on the flamingos. I also found flamingos in the garden section of Walmart. In order to make them stand up inside the Lobby, I went to the craft store and bought sheets of thick Styrofoam. I covered the Styrofoam with plastic that I found in the crafts store, which had a water print on it. 

I'm sure as activities directors, you can see that this activity can be modified for any kind of animal or trendy item. I have a resident who wants me to have a Rubber Ducky Party, and ask everyone to wear yellow and share their duckies. She happens to be a collector of rubbber duckies, but since I'm not sure that others have any, I've put it off - for now. What about doing something with Smilie Faces? Or a camouflage party during hunting season  (that one is for those of you who have that.... I'm in South Florida, and that is not a season we really recognize here.) Maybe frogs would be fun?  I think you understand where I'm going with this. It doesn't have to be about Flamingos. Pick what you see around you and take it to the next level by celebrating it in your own way. If it has never been done before, it makes it even better! I find that residents give a lot of credit for thinking outside the box and let you get away more if it is not perfect. Take a risk and try something new today. It will make you feel good and your residents will be thanking you.



Sunday, June 8, 2014

Smart-Phone Helps With Activities Director Job

In the retirement community where I work, and probably in yours, there is a "no personal cell phone during work" policy. Lately, of course, I see more and more fellow managers carrying their phones around and bringing them to meetings.

For me, as the Activities Director, I have found a few uses of my smart-phone that has helped me do my job better. Here is a quick list.

  1. Set a reminder so you will remember the weekly video(s) or other task that you need to set-up.
  2. Use the timer on the phone to go off when the video is over so you can be there as people leave and shut it off  (Great way to get their opinions about the show.)
  3. Use the timer to go off when you need to stop what you are doing (ie. working in your office) and go to the next task (ie. go to a meeting)
  4. Take photos of residents while they are with you on outings to promote your programs in the future. How cool would it be to have a file on your computer for outing pictures, so the next time you go to that location, you can use the pictures you took preciously to promote it. 
  5. While riding on the bus with the residents, I keep my eyes open for other outing options. Once I see something that looks interesting, I make a note of it on my phone, in the notes section. Sometimes I even will e-mail myself the idea right from the bus.
  6. Confirm that the bus driver has the proper directions to our outing by using the maps.
  7. And of course, staying in touch with the bus driver while on outings and being able to communicate to the contact person at the outing locations while in route.
  8. Email yourself when you think about something you need to take care of when you get back into the office. (This usually hits me when I am driving home and I recall what I forgot to do. And yes, I take care of the reminder at a red light!)
  9. And if you have free wi-fi in your community or unlimited data on your phone, you might want to listen to music that makes you happy at work. I plug my phone into my computer to keep it charged and then take the speaker plug from the back of the computer and plug it into my phone. It makes me happy and more likely to sit in the office and work. Try it
I'd love to hear if there are other ways that you use your phone to make your job as Activities Director more efficient! Please leave your ideas in the comment box below.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Royal Garden Party



Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"
~ Robin Williams
Every summer, The Queen hosts at least three Royal Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace, and one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Over 30,000 people attend. Garden parties have been held at Buckingham Palace since the 1860's, when Queen Victoria instituted what were known as 'breakfasts.'  Today, the Garden Parties have evolved into a way of rewarding and recognizing public service. They are attended by people from all walks of life. Here is a link to see a Royal Garden Party.


With this traditional special event in mind, and because I love flowers, I thought it was time to host a Royal Garden Party in my retirement community. Over the 16 years that I have worked for my company, I have accumulated many different types of silk flowers. I also have two wonderful "sister-communities" within a 10 minute drive from my community who use silk flowers for their decorations, and was able to borrow flowers and vases from them.


For this Royal Garden theme party, I suggested to the residents that they should wear floral attire. Many of them did. I had a few couples come as royalty also. They were very clever. I also ordered paper crowns and made them available for all the residents to wear. I wasn't sure if the men would put them on or not, but they did when I said they were unisex, and that we needed a King and/or Prince for the evening among all the Queens and/or Princess there. (There are other crown options and accessories in my Activities Director's Store.)


I happen to have a King's crown that came from my husband's work (don't ask) and used it as part of my decorations. I am not sure where they got it, but it looked a lot like this King's crown. I wanted to make it a centerpiece, so I shopped for an over sided pillow that looked royal and/ or would go with the floral theme. I knew what I wanted, but when I was shopping I did not find something that was as "special" as a king would use. I did find something that went with the theme and with the color of some of my flowers.  I set the King's crown on the pillow and then surrounded it with flowers.


Flowers were placed in the Lobby for the reception. Residents ate appetizers and found the crown of their choice at the party. They had a special dinner in the dining room - where the servers had on the crowns also. After dinner, I had a guest speaker in the Auditorium from our local botanical garden. He brought a visual presentation to showcase the beauty that is local to our area. I called this an arm-chair tour of the garden. I had a good audience and those who attended really enjoyed it. I never know how an evening show will be accepted when it is not pure entertainment (music, drama, etc.)

This was a very easy theme night to put together. I personally enjoyed creating the 25+ floral arrangements. I do know that if I had asked, there would have been resident volunteers who would have loved to make the arrangements also. If you need to, make sure to ask the residents to help you and as Robin Williams says, "Let's Party!"

                                                                            

Saturday, March 8, 2014

A Good Job

If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time,

because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure.
It transcends all barriers.
- Ed Sullivan

What is a “good job”? Sometimes looking good at your job is as easy as telling others that you are! No, I am not talking about bragging, because that is not my style. I am speaking about letting your actions speaking louder than your words, which then becomes the resident’s perception of you in your role as Activities Director. Let me share a few examples with you now.
  • If a resident asks you to provide a program, movie, outing, etc., when it is time to promote it, be sure to say that it is a resident requested program. This shows your community that you are open to suggestions and that you act on the suggestions given.  That tells the community that you are a good listener.
  •   Keep a log of entertainers who have performed at your community, and rate them so that you can accurately promote the program the next time (s)he returns with “back by popular demand.” This increases your credibility within the community and improves the overall quality of performers who will return to your stage. 
  •   Bring fresh ideas to the community as often as you can. These might be outings, games, theme events, etc. When they are complete – and hopefully successful, residents might complement you on the program. Say thank you and remind them that it was a team effort, if that is the case, or share with them where you got your inspiration from.  This tells your community that you work well as a team player and/or that you take pride in your work. 
  • Keep your office or work space neat – including the storage areas that only a few people see. This tells the community that you are organized.
  • Get your files and calendar organized so that you can respond to questions, requests, etc. in an accurate and timely manner. This tells the community that you are responsible for your department.

These are just a few examples. I am sure that you can add more to this list. Remember; give credit where credit is due, and realize that being neat and organized pay off in more ways than you think!

        
hat power there is in our service when our actions
line up with our mission, skills and joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher







Monday, February 3, 2014

Winter in Paradise Theme Party

The retirement community where I work is in South Florida. While other states have been experiencing terrible winter weather, we have been living in paradise, for the most part. I wanted to celebrate a South Florida winter day with the residents. I created a Winter in Paradise theme party to do just that. Here are the details.

Where: outside, at the pool by the lake.

What: Make s'mores over a fire pit and watch a movie. We saw The Butler.

When: After dinner

How:  Get the residents involved. I asked them to dress for the evening by wearing all white - to represent the snow that we don't have to endure, or as a "snow-bird" - sometimes refereed to as a "tacky tourist," or to mix their south Florida fashion with winter wear. For the last item, I was thinking someone might wear flip-flops with socks or a bathing suit with a scarf or jacket, but that did not happen. Even I took the easy way out and wore all white as did most of the people. It did look cool - pun intended.

The day of the event, Culinary served a special menu before the party. Items offered were Salmon Chowder, Winter Salad, Pork Wellington,Trout Almondine,Pot Roast,Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Maple Butternut Squash, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes,and Caramel Apple Pie.

The Maintenance department set up rows of chairs for the audience to watch the movie, and the table for the marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate, hot chocolate and ice water at the pool. Since the maintenance staff was not going to be there in the evening, I had them show me how to turn off the pool light, heater and filter. I wanted the equipment off so that residents would not be bothered by the noise they created, while watching the movie. I had the light in the pool off because I was putting white glow-in-the-dark balloons into the pool to dress it up a bit. I kept the decorations minimal because the idea was for the residents to enjoy the pool and lake setting, which is par for the south Florida lifestyle. I did add some white paper lanterns under the awning where the food was set up along, with a flower arrangement that said winter on. I also made a "snowman" that looked like he was made from beach sand.

The snowman was constructed with three large trash bags. For the filling I used newspaper for his head, because I was experimenting at home and had nothing else, shreds of paper from the shredded in the office, and packing peanuts for his body. I bought the textured spray paint from the home improvement store, and the other items - shells for his buttons, nose and smile, the hat and the sunglasses came from my store room. His arms were made with sticks from the yard.

The fire-pit was purchased and set up with a raiser so that residents did not have to bend down to cook their marshmallows. We also had long handled grill forks for residents to use for the marshmallows.  I did have two Culinary staff people with me to assist in the s'mores making. I was surprised at how many residents never made s'mores before!

Lessons Learned:  First, was the glow-in-the-dark balloons. Because I was putting a glow-stick in each balloon, I could not blow them up to far in advance. I do not have an electric balloon blower-upper, so we (I got help) blew them up ourselves. It was a lot of work, made us dizzy and then  the results were disappointing because it turned out that it never got dark enough to see them really glow on the water.  Next time, I would just use the helium tank to fill them the nigh before, let the helium property wear off and fall down, and then put them into the pool.

The other thing I would do differently is to have better lighting at the food table. It was hard for residents to see what they were getting and they could not see the flower decoration. I would also find a better way to showcase the flower decoration and use glass vases when going outside with the wind.

How can you showcase the beauty and/or the lifestyle that is unique to your area? Give it some thought, keep it simple and go for it!






Sunday, January 5, 2014

Resident's Activities Committee


Do you work with an Activities Committee in your retirement community? I do! It is a committee that is created through our Resident Board and serves to support me and to report to the community what  exactly is going on in the activities department. Most likely you will not have a say in who is on your committee, so how do you make the relationship work for everyone? Below are a few key points so you can be successful with your activities committee.

  • Get to know your chairman well. It will go a long way for you.
  • Get to know the residents on your committee. They will be the extension of your department in so many ways. What are their personal strengths and weaknesses? Interests? Abilities?
  • Remind the committee that they are your eyes and ears from the community for anything related to your department. The committee is not for sharing their personal wants, opinions, etc. unless they are supported by others in the community.
  • When meeting your committee for the first time, share with them how you plan your calendar - time frames, categories of activities, policies and procedures you work with and any thing else that would get your group on the same page you are on.
  • Have a monthly meeting with the committee that is scheduled in advance and run it professionally. Here is what I do in my meeting:
    • Review the activities that happened since our last meeting and get their feedback (including the evaluations of entertainers that I value immensely.)
    • Share the activities that will take place the following month
    • Create a handout for them to take away from the meeting that shows the upcoming programs that are being discussed.
    • Ask for the committees input on the following months activities
    • Discuss what volunteers are needed in the upcoming month to run the programs better
    • Ask for suggestions and comments about anything that has happened in the past month or that they want to see in the future.
  • Stay in good communication with your committee members.
  • Don't take them for granted
  • There will be people in the group who want to attend the meetings to get the scoop of what is coming up before the rest of the community - and who are not interested in volunteering in any other way..... just realize that and don't be upset when they won't take on any extra jobs.
  • There will be people in the group who will want to run the whole show. Remind them that they are on the committee to support your department.
  • There will be people in the group that will be interested in staying busy. Give them jobs to do,
  • No matter who the resident is on your activities committee and what they do for your department, it is important to THANK THEM OFTEN, not just at your annual volunteer appreciation events. (Here is another volunteer appreciation idea.)

We Treasure our Volunteers

Each year we host a Volunteer Appreciation lunch for the volunteers who serve in our retirement community. We look towards making this a ...