I noticed in some of the earlier posts there seemed to be some confusion about volunteering at nursing homes. I have volunteered at a local nursing home for the past 6 years, and anyone can do it. You need no special training other than what the nursing home may give you on how to be a volunteer.
If you would like to volunteer, just go to the nursing home and ask. You probably cannot volunteer in the nursing department because they are involved in the day to day physical care of the residents. and you cannot feed or otherwise assist a resident physically without training. Instead, ask for the Activities Director. Activities departments are notoriously short handed and would love to have you. There is a wide variety of things going on and if you volunteer for a while, you will find which types of activities you like to do and which you don't.
You can visit the bed ridden, talk to them and read to them, etc. I don't do this, as I am just not good at it. You can assist in the daily activities such as sing alongs, crafts, cooking, bingo, etc. I call bingo once a week, and the staff loves it. It frees them up to finish up their paperwork, or help the residents with bingo. After bingo, I do an activity with the residents such as games, reminiscing or reading to them. You can do as little or as much as you want to. Some groups come in once a month, some individuals come in once or more a week for a few hours.
I am only at the nursing home for about 3 hours once a week, but the rest of the time, I make centerpieces for the dining room tables and other decorations for the dining room. I have gone on field trips to help push the residents in wheel chairs, and helped out at the annual Christmas and Halloween parties. There is such a wide variety of things you can do. If you cannot physically get to the nursing home or don't feel comfortable interacting with the residents, you can sew or craft decorations, lap robes, small items for bingo prizes, etc.
If you don't feel like making a weekly commitment or in addition to your weekly volunteering, and you have some area of expertise or an interesting hobby, volunteer to come in and give a talk. Show them how to make a flower arrangement, talk about fly fishing, tell them about local interesting sights. All you need are a few interesting props they can look at and perhaps hold or touch. They are not critical and will very much appreciate that you cared enough to come and spend some time with them. I have given talks on sea shells (I am no expert. I just happen to have a bunch and looked them up on the internet), brought in and shared various cloth dolls I have made. and shared a dozen women's hats from the first half of the 20th century that I have. I told them a little about each one and then let them try them on and look at themselves in a hand mirror. The staff took pictures and we had a great time. Almost anything you enjoy and are enthusiastic about can be shared. Even chickens. Just do it outside on a warm day. Showing them different breeds and letting them pet a chicken would be a big hit. It's also a chance for them to reminisce about having chickens when they were younger.
Wow! I didn't realize how much fun I have had volunteering until I wrote it out.
If you would like to volunteer, just go to the nursing home and ask. You probably cannot volunteer in the nursing department because they are involved in the day to day physical care of the residents. and you cannot feed or otherwise assist a resident physically without training. Instead, ask for the Activities Director. Activities departments are notoriously short handed and would love to have you. There is a wide variety of things going on and if you volunteer for a while, you will find which types of activities you like to do and which you don't.
You can visit the bed ridden, talk to them and read to them, etc. I don't do this, as I am just not good at it. You can assist in the daily activities such as sing alongs, crafts, cooking, bingo, etc. I call bingo once a week, and the staff loves it. It frees them up to finish up their paperwork, or help the residents with bingo. After bingo, I do an activity with the residents such as games, reminiscing or reading to them. You can do as little or as much as you want to. Some groups come in once a month, some individuals come in once or more a week for a few hours.
I am only at the nursing home for about 3 hours once a week, but the rest of the time, I make centerpieces for the dining room tables and other decorations for the dining room. I have gone on field trips to help push the residents in wheel chairs, and helped out at the annual Christmas and Halloween parties. There is such a wide variety of things you can do. If you cannot physically get to the nursing home or don't feel comfortable interacting with the residents, you can sew or craft decorations, lap robes, small items for bingo prizes, etc.
If you don't feel like making a weekly commitment or in addition to your weekly volunteering, and you have some area of expertise or an interesting hobby, volunteer to come in and give a talk. Show them how to make a flower arrangement, talk about fly fishing, tell them about local interesting sights. All you need are a few interesting props they can look at and perhaps hold or touch. They are not critical and will very much appreciate that you cared enough to come and spend some time with them. I have given talks on sea shells (I am no expert. I just happen to have a bunch and looked them up on the internet), brought in and shared various cloth dolls I have made. and shared a dozen women's hats from the first half of the 20th century that I have. I told them a little about each one and then let them try them on and look at themselves in a hand mirror. The staff took pictures and we had a great time. Almost anything you enjoy and are enthusiastic about can be shared. Even chickens. Just do it outside on a warm day. Showing them different breeds and letting them pet a chicken would be a big hit. It's also a chance for them to reminisce about having chickens when they were younger.
Wow! I didn't realize how much fun I have had volunteering until I wrote it out.
