Doing Something for the Elderly

[Jaxb]

I'm in Toastmasters and I'm working on a project where I have to lead a group of people to do something helpful for the community. I was thinking of going to a retirement home to help the elderly in some way. Can anyone here on this DB think of specific things that can be done to help the elderly in some way? I'm trying to brainstorm some ideas.

[Cow Poke]

Our community has 6 nursing homes. On the first Sunday of every month, we go to two of them. So, every quarter, we have visited all 6.

We have a Church service - singing and a Bible lesson - at each place, one at 2:30 in the afternoon, and one at 3:30 in the afternoon. We make it lively, because we've actually had some of them tell us "we call you the happy church - cause other churches come and do more of a funeral service".

We go the Friday before to hand out invitations (printing those now) that we distribute to the residents, letting them know we'll be there on Sunday.

What all of us notice (there are about 8-12 of us who regularly do this) is that even the ones who seem to be "absent" mentally -- when we sing the old hymns, their lips move, and their feet tap, and we actually seem some smiles, albeit it somewhat faint.

The Nursing homes we'll go to this Sunday - one of them is a Lutheran retirement home of sorts - assisted living - their people are a bit more "with it" (please don't take that the wrong way) and they really get into our singing and Bible lesson (somewhat of a Sermon, but less formal) - they're the ones who call us "the Happy Church".


As an aside, when I first got to my present Church 4 years ago, we had a woman who "led the music", and our songs were SLOOOOoooooowwwww and draggy. I asked our Church Council, "does anybody else think it's strange that we do livelier music at the nursing home than we do in our own Church on Sunday Morning?" We've pepped things up quite a bit since then.

Keep in mind - if you take food or snacks to the nursing home, some of them are on restricted diets, or can't have certain food items.

It's always best to stop in and talk to the administrator or staff and just ask, "I'd like to help out, but I don't want to be in the way -- what can I do?"

[Cow Poke]

Again, depending on the nursing home -- some are more like palliative care, and others are more like adult living centers - get to know which is which. In some, the residents are barely cognizant that you're there (but don't sell them short, like I said - when we sing the old hymns, they seem to "snap to" somewhat) and some are senior adults who just need minimal assistance in "assisted living", with their own apartments on grounds, etc.

[Jaxb]

Our community has 6 nursing homes. On the first Sunday of every month, we go to two of them. So, every quarter, we have visited all 6.

We have a Church service - singing and a Bible lesson - at each place, one at 2:30 in the afternoon, and one at 3:30 in the afternoon. We make it lively, because we've actually had some of them tell us "we call you the happy church - cause other churches come and do more of a funeral service".

We go the Friday before to hand out invitations (printing those now) that we distribute to the residents, letting them know we'll be there on Sunday.

What all of us notice (there are about 8-12 of us who regularly do this) is that even the ones who seem to be "absent" mentally -- when we sing the old hymns, their lips move, and their feet tap, and we actually seem some smiles, albeit it somewhat faint.

The Nursing homes we'll go to this Sunday - one of them is a Lutheran retirement home of sorts - assisted living - their people are a bit more "with it" (please don't take that the wrong way) and they really get into our singing and Bible lesson (somewhat of a Sermon, but less formal) - they're the ones who call us "the Happy Church".


As an aside, when I first got to my present Church 4 years ago, we had a woman who "led the music", and our songs were SLOOOOoooooowwwww and draggy. I asked our Church Council, "does anybody else think it's strange that we do livelier music at the nursing home than we do in our own Church on Sunday Morning?" We've pepped things up quite a bit since then.

Keep in mind - if you take food or snacks to the nursing home, some of them are on restricted diets, or can't have certain food items.

It's always best to stop in and talk to the administrator or staff and just ask, "I'd like to help out, but I don't want to be in the way -- what can I do?"

That is a great idea. Having a church service at a nursing home or retirement center is a worthwhile activity. It is edifying. Everyone needs to hear the gospel.

[Cow Poke]

That is a great idea. Having a church service at a nursing home or retirement center is a worthwhile activity. It is edifying. Everyone needs to hear the gospel.

I always try to make the gospel as inclusive as I can without compromising.... I'm careful not to be "too Baptist", for example.