{"id":3453,"date":"2016-03-14T08:15:47","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T12:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/?p=3453"},"modified":"2026-01-15T19:23:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T00:23:44","slug":"10-tips-for-a-volunteer-program-at-your-nursing-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/10-tips-for-a-volunteer-program-at-your-nursing-facility\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Tips for a Volunteer Program at Your Nursing Facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"volunteer<\/p>\n

April is National Volunteer Month! Volunteer support is so crucial for nursing facilities. Here are a few ways from notjustbingo to get your nursing facility\u2019s volunteer program up and running:<\/p>\n

Get Recommendations.<\/strong> Require that all your student volunteers bring with them a recommendation from their guidance counselor. This helps to filter\u00a0out the volunteers that may not be right for your facility.<\/p>\n

Recruit Family Members.<\/strong> Family members of your residents (both kids and adults) can be some of the best volunteers at your facility. They actually want to be there \u2013 not just to receive community service hours. Also, they tend to more dependable, as they have a vested interest in providing great activities.<\/p>\n

Send Out Birthday Cards.<\/strong> Record the birthdays of your volunteers so that you can make and send them birthday cards<\/strong><\/a> each year. This actually accomplishes two things: it shows them how much you care about them, and it also reminds them that you can still use their help.<\/p>\n

Recruit Residents.<\/strong> Ask your helpful residents to assist around your facility. For example, start a Plant Club, in which residents water the indoor plants<\/strong><\/a>, or create an Administrative Club, in which residents help your sales team stuffs envelopes.<\/p>\n

Start a Match Program.<\/strong> Match individual volunteers with individual residents that share the same interests. For instance, match a volunteer who likes word puzzles<\/a><\/strong> with your resident who likes to do crossword puzzles<\/strong><\/a>. If your volunteers feel a special connection to one or two residents, they are more likely to come back and renew that connection.<\/p>\n

Recruit the Kids of Staff.<\/strong> Start a summertime volunteer program featuring the kids of your employees\u00a0\u2013 who will more than likely be on their best behavior with mom or dad around.<\/p>\n

Fill Out Applications On-Site.<\/strong> Encourage your volunteer applicants to fill out the applications at your facility, so that you or your front desk staff can get an insider\u2019s look at how they interact with the residents while there. If possible, take them on a tour so that you can get a feeling as to whether they will be a good fit for your community.<\/p>\n

Advertise in Retirement Communities.<\/strong> Try to recruit adult volunteers who may have more time on their hands to help out when you are at your facility.<\/p>\n

Advertise at Local Churches\/Synagogues.<\/strong> You may be able to find more people who want to volunteer for personal satisfaction rather than as a requirement if you target populations who see the personal value of community service.<\/p>\n

Say Thank You.<\/strong> Remember, your volunteers do not have to help you \u2013 they want to help you! Be sure to say thank you with an annual appreciation lunch during April for National Volunteer Month.<\/p>\n

\"volunteer<\/p>\n

Find more ideas from Notjustbingo\u00a0on the S&S blog here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

About Not Just Bingo:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"senior<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Not Just Bingo<\/a>\u00a0is an online resource of fun, senior activity ideas for activity professionals of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. They have been providing fun activity ideas online since 2009, and continue to assist activity professionals across the country by creating meaningful and engaging activity ideas for their residents that go \u201cbeyond bingo.\u201d Not Just Bingo feels\u00a0privileged to help activity directors better the living experiences of their residents while demonstrating that a senior\u2019s quality of life can actually\u00a0improve<\/em>\u00a0when they move to a nursing facility!<\/p>\n

Want even more ideas each month? Visit\u00a0www.notjustbingo.com<\/a>\u00a0for how-to activity ideas, monthly newsletters, and daily holiday ideas. You can also sign up for the\u00a0Notjustbingo Membership<\/a>\u00a0to receive specialized activity ideas to keep your residents and staff engaged, active, and having fun!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April is National Volunteer Month! Volunteer support is so crucial for nursing facilities. Here are a few ways from notjustbingo to get your nursing facility\u2019s volunteer program up and running: Get Recommendations. Require that all your student volunteers bring with … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[224],"tags":[495,629,628,398,469,314,659,627],"yoast_head":"\n10 Tips for a Volunteer Program at Your Nursing Facility - S&S Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssww.com\/blog\/10-tips-for-a-volunteer-program-at-your-nursing-facility\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Tips for a Volunteer Program at Your Nursing Facility - S&S Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"April is National Volunteer Month! Volunteer support is so crucial for nursing facilities. Here are a few ways from notjustbingo to get your nursing facility\u2019s volunteer program up and running: Get Recommendations. 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