"Growing Old Is Not For Wimps!"
Assisted living facility needs your help!
I just found AidPage, and it is truly the answer to a prayer. I work with an assisted living facility in Georgia. For those who don't know, assisted living is for people who are not in need of the full scale support of a nursing home, but still need assistance with activities of daily living.
The problem is that this facility (like everybody else) is strapped for money. As activity director, it is my job to come up with activities that will stimulate people in their 80's and 90's -- and I have no budget for it. Right now, I am making less than $10/hour and working about 20 paid hours each week. This doesn't include the 30-40 hours I donate. I built the website free of charge. I am buying all the supplies, and paying for all the postage and copies out of my own pocket. Doing the math, you can already see that my limited funds are nearly exhausted.
There are currently 20 people in this home, and they need an activities program for so many reasons. Most people assume that activities will keep them from becoming bored, but its more than that. An activity program helps to keep these people in touch with the lives they had before growing old and keeps them from feeling isolated and useless. It puts them back into a community of like-minded individuals, instead of being "warehoused" and set aside.
Activities like bingo, scrabble, checkers, and cards help to support mental function and acuity. Exercise classes, including some greatly modified yoga and pilates moves, help to build and maintain muscle strength and core stability, along with improving heart and lung function, while promoting circulation. Earning small incentives and being able to enjoy little things like dinner at McDonald's continues their sense of independence and reminds them that some things are just plain fun.
That's probably far more than you want to know, but the point needs to be made. These people need this program, and it would only take a little bit of money to make it work. $1,500 would allow us to buy Arts and Crafts supplies, small Bingo tokens, books, a small cd player, personal items for indigent and low-income residents, and take them out or order in a meal for a special occasion.
A little help would go a long way, and I know it would be appreciated. Thanks for your consideration.
