7 Ways to Give Back to the Senior Community
At Continyou Care, we have put together this list of 7 ways you can give back to the senior community. Most of these activities take very little time but could be very meaningful to a senior resident.
Invite a senior to dinner
Hosting a dinner for a senior in your life is an easy thing to that could create a lot of positive impact. Loneliness is a big problem for seniors and so more social events will is always a good thing. If they’re living on their own, they may be unable to make their favourite food, or they might not have anyone to share it with. So, try to find out what they like and make the meal something special!
Visit a senior home
You don’t even need to know anyone there. Social interaction is a fantastic tool in keeping seniors healthy and combating the loneliness epidemic. Most seniors are happy to chat and think of all the amazing stories you will hear from their childhood! Although many people visit senior homes around holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, some seniors can feel even more lonely after these events when the visits dry up. Try to visit when you can, and don’t worry about the dates.
Fundraise for a charity that helps seniors
Consider fundraising for a charity that helps seniors. Charities such as HelpAge Canada focuses on helping vulnerable and isolated seniors, with programmes such as the Reach Isolated Seniors Everywhere (RISE). This specific program aims to help reduce the number of seniors that report that they are lonely and don’t participate in any activities. If you’re fundraising for a local charity by doing a run, bake sale, garage sale, or any activity, consider one that supports seniors.
Help a senior get involved in the local community
Some seniors want to get involved in the local community, whether that be through groups, visits to the library or a hang-out at the local pub. Challenges they face is a lack of transportation or the technical skills to browse the internet for nearby activities in their neighbourhood. Help a senior out by discussing what they would like to do, checking out what is available and giving them a lift to an activity if they need it!
Help with a senior’s pet
A significant number of seniors have animals such as cats or dogs, and there has been plenty of positive research to show how helpful and beneficial having a pet is for one’s mental health. However, the physical aspect of having a pet can be a struggle for some seniors. Offer to take a dog out for a walk or to grooming appointments, or simply purchase the pet a new toy/treats.
Help a senior with their appointments
It can be a real cause of stress for seniors when they have medical appointments, and they struggle to find a way of attending them due to lack of mobility. Offering to drive a senior to their appointments can be a massive help, particularly in the winter. Some seniors even put off getting their haircut and other self-care activities because they have no way of getting to where they need to. Just letting a senior know that you are there for them if they need you can help take the stress of organizing appointments away.
Organize an event yourself
Do you have a great idea for an event, such as a games night, dance night or even a viewing party for a sports event? You can either organize this yourself with seniors you know, or you could contact your local care centre and see if they can help with transportation or costs. This really can be as simple as a few people watching their favourite hockey team, to the rental of a dance hall with an instructor! Either way, we’re sure you’ll put on an awesome event that seniors would thoroughly enjoy.
Continyou Care
Continyou Care is a one-stop technology platform for retirement homes. We have been partnering with both retirement and long-term care homes for many years now. Continyou Care’s fundamental existence has been centered around supporting homes and helping to improve the senior living experience.
Continyou Care’s core offering is a cloud-based, resident-centric tablet POS solution that efficiently streamlines a number of processes including meal services, census, menu cycle/resident profiles, meal tickets, billing and reports while centralizing resident information (like preferences and allergens).
We also offer complementary products like survey and digital signage that tie in well with the resident-centric POS. With this complete solution, we are able to supply senior homes all that is required to succeed and work efficiently in the technology era.