Monday

How to Help

A Brainstorm of Ways You Can Help Your Loved One at Home

· Regular Visitation
· Regular Phone Calls· Grocery Shopping
· Food Preparation
· Help with household chores
· Assist with mail/bills as needed
· Take out trash/recyclables, empty wastebaskets
· Water plants
· Mow the lawn, rake leaves, shovel snow
· Weed the garden
· Drop off/Pick up dry cleaning
· Fix small appliances/Handyman services
· Take the car for an oil change/gas/inspection
· Polish the silver
· Fill the birdfeeder (or provide one if there isn’t one!)
· Transportation to doctor’s appointments/social events/etc
· Cards/Notes from Children/Grandchildren
· Videotape Recorder w/videos of family, local & out of town
· Make computer literate for email, internet, games, correspondence
· Board Games
· Puzzles
· Organize a card or scrabble game w/friends
· Books & Books On Tape
· Create a music cassette of favorite/meaningful music
· Tape a church service if unable to attend and bring it home
· Send an audio letter if you live faraway
· Clip interesting articles from papers/magazines
· Organize family photos- create albums/collages/personalized calendars
· Create a scrapbook of memories “This is Your Life” and celebrate.
· Find any reason to celebrate something like “Happy Thursday!”
· Help write “The Book of My Life” for future generations
· Drop off magazines/periodicals/circulars of interest
· Take dictation of notes/letters and mail them
· Schedule your visit to watch a sporting event or video together
· Bring children to visit
· Bring pets to visit
· Call now and then with neighborhood gossip
· Take for a ride in the car
· Visit a zoo, park, mall, movie – wheelchairs are often provided
· Give a gift certificate for a manicure, facial, massage
· Give a gift certificate for long distance calling
· Create a coupon book as a gift with blanks for the fill-in of things you may not have considered
· Create a tradition of visiting at the same time each week to give something to look forward to
· Organize a social or church group to adopt seniors as secret pals and send cards, gifts, remembrances
· At gift-giving times, forgo the gifts and send a train/plane ticket to someone who wouldn’t normally be able to visit
· Set up a fish aquarium/bird cage and maintain
· Prepare a window garden
· Contact a local columnist to recognize the person for a special life achievement
· Help decorate for the holidays
· Create a visitation schedule/calendar so others know where the visitation gaps will be and plan accordingly (this is also a reminder how involved family and friends actually are)

· Have medical information handy so that visitors know what to do in case of emergency.

· Communicate with other family/friends/visitors when there is a need to be filled that comes up within the context of your visit.

· Stay alert, work together, support one another as a team would work together for the good of their mission. Help one another as needs arise so that you can continue giving to the issue(s) at hand.

· Take care of yourself.

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