December at Ashford Hall

** WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS! **

See "Ashford Hall prize ideas" at https://www.meetup.com... (https://www.meetup.com/randomacts/files/) if you would like to bring a holiday gift or bingo prize.

Dear RAK volunteers:

The next Ashford Hall event will be December 5...can another holiday season really be bearing down on us again?

As always your presence is very valuable and during the holidays it is even more so. Seniors really enjoy visiting with us and when it comes to organizing the prizes and helping out with bingo, or lugging stuff out to Dave's car, singing with the Darlings, the more the merrier. We also realize that our volunteers come from all walks of life; among us are students, job-seekers, and so on. Not everyone can afford to buy prizes but all volunteers are welcome and valued.

On the other hand, if you WANT to bring something...after today's event, Lindsey said that we need just about everything for monthly prizes. I'll try to post a master list of typical gift items in the "Files" section, so check there if you need ideas.

The past few years we've provided each resident with a bag of holiday goodies---I don't know the current count but if memory serves, that's typically over 200 bags. We'll probably have a happy hour fundraiser to help finance that, so watch your emails and come join us if you can. Also, when December 5 arrives we will need MANY "elves" to deliver them. Last year, 59 RSVPed Yes, though I think we'd hoped for 75 or so (note: it's possible some "Maybe" RSVPs showed up as well, though for some arcane reason meetup stops showing the Maybes after the event ends).

Here are the pictures from years past.

2009:
https://www.meetup.com... (https://www.meetup.com/randomacts/calendar/11949088/?from=list&offset=0)

2008:
https://www.meetup.com... (https://www.meetup.com/randomacts/calendar/9139697/?from=list&offset=0)

2007:
https://www.meetup.com... (https://www.meetup.com/randomacts/photos/269174/2855984/)

(Only two photos in 2007...Dave bought his first digital camera just after that and has been irritating everybody with one ever since. BUT, if Santa ever audits you, you will have proof.)

Come on out and sing the Christmas music with Dave and the Darlings, visit with the seniors, mingle with your RAK buddies and join us for late lunch afterward if you can!

As always, thanks for all you do. It's a privilege to be associated with such a great group of volunteers!

Peace out,
Dave

BACKGROUND
Ashford Hall, a skilled nursing facility is designed to provide residents with the care and assistance needed to enjoy life. Volunteering at AH is unlike any other volunteer experience you have ever had. As a group, we enrich the lives of frail or isolated seniors and/or adults, through support and friendship, during friendly visits. We also provide music and Bingo game to the residents. This is a very kid friendly event. The residents love kids and dogs.
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NOTE ABOUT WHAT WE DO: We meet in the lobby. Then volunteers visit with residents in their rooms for a while, followed by a bingo game for them in the game room. Some volunteers also sing to the residents with Dave's Darlings. Volunteers fill prize bags and prepare snacks. We also sit at tables with the residents during bingo and help them mark their bingo cards and pick up their prizes for them if they win, plus get them snacks and drinks.
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NOTE TO THOSE WANTING TO BRING A DOG OR CAT: I checked with Debi at Ashford to find out what they require. Ashford Hall has to have copies of up to date shot records for them. Butch (big guy with baseball cap in wheelchair) or Nita can accept shot records. Of course, the dog should have the right temperament for visiting with residents.
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NOTE TO THOSE TAKING PHOTOS: Photography is welcome at Ashford Hall, and pictures of other volunteers, the facility, the prizes, and so on are totally acceptable. However, we need to remember to respect the privacy of the residents whom we are helping to serve. Please refrain from taking pictures of the clients, volunteers with residents, and so on. If you accidentally include someone, you can crop that person out or use programs such as photoshop or paint.net (free) to blur the face before posting to meetup, Facebook, or other sites. A how-to for blurring faces can be found in the Files section.
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OPTIONAL:
We usually go for lunch afterward, which is to say I don't remember ever not going. In September & October we went to Taco Cabana and had some good food on the patio; in November, the dogs' schedules didn't permit lunch afterward so we went to Danals. Let's see how many of our four-legged friends (and their owners) can join us and decide where we'd like to eat that day.
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If you enjoy this monthly event, you may also want to check out our similar monthly visit to a Cedar Hill Senior Center (next meetup is Saturday, Nov 13): https://www.meetup.com... (https://www.meetup.com/randomacts/calendar/15128704/?from=list&offset=0)