Fundraising & Activities

Your Questions Answered: “I enjoy fundraising to pay for extra resident activity, but this often means time away from my residents which frustrates me. How can I do things differently?”

The Daily Sparkle’s lead trainer Helen Johns writes …

It is really great when a care home has a fundraising project, an event or a celebration day. While fundraising should not be the only source of income for the activity budget, it can be a great way to boost funds. Of course it is great for residents to be part of the event and enjoy the positive atmosphere too. However, the downside to hosting these types of events can be that the activity coordinator has to do all the preparation and planning alone which can take up an enormous amount of time, and sadly the regular activity programme suffers.

That said, there is way where we can use a project or event to maximise opportunities to get residents involved in meaningful activity, as part of the planning and preparation of the event, as well as on the day itself. This can be a successful experience for everyone to work together on something special. Let’s imagine how this could work for an event which is common to some care homes such as a Summer or Christmas Fayre.

The key is to start your planning and preparation very early, and use a step-by-step plan to give you sufficient time to get help. Once you have decided what the event is going to be and what stalls or features will you have on the day, then you can consider what you need to do in preparation.

Image: fote.com

From those features, consider how different residents can be involved at different stages.
These are examples I’ve heard from other homes.

As part of preparation residents could be involved in:

  • Creating posters to advertise the events and creating tickets.
  • Creating decorations (bunting, flags, themed decorations etc).
  • Making products to sell (simple handmade cards, cakes etc).
  • Practising singing to provide some entertainment on the day.
  • Attaching tickets to tombola prizes and folding tickets for the tombola drum/hat/bucket (something to draw tickets from).

Residents may need a little extra time and support to help with this, but the benefits of involving residents in the preparation cannot be underestimated. Use this time to generate a feeling of excitement for the upcoming event.

On the day of the event residents can be involved in:
(with the appropriate level of support)

  • Meeting and greeting visitors.
  • Selling raffle/tombola tickets.
  • Drawing out the raffle or other prize tickets.
  • Manning the refreshment stand and selling teas and coffees.
  • Providing entertainment (singing, playing instruments etc).
  • Setting up and clearing up tasks as appropriate. Many people want to feel useful and that they are helping out. Sometimes daily living tasks such as washing up can be a real help.

These are just some suggestions and I’m sure you will have lots more depending on your own projects/events. The key is to:

  • Take into account your residents’ preferences, experience, skills and current abilities.
  • Allow sufficient time for people to contribute without being rushed.
  • Help people feel part of the excitement and build up to the day no matter whether or how they contribute.

Of course, this approach can be used for any other event, such as a birthday party, an anniversary or a festival. Good luck and enjoy!