The Holiday Project's Christmas Day AFTERNOON VISITS meeting at Grace Care Cypress

The Holiday Project's Christmas Day Visit
Sunday, December 25, 2016

Time: 12:30 pm - 2:30pm

Meeting Location to Form Teams:
Grace Care Center of Cypress
9602 Huffmeister Rd
Houston, Texas 77095
Contact Coordinators: Donna Martin, Veronica Martinez, Miriam Cooley

Questions - email Donna at: theholidayprojecthouston@yahoo.com

The Holiday Project - Volunteer Visits... on or near holidays to nursing homes and assisted living facilities....

Bring the Spirit of a Holiday to Those Who Otherwise Might Not Have a Celebration! Make a Difference!! Brighten someone’s holiday and help them know they have not been forgotten.

Volunteers always share that they are blessed through their visits.

All ages are invited to visit but an adult must accompany children throughout the visit.

Volunteers will visit as a team with the residents in community areas and room to room.

At Grace Care Center of Cypress, the central meeting location, the volunteers will divide off into teams, each team to visit one facility. (Though we use the term "team", we should mention that for liability reasons we can't encourage persons who don't know each other to ride together, so each person is responsible for their own transportation, both to the meeting place and the facility they will be visiting.)

The volunteers will be provided with addresses to their respective destinations and Christmas cards to pass out to the residents.

Time spent at the facilities will vary, but generally the visits last from about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the facility and other circumstances unique to the team and the facility. (Sometimes the staff on duty want us to visit in a communal area of the facility such as a recreation room or dining hall. Other times we are invited to do both a communal visit and then break into small clusters to visit room-to-room for those persons who don't get out of their rooms. Which of these approaches is used also affects the total length of time we spend at a particular facility.)

Goal: To brighten up the holiday by passing out handmade Christmas cards and visiting with the residents and rehab patients.

Upon arrival: Meet in Lobby at Grace Care Center of Cypress
Teams will be formed once everyone arrives to make sure we have enough teams for the facilities scheduled for visits.
In the note section of this need sign up, please add how many will be visiting.

Groups of 5 or more can contact Donna for a direct connection to a nursing home in your community

See detailed instructions for day of visit below....
Visit Policies:
1. Remember that you are in a medical facility. Be aware and be careful.
2. Do not assist a resident in moving from or to a wheelchair. Ask an employee to help.
3. Do not feed or offer food to residents unless directed by an employee.
4. When entering a resident’s room, always knock and introduce yourself as a volunteer. Ask permission before entering.
5. Stay with the group as you move through the facility.
6. Do not go into isolation rooms, those rooms will be marked with a sign to see staff before entering. If you are passing out cards please give staff cards for residents in isolation rooms.
7. Because of HIPAA Privacy Rules most facilities require a signed photo release for pictures of/with residents. Therefore no pictures of resident's faces are allowed on The Holiday Project visits. The best way to take a picture is taking the back of the resident and the faces of the volunteers. The experience can still be documented in a picture without the resident's face.
8. It is not required but volunteers can make handmade Christmas cards to pass out during the visit.
9. Have Fun! Together we CAN make a difference and REMEMBER...

"To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world!"
10. Any questions email Donna Martin at: theholidayprojecthouston@yahoo.com

Participant Notes:
Please ensure all members of your group are in good health for the visit. Thanks for sharing your time to brighten up Christmas Day for the residents in nursing homes!
We encourage you to send follow up pictures and/or stories, to Donna after your visit. Stories and pictures are always appreciated....email her at: theholidayprojecthouston@yahoo.com

To learn more about The Holiday Project go to www.holidayproject.org