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Here are some ideas for volunteers:
Give manicures
Decorate for the holidays
Clean and organize
Organize paperwork (would require a confidentiality statement)
Call Bingo or lead exercise groups
Put up calendars
Ensure each room has a calendar (a good practice to do periodically- especially if you are expecting State Surveyors)
Organize bookshelves/ living spaces
Create & manage a Resident Garden

I have that problem too, though. Sometimes so many people come in at once that there isn't enough work to go around. What makes you say that none of your Residents want one on ones with the volunteers? Do you have to announce that it is a "one on one"? Just let a trustworthy volunteer wander around- I'm sure it won't be long before someone has him deep in conversation.

I may have worded that incorrectly!  I don't think it's that the residents don't want to do one to one's as much as it's that the students don't feel comfortable doing one to ones on their own.  Like I said, many of the volunteers coming to me are highschool students looking to get their mandatory 40 hours of volunteer work, so many of them don't have any work experience at all, and really need to be supervised.

Those are some really great ideas though, and I'll likely find out more about the potential volunteers when they come in on Friday. 

I'll keep you posted!

Very important that you split them up.  They should not be roaming around doing room visits in a pack. If three come for example, they should be set up to do three different things!

I'm with you songbird - just because a volunteer is young doesn't mean they're useless at all!  There are a lot of wonderful youth out there who do a great job of volunteering and have a passion for the elderly. A volunteer's age doesn't matter at all - there are going to be 26 year old volunteers who are terrible and 16 year old volunteers who are great! 

Sorry all, please ignore my previous comment about the language!  It was regarding a post made by someone using foul language, which has since been erased!

Have a great weekend!

Hi lo,

That is a super idea, but unfortunately we aren't lucky enough to have a computer in a common lounge  Hopefully within the next year we will have a space to run something like this but it is a fantastic idea!

Thanks!

I really feel like I've gotten more comfortable with managing volunteers!  Thank you so much for the suggestion of giving them a 'crutch' when I send them on visits, giving them something to fall back on, like a book of jokes or chicken soup stories to read to the resident in the event that anyone is feeling uncomfortable has been a great suggestion!  I've managed to pair up a young girl with a resident who is legally blind.  The volunteer has helped the resident complete and mail ALL of her Easter Cards (and that was about 20!!) and also walked over to the dollar store, something that resident hasn't been able to do in years, go get more cards.  It has been a beautiful pairing that the resident loves, and the student is really excited about too! 

Thank you everyone!

Hi cdnrectherapist,

Well, we are considered 'independent living', however we do have many residents who do need assistance. 

In this particular case, my resident has all of her faculties and is able bodied, aside from being legally blind.  So I just arranged for my volunteer to take her over to the dollar store a few blocks away, and she helped her choose her cards.  The resident paid for them herself, she is able to handle her own money, so it really wasn't an issue in this particular case. 

If a resident is unable to handle their own money, I discuss upcoming outings or events with the family in advance and get them money directly from the family, and I look after the resident and their money when the time comes.

I don't have any policies with regards to volunteers and money, but if anyone does that would be interesting to see!

Oh sorry, I misunderstood! I thought you meant the volunteer went by herself to pick out the cards.  Anyway, thanks for the info! :)

Dee, I am also relatively new to my AD position. I have completed my class. I have been doing this for about 3 months now. I love it. I am also looking for info on volunteers. I ran an ad in our local paper and got a few responses, however some showed up to volunteer a few times and haven't came back. Not sure on how to proceed with this program. I am really in need of a volunteer program. I have many of our local churches for church services. I would like your Ice cream in a bag idea and what is mad money. Thanks and best of luck. YOu can email me at msgirl44@yahoo.com

Hi Dee,

Congrats on your position!  You're going to love it once you get everything all figured out.  I have come a long way with my volunteers since I first posted this message.  I feel I am far more confident in recruiting, training and keeping volunteers.

I'm not sure about you, but I'm in Ontario Canada and students need 40 hours of volunteer work in order to graduate highschool, so I definately sent a flyer to local highschools looking for volunteers and I've gotten some pretty amazing students on board now.  They do everything from arts and crafts, friendly visits, nature walks, poetry corner and watering plants with the residents and bingo.  On slower days they organize the library or my activity storage locker (bless their little hearts). 

When I started here I had zero volunteers doing any sort of church services or pastoral care.  With lots of perseverance and phone calls, I now have one local church holding an interdenominational service alternating Sundays, a volunteer holding bible studies alternating Mondays, and another group of volunteers holding a hymn sing twice a month.  Mind you this took numerous phone calls, churches are stretched so thin as it is, it's hard for them to find more people to volunteer their time.  But I worked and worked at it and I am so proud of what I've done for my residents now

In terms of keeping volunteers, I've found I really have to stay in tune with them.  That means coming in every so often on the weekend to talk to church volunteers to let them know how much I appreciate what they are doing, and to ask them if there is anything I can do to help make their time volunteering more enjoyable.  I have to really get to know my students and make sure they are doing things they enjoy with the residents, so that they will keep coming back even after their hours have been completed. 

It is hard work getting a meaningful volunteer program off the ground, but once you do it's so rewarding to see how they can affect the residents, but also how the volunteer feels so rewarded.  I hope this has helped, and good luck!

I have a similar situation. I am at a 30 bed facility with only about a third of those being regularly active. We have several residents that are so hard of hearing or blind that they cannot socialize with even visitors that they know and some very very low functioning residents who only respond to the most basic contact. I keep busy in my job but not enough that I need constant help, and the things I could use help on are not things that I could get help on. Yet every single volunteer that calls is sent my way and I am forced to delegate to. I feel that not every person is cut out to volunteer in this environment and don't feel comforatable setting a complete stranger loose with the residents. However, I give ever person the benefit of the doubt and try to keep them busy. They usually have some fantasy about sweet old grandmas in rocking chairs and when it doesn't meet that they never come back. I even warn them upfront that its not what you expect but that they are making a difference in the residents day! I feel like the cnas could use help more than me but nobody wants to take the time to delegate to them. I am so grateful that people want to be kind and helpful by volunteering but I have gotten to the point where I dread having to work with another volunteer. But each time I will be there with a smile and maybe someday I will find the one that is really great!