Issues on Aging/Services
to Seniors
It is within our Aging issue area that our partnerships and
student projects are most varied.
Students enrolled in a course that aligns itself with this issue area choose
from a range of sites and service projects to find a fit with their learning
goals and personal talents, values and interests. Inside this link is a list of our community
partner organizations that provide services, care or housing to senior citizens. Click on the organization name to learn more
about the organization and the specific projects that our students are engaged
in.
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by
volunteers, guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles
of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of
disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.
Service-Learning students work with
Students at Life Management work as Social Service Outreach
Assistants. In this role students assist
agency staff with activities that directly or indirectly serve the isolated,
home-bound elderly of
The Montclair Inn offers shared housing for seniors who
prefer not to live by themselves.
Residents have the privacy of their own bedrooms and share large common
living areas.
Students providing service at the Montclair Inn work as
Activities Coordinators. These students
organize, plan, and participate in activity programs with older adults. Some
ideas are: current event session, crafts, low impact aerobics, walking group,
musical activities, cooking/baking
demonstrations. Students providing
service here have a great deal of freedom to develop their own ideas for
activities and showcase their own particular talents, knowledge, values,
skills, and abilities. Spanish speaking
students have tutored small groups of residents in conversational Spanish,
while others with musical talents have performed at the Montclair Inn.
Montclair State University’s
Center for Health and Wellness
The University
Health and
Van Dyk Manor
Van Dyk Manor is a private family owned and operated skilled
nursing home providing residents with dignity and respect for over forty
years. Van Dyk Manor provides 24-hour
nursing care, and to ensure that residents receive the attention they deserve,
our staffing levels exceed those required by the state.
Students providing service at Van Dyk have the option to
choose one of four different roles: Dining Assistant, Friendly Visitor, Group
Leader/Activities Assistant, or Social Services Assistant.
Dining Assistants
assist chair-bound residents to and from the elevator and the dining hall. Once
at the dining hall, students join the residents at their tables to help
stimulate conversation between the residents. Their responsibility is mainly to
socialize with the residents during mealtimes.
Friendly Visitors
host one-on-one and small group informal meetings with residents each week.
This project is similar to ‘adopt-a-grandparent’ programs at other senior care facilities,
as it is essentially a relationship-building activity, where students and
residents are encouraged to share their talents, knowledge, values, skill and
abilities. This differs from other
‘adopt-a-grandparent’ programs because the students do not always meet with the
same resident each week they visit, as many Van Dyk residents are affected by
Alzheimer’s and dementia, which means that residents are occasionally unwell
during the student’s scheduled visiting hours.
Group
Leader/Activities Assistants assist in facilitating group activities and
periodically lead group activities independently. Common activities include
crafts, music appreciation, current events, games, oral history, sing-along,
and sensory stimulation.
Social Services
Assistants assist in collecting data for resident profiles, quality of life
assessments via structured interview forms, reviewing residents’ rights and
living wills and light office work and various tasks as deemed necessary by the
social worker.
Together, the
nation's more than 2,500 YMCAs are the largest not-for-profit community service
organizations in
Students providing service at YMCA of Montclair choose
between two roles: Activities Assistant
and Activities Assistant for Aquatic Programs.
Activities Assistants
participate in exercise and activity programs for older adults. They also
observe fitness classes and interview seniors.
Activity Assistants
for Aquatic Programs participate with older adults in the YMCA’s aquatic
exercise programs.
