Volunteer your time to bring joy to the elderly

 

Ron Smith Care Centre residents making gingerbread men. 

Rand Aid’s Ron Smith Care Centre (RSCC) is in need of volunteers who enjoy spending time with older people and can spare a few hours a week to spread some love and joy amongst the residents.

RSCC offers loving and quality care to 160 elderly and frail residents in pleasant surroundings, enhanced by flowers, trees, gardens and a dam with birdlife. There is also a specialised dementia unit for people living with Alzheimer’s disease.

The care centre is the second home in South Africa to qualify as a registered Eden Alternative home. As a member of the Eden register, RSCC is committed to an approach which puts the person benefitting from the care, first. The caregivers aim to create a warm, vibrant, life-affirming care environment, where each person matters and everyone has an opportunity for personal growth and to participate in activities which bring meaning, joy and fun to their lives, regardless of their age or abilities.

The care centre’s volunteers play a huge role in helping to create this life-affirming, caring environment and add significantly to the quality of life and general well-being of residents. 

“RSCC’s volunteer programme had to be put on hold as a result of Covid-19, but the recreation team has now regrouped and redesigned activities for our residents,” says Debbie Christen, Rand Aid’s manager of recreational programmes.

“Our walking programme, chair exercises, painting, arts and crafts, and music and dance groups are some of the activities that our residents really enjoy. Our baking activity, in which residents are given the opportunity to perform some of the steps in the recipe, with assistance, also brings much joy to our residents who love being able to bake again and taste something they have made. These are some of the activities in which volunteers can lend a hand,” she adds.

Sadly, due to a shortage of volunteers, RSCC has not been able to resume some of the activities that residents enjoyed in the past.

“At the moment, we are especially looking for musicians, singers and dancers who can come and perform for our residents, or lead sing-a-longs or musical groups.  Gardening, one-on-one friendly visits and sensory stimulation work with our residents living with dementia, are also activities in which volunteers can get involved,” says Debbie.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a volunteer at RSCC and freely giving of their love and time to RSCC’s residents is urged to contact Debbie Christen preferably by email: dchristen@randaid.co.za or phone (011) 882 6296.  Ron Smith Care Centre is located at 222 Modderfontein Road, Lyndhurst.