Activity Suggestions & Tips Thank A Resident Day 2018 Activity Suggestions & Tips

Yoga, Pilates, Various Exercise Classes Team up with a local vendor and see if they would be willing to offer you their space or services for free. As a helpful prompt, you can offer to pass out their business information or any reading material at your activity If you cannot find a local vendor to offer their space or services, look for someone on campus who could guide the activity Nutritional Forum/Workshop

Social Gatherings Coffee & Donuts or Ice Cream Social Spaghetti Night Have a breakfast gathering or ice cream social where food is available for residents to grab and go or sit and socialize for a few minutes. Check with local vendors to see if they are willing to donate. National vendors to try: Krispy Kreme Please note: Dunkin Donuts & Starbucks very rarely participate in fundraisers or events. If you choose to go this route, it is best to go directly to the local establishment and ask to speak with an owner. Spaghetti Night As a GHHS Chapter, you could hold a spaghetti dinner for residents in a location on campus. If this is not possible, you could also bring the dinner to the residents to eat on a short break. Lunch/Dinner Gathering Request donations from national and local vendors for your event. You can also hold a fundraiser before Thank A Resident Day to raise funds for other activities. National vendors: Chipotle, Jamba Juice , Chili’s Tip: Chipotle is one of the best to try for either of these options.

Social Gatherings Book Club/Book Exchange Game Night/Quiz Night Have a book club/exchange activity! Ask residents to bring a book they enjoyed to exchange for another book. Ask each resident to include their contact information in the book. Perhaps they can discuss the book after they are finished reading it! Game Night/Quiz Night You can set up board games for groups to play, card games, etc. throughout the day. Consider bringing prizes to celebrate the winners. Tip: Check with local vendors to see if they would be willing to donate items, gift cards, money, etc. to use as prizes. Art Class Consider working with various group paint classes, such as Pinots Palette, to put on an art class for residents. Check with your local vendors. If you cannot find a local vendor, see if someone on campus would be willing to host. Group Craft Activity

Organize a Group Meetup Organize a group meetup off campus as a way for all those involved to socialize while participating in an activity Local museum Historical landmark Hike/walk/biking Gardening/plant trees or flowers at a local park or area Dog Therapy Therapy dogs in the workplace help reduce employee stress, improve recruitment, lower turnover, encourage healthier employees and foster better internal communication. Multiple organizations, both local and national, provide therapy dogs for small activities. (example: https://www.thedogalliance.org/ ) If you can not find an organization that works with therapy dog, explore local adoption agencies and humane societies that may have dogs available to bring in.

Stress Journaling Group session Individual journaling Writing out your thoughts can help reduce stress and process challenges. Group session Turn journaling into a group session. Pick a scheduled time to bring people together in a nice, comfortable, quiet place for resident to write. You could provide gifts of journals or ask everyone to bring a journal or notebook to write in. Consider providing colorful pens, markers, stickers, etc. Offer a prompt or a choice of prompts. Leave time for participants to share out loud, if they like. Individual journaling Give journals to residents in an effort to help reduce stress Consider adding a motivational quote on the first page as a prompt to start their writing process. Encourage residents to share their journaling later, if they like, by providing an email address or other way to submit their writings. Share the writings through an internal newsletter, bulletin board or other method.

If you have questions or would like additional guidance, please contact Jessica Pellettere at jpellettere@gold-foundation.org.