We are expecting to be able to visit residents IN PERSON again this year! The Treasure Boxes we’ve done in recent years have been very much appreciated by the residents, so we will continue those as well. Our plan is for Treasure Boxes to be delivered to the nursing homes on Saturday, Sept. 10. Volunteers will also be able to sign up to visit a specific home in person on that day (in-person visit registration will open this summer).
Here is how you can help:
- Create and mail cards, letters, and artwork to us at 15431 O’Neal Rd. Suite B Gulfport, MS 39503; they need to be received by August 26th. If you are able to collect multiple items, call us and we can arrange a drop off point. These will be laminated and included in the Treasure Boxes.
- Volunteer to help us laminate the items we receive. We will host two separate days at our office for volunteers to help us fill out cards, color pictures, and laminate the items we receive. Contact us to sign up.
- Laminating Day 1: Tuesday August 23rd 9AM-1PM
- Laminating Day 2: Tuesday August 30th 9AM-1PM
- Purchase and decorate one of our Treasure Boxes and deliver to us by August 19th.
- Go to our Amazon Wish List: https://smile.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3E08ZHU5MXJLS/ref=cm_go_nav_hz , purchase items off the list and have them shipped directly to us to be received by August 26th.
- Consider having your business or organization adopt a facility and take on the task of completing and delivering the Treasure Box yourself. Monetary donations are welcome to aid in the purchase of items for the facilities. More info on Adoption can be found on the Sponsor Form.
- Volunteer to help us fill our Treasure Boxes at the Packing Party. Contact us to sign up.
- Saturday, Sept. 3rd 10-11AM at 14281 O’Neal Rd Gulfport, MS 39503 (Northwood Church)
- Volunteer to visit in person with residents at a specific facility on Saturday, Sept. 10th. Volunteers will spend one hour with residents, participating in games and activities. Registration for this will open this summer.
For more information call my office, 228-206-5902, or contact me through email (link to contact form).
Thanks,
Kathy Rogers
Dear Volunteer,
Due to the changes brought about by Covid-19, Adopt A Grandparent Day will be different this year. Understandably, volunteers we will not be allowed to enter facilities. However, with your help we hope to make a difference again this year.
Our plan is to deliver laminated cards, letters and drawings along with a decorated treasure box filled with requested items and prizes for bingo and other games to each facility.
Here is how you can help.
- Create and mail cards, letters and pictures to us at 15431 O’Neal Road, Suite B, Gulfport, MS 39503; they need to be received by August 21st. If you are able to collect multiple items, call us and we can arrange a drop off point. These will be laminated and distributed to facilities; they can be sanitized once laminated.
- Volunteer to help us laminate the items we receive. Contact us for more information.
- Purchase and decorate one of our specified “treasure boxes” and deliver to us to by August 21st.
- Go to our Amazon wish list, https://smile.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3E08ZHU5MXJLS/ref=cm_go_nav_hz, purchase items off our list and have them shipped directly to us to be received by August 21st. The list can also be found on our Facebook page and website.
- Consider having your business or organization adopt a facility and take on the task of completing and delivering the box yourself. Monetary donations are welcome to aid in purchase of items for the facilities.
- Volunteer to help us fill our treasure boxes and deliver them to the facilities on September 11th.
- Spread the word! We need your help to make a difference again this year.
For more information call my office, 228-206-5902, or contact me through email.
Thanks,
Kathy Rogers
Kathy Rogers of Rogers Insurance in Gulfport said her mother came to live with her in 2011 after suffering a stroke.
But when her mother fell in 2013, Rogers said they placed her in a nursing home for rehabilitation for 30 days. Rogers said it’s an experience she will never forget.
“I remember seeing my mom the next day, and she was crying — she said she thought we weren’t coming back for her,” Rogers said.
She said she and her family continued to visit her mother during her stay.
“My husband would go around the same time every day, and people would be waiting on him in the hall — just waiting to talk to him,” she said. “So many people in nursing homes don’t have families, and they get lonely and they just want someone to talk to.”
Rogers and her staff created Adopt A Grandparent Day as a way to bring some caring and attention to those in assisted-living and nursing care.
National Grandparents Day is celebrated the second Sunday in September.
“We decided to have Adopt A Grandparent Day on the second Saturday in September, and we are needing some volunteers for this Saturday, Sept. 10.”
Rogers said they started the program in 2014 with 3,230 volunteers and went to 18 nursing homes in Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties.
This year, she said, they are trying to almost double their visits.
“We are looking for 1,000 volunteers to spend an hour of their time visiting with people in nursing homes on Saturday,” Rogers said. “We are going to 32 facilities, and we have added George, Stone and Pearl River counties to our service area.”
Those interested in volunteering can complete a form at adoptagrandparentday.org.
“We need 1,000 volunteers this year,” she said. “We are going to visit at 10 a.m. and at 3 p.m., depending on what’s best for the nursing homes.”
The volunteer signup ends Thursday at noon.
Rogers said the whole family is welcome to participate.
“We encourage people to bring their children,” she said. “(Elders) love to visit with children.”
Source: Sun Herald (BY JEFF CLARK, jclark@sunherald.com)
This week, support a good cause while vying for a fun-filled “staycation” and make a new friend.
From 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, the Mental Health Association of South Mississippi will host its Don’t Worry Be Happy fundraiser at the Biloxi Civic Center.
The night will feature music by 3HG, a raffle of staycations, including a night’s stay and dinner at the Palace Casino, food tastings from local restaurants, auctions and more. Special guest Mark Landis, an artist who duplicates famous paintings, will be in attendance along with recipients of the 2016 Annette O’Keefe Humanitarian Award.
Admission tickets range from $30 to $50. Attendees must be at least 21 years old. Details: 864-6274.
On Saturday, the third annual Adopt-A-Grandparent program returns to South Mississippi. At either 10 a.m. or 3 p.m., volunteers will visit the elderly in the Coast’s nursing homes and senior-living residences. About 1,000 volunteers are being sought to participate in Adopt-A-Grandparent Day.
Interested volunteers can sign up at adoptgrandparentsday.org. Donations are also being accepted, which will help promote Adopt-A-Grandparent Day and buy gift items for seniors. To become a sponsor, contact Brenda Saucier at adoptgrandparentday@gmail.com or call 228-206-5902.
Source: Sun Herald(BY ALANDERIA WHITLOCK, awhitlock@sunherald.com)
BY KRISTIE LAL
klal@sunherald.com Twitter: Kristiewlal
July 28, 2015
Marston Rogers Group is looking for 500 volunteers to spend one hour with the elderly at local ursing homes Sept. 12.
“The premise of Adopt A Grandparent is for volunteers to give up one hour for one day to visit with the elderly in nursing homes and retirement facilities,” said Kathy Rogers, owner of Marston Rogers Group. “Our hope is that they will form relationships and go back on their own. However, we do not track if they go back or not.”
The National Center for Health Statistics says 50 percent of nursing home residents have no close relatives and 46 percent have no living children. Many seniors, particularly those in nursing homes, feel lonely and isolated.
In 2014, Marston Rogers Group set out to change the statistics by starting Adopt A Grandparent Day.
“Last year, we had 18 nursing homes and 326 volunteers from Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties participate; this year we expect even more participation,” Rogers said.
The second annual Adopt A Grandparent Day will take place the day before National Grandparents Day and volunteers will perform organized visits to the residents of nursing homes and senior living facilities across South Mississippi. The result is a day filled with smiles, fun and laughter.
“We are in the process of preparing for this year’s event; yesterday we visited the nursing homes who participated last year along with some new ones,” Rogers said. “All the feedback was positive and the staff is looking forward to our return this year.”
Marston Rogers Group handles all of the scheduling of the nursing homes and volunteers. Each nursing home has a planned time for their event and each volunteer signs up for a specific nursing home at their specific time.
“I was blessed with the opportunity to lead a team to Bay Cove for Adopt A Grandparent Day last year,” said Kate Lawler, Bay Cove team captain. “It was amazing to witness the joy of the residents when we showed up. They especially loved all the children.”
“You could tell that they really appreciated the time we spent joining them for the afternoon game of bingo and by the conversations that took place. On my way out, I ended up connecting with the wife of one of the residents who is a retired Air Force pilot and have actually returned to visit with them on several occasions. I will definitely be participating again this year.”
Volunteers will receive a free T-shirt and materials necessary for arts and crafts at each location.
For more information on Adopt a Grandparent Day or to volunteer for the event, visit www.adoptagrandparentday.org.
