It seems that every year between Memorial Day and the 4th of July we are always looking for new patriotic activities for our programs. Usually, we end up with some sort of trivia game or a new way to glue an American flag together. This year, we found a really engaging activity that you can do in a large or small group, or even one-to-one.
The activity is writing a letter to soldier who does not receive very much mail, to let them know how much their sacrifice is appreciated. How do we know which soldiers don’t receive much mail? Well, there is a program called Any Soldier where soldiers who do receive a lot of mail volunteer to help pass mail out to those who don’t hear from back home very much.
There is nothing more engaging for some of our folks that we care for than this idea. Many of our men served in the military in their youth and many of our women had husbands or sons serve as well. And, when you tell your residents or members you are writing to a soldier who does not receive any other mail, you can really create a meaningful, dignified activity for them.
Part of our job as activity directors is to ensure that our residents can maintain a sense that they can interact with the world outside of the facility. Also, this is an activity where our resident, who is is usually the one being cared for, gets to reverse the role and support someone else. While I’m sure these letters will help our soldiers overseas, writing and sending them can also improve those we care for in our facilities.
This is an activity you might do with your men’s group, or with a single resident if you think they would really enjoy it. You can also open up a large group activity if you have a lot of people with dementia and write the letter as a group. This way, everyone can participate without having to articulate an entire letter. You may want to ask the group to take their picture and send it with the letter. And, of course, please have everyone sign their own name to the letter.
You can find all the information for sending a letter at www.anysoldier.com. One word of caution, when you address your letter, you must address it to a real soldier and put “Attn: Any Soldier” on the second line. The USPS will not deliver a letter if the only person on the envelope is “Any Soldier.” You may also want to put your letter in a second envelope, underneath the official one, that way when it is received it might appear more special to the troop.
- Justin Zarb, ADPC
