Volunteering for the summer.

We usually have many university students come to CCNH to help with organized activities. When they are gone, we miss their assistance. We need to have some replacement people.

This is what our needs are:

Wednesday evening Bingo at 6:30 (except the first Wednesday which is Ice Cream Social)
Saturday afternoon Bingo at 2:00 (except the last Saturday when we have a movie)
Root Beer Floats at 6:30 the last Thursday of the month
Friday afternoon's large social gathering at 2:00 (games, parties and fun)
Nail painting, most Tuesday afternoons at 2:00

Each of these opportunities will last about one hour, or a bit longer for Bingo depending on how fast the cards get filled.

If you want to help, let me know. Our activity assistants will welcome you!

Jim
jhronek@co.champaign.il.us

The only true disability in life is a bad attitude.
Scott Hamilton

Veterans at CCNH:

There are about 16 vets who live at Champaign County Nursing Home. If you are a vet from WWII or Korea or the Vietnam era, let me know and we can set up a time for you to visit with one or more of our them. We have men and women who spend time in the U.S. Military.

Jim
693-5016

Now is the time for all good volunteers to come to the aid of CCNH!

Here is some background. When we moved into our new facility in 2007, the Champaign County Board decided that they did not want any landscaping on the property! They did not seem to care whether the residents had a decent view from the building other than the Juvenile Detention Center and the County Satellite Jail complex. Nothing at all. They didn't even plant quality grass. Their concern appears to have been the sheltering of our community's elders and not much more! Shameful.

I was ashamed to tell people that I worked here. So, I solicited money from local people, County Board Members, City Council Members, Doctors, Lawyers, Architects (you get the idea). I received zero donations to help beautify the property. Then, I asked the family members of our residents and I received thousands of dollars. 

I purchased many trees, bushes, flowers, etc. and got them planted around the building. Country Arbors planted most of the big trees and I did the rest. I spent more than $5,000 to help make the facility look better. I was criticized by Mike Scavatto, the person from St. Louis who was hired by the county board to operate the nursing home. He claimed that our priority should be the front door and the impression that visitors would get when they first approached. WRONG! 

I planted outside the windows, in the courtyards. I helped to create habitat for wildlife and I brought some beauty to the place. It is starting to look good.

This is the time of year that everything is growing on the grounds of CCNH. I need some help with the maintaining of what I have planted. I need assistance with the dividing, weeding, watering and all the things that come with keeping the place looking good. I have developed a troublesome shoulder and I cannot do it all on my own anymore.

PLEASE, help me. During the growing season, I need only an hour or two each week to keep up with things. The weather will play a big part in when this will occur. You come in as your schedule permits and the weather dictates. During the heat of summer, it might take only 30 minutes each week to check on things. Or, if it rains a lot, then the weeds will try to take over and more time will need to be done.

Send me an email. Call me. You will feel good about doing something to help the Champaign County Nursing Home residents feel that their facility looks like a home.

Jim

jhronek@co.champaign.il.us

217-693-5016

What’s in it for you?  It is the satisfaction that you had fun and brightened the day of one of our residents! If you have an idea that is different from what we usually do, let us know. We are always open to new ideas and suggestions. Group activities are encouraged.

Let me know, send an email: jhronek@co.champaign.il.us

Jim

We are each of us angels with only one wing, and can only fly embracing each other.

Titus Lucretius Carus

The overall goal of landscaping at Champaign County Nursing Home is to provide a feeling of home for its residents by providing appropriate landscape for beauty and as wildlife habitat. To achieve that goal, various plants, shrubs and tree have been installed on the property and they need to be maintained using good horticulture practices.

The education program’s goal is to have this person gain knowledge and skills in plant identification, plant and soil care, irrigation, transplanting and plant propagation, and disease and pest management.

The apprentice will:

1.      Identify common native and ornamental landscape plants.

2.      Troubleshoot pest, water, soil and location problems of landscape plants and plantings and take appropriate actions to fix the problems.

3.      Understand the botany and physiology of plants, including the growth patterns and reactions to nutrients.

4.      Identify weeds and the correct control procedures.

5.      Demonstrate thorough knowledge of horticulture tools and their care.

Anticipated time in this project will include approximately up to eight hours each month during the growing season (about April until October) as weather conditions warrant and require.

Initial supervision will be with an experience volunteer. The goal will be that the student will learn enough to continue the maintenance program and to be able to teach all of the above goals to another person.

I need help! Does this appeal to you? Let me know, we are almost into the season!

Jim

jhronek@co.champaign.il.us

So much fun at CCNH! Almost every day, one of the volunteers comes to my office with a huge smile. I hear many stories about spending time with one or more of our residents. One of the volunteers comes in almost every Monday morning and visits with “her” six residents. She is here for only one hour and she has been coming in for more than 10 years! You might think that she would get bored, but that is not the case. Her time here has become a habit for her. It is so good to hear her stories about what she does here.

Jim

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.

Steve Jobs

You are considering volunteering at Champaign County Nursing Home. That is good. We welcome new volunteers. We do not require a definite number of hours here. However, we encourage you to make a commitment of at least three months and come on a regular basis. You don not have to be here for a long time, 30-minutes once a week can mean a lot to our residents. Help us with organized activities, share a talent, assist with office chores, maintain the flower beds, wash windows (we have more than 500!) or scrub the walls in the kitchen. There are many ways that you can contribute to our goal of providing a high quality-of-life for our residents.

Send an email; take some time to do the right thing: jhronek@co.champaign.il.us.

Jim

Life is a sum of all your choices.

Albert Camus