 | Rev. Bill Shook has been with Prairie Homestead Retirement Center for 27 years. 26 of those years he has acted as the Administrator. He retired in March 2006 but is still involved with the organization in a consultant role. Over the 27 years of service he developed the retirement community into a continuing care facility. As a continuing care facility retirees can come in at any level of independence and live out their lives on the campus. Rev. Shook holds many degrees, has served in numerous advisory positions and is licensed as a Nursing Home Administrator. He helped start and acted as the Administrator of Homestead Health Center nursing facility for a number of years along with being the Administrator of Prairie Homestead. Rev. Shook can be reached at the Prairie Homestead office, 316-263-8264 or by email at abei@websurf.net |
Senior Living
2007-04-01 08:04:00
Traveling with the folks, part III
ANSWER: This month will conclude the series concerning ideas for vacations when traveling with your husband’s parents. We have talked about possible destinations, modes of travel, the importance of healthy eating while on vacation, exercising while traveling, and travel safety. This final article will explore a unique concept and idea which may or may not be appropriate, but it is the idea of a “volunteering” vacation. Volunteer short-term vacations have been increasing over the last 20 years and have been an avenue for expanding, embracing, and harnessing interests and abilities of adults at the different stages of their lives up through the 80s.
Combining volunteer service opportunities with travel has expanded in popularity in recent years because of the convenience and easy travel destination access that is now available. However, while serving abroad for six months to a year may appeal to those younger, seniors’ agendas take quite a different form. Seniors usually prefer such a volunteer vacation for only about one week or they might even choose to take two or more different volunteer vacations during the course of a year. Non-profit agencies and charitable organizations will attest to the fact that because of such enthusiastic seniors giving of their wealth of experience and financial support, they have been able to move their projects and services from being just dreams to actual realities.
It appears that older adults generally volunteer their services for one of three reasons or a combination of these: (1) they have an intense interest in a certain cause or project that is related to an earlier hobby or career; (2) they have a desire to actually become part of the way of life in a region of the country or world which cannot be obtained by just being a traveling visitor; or (3) they wish to give something significant back to the world, realizing they have been well provided for economically and physically in earlier years. The seniors that are drawn to this type of vacation are usually those who have attained a high degree of education and were highly motivated task-oriented individuals. Although there are some seniors who like to arrange their volunteer travel plans themselves, by and large the majority of them like to be involved through a small-group. Thus this may be just the thing for the four of you experiencing this together.
A recent example involves the many small groups which have provided help through different churches and other organizations to the Katrina victims. In fact, one of my senior friends spent three different weeks down in New Orleans serving as part of her church team in “mudding out” damaged homes, being involved in the rebuilding efforts, assisting with cooking for the volunteer workers, and distributing food and supplies to the yet unemployed New Orleans citizens. She related how both the young and old worked together in achieving the common goal of a rebuilt community. She confirmed the importance of knowing that she was not going to be the only older person there – that there would be others of her own age. It was a “senior-friendly” project and offered the opportunity of not only working together with but also sharing conversations between the different generations. This was a refreshing change from the usual societal artificial and uncomfortable communications that exist between the young and the old. It is hard for some to understand the attraction of the hundreds of thousands of older adults who have chosen to become part of this “voluntourism” effort – paying to work hard as a vacation.
Such volunteer opportunities include among others such diverse activities as teaching English overseas to Chinese students; tracking Borneo orangutans in the rainforests; discovering and uncovering the bones of dinosaurs in the ruins of an archaeological site; building block houses out of concrete in totally impoverished regions of the world; taking a sea voyage and conducting marine research; assisting in the disease-ravaged HIV population of Africa, or caring for orphanage children in the Dominican Republic. One aspect of this “voluntourism” bug is that those whose budget is tight can yet be involved because the costs are most always less than for a traditional vacation. Usually people helping out are housed in dormitories or rooms in host family’s homes where they share accommodations such as bathrooms. They might have camping facilities and either eat cafeteria style or ethnic prepared food.
The lady who volunteered in the Katrina effort paid $100 for the week, ate food which had been donated, and stayed in a refurbished church with the privacy of only sheets hung up in the bathroom stalls and cold water shower trailers. Yet each time she returned she shared about the unmatched rewards of her week of service.
There are sometimes accommodations like air conditioning and private rooms, but since this is unusual it would be wise to find out this information prior to planning such a trip if comfort is important to your husband’s parents. In the evenings sometimes there are informative lectures or organized group tours to explore surrounding areas.
I know as part of the New Orleans volunteer week, on Thursday the group only worked until noon and then the volunteers took the afternoon to explore the famous parts of the city as well to drive around the area to see the yet visible vast devastation. Even though all four of you may have a spirit for adventure, I would encourage you to ask a lot of questions of the group sponsoring the activity and even talk with others who have previously volunteered to make sure this is something you all can handle.
I think the most important part of this proposed vacation for the four of you is spending the time together, no matter what you decide to so. This will be a special event that you all will remember for many years. You will learn more about each other than you ever probably knew before. Perhaps your husband’s parents will share stories of their childhood that never rose to the surface until this special time. It is even possible that your husband’s parents will smile more than you have ever seen them smile in a long time. The precious moments and the memories you may capture from this vacation with them will be an unforgettable experience, so enjoy!
