Volunteering at Willow Gardens
You can play an important role in the lives of our residents and their families by volunteering at United Hebrew. We will work with you to capitalize on your skills, talents, and interests to make your community service experience as meaningful as possible.
Volunteer opportunities we offer meet a wide variety of interests — from young adults fulfilling service hours, to college students with aspirations for a career in nursing, rehabilitation, or related healthcare fields. We also welcome retirees who wish to share professional skills, or community members with a simple willingness to help.
Whether you have one hour, one day, or even more time, we can help you find a way to share your time productively with our residents. Below are some of the opportunities we offer. You may also contact Sallie Carlin, Director of Memory Care, at scarlin@uhgc.org, or 914-336-2338.
Community service on campus
Pet Therapy: Bring in your gentle pets for play and interaction with our residents.
Recreation Department: Assist our staff with parties, games, intergenerational activities and arts and crafts.
Music Therapy: Play an instrument, sing, or make music with our therapists and residents.
Religious Services: Assist at religious services on campus.
Friendly Visits: There’s no greater gift than your time. Visit with our residents, exchange stories, bring in pictures, read or discuss books, watch a movie, play cards or board games, or just listen. A small amount of your time goes a long way in brightening someone’s day!
Internships
Our internship program is designed for high school or college students seeking a valuable educational experience. You will work with a skilled, trained, and experienced staff member in a structured environment, and gain experience in your academic or career field of interest. We offer internships in business and accounting, nursing, rehabilitation therapy, and recreation therapy.
Mitzvah & confirmation projects
Congratulations on your way to becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah or a Confirmation Class graduate! To help you fulfill service hours required for your community project, and to provide you with meaningful interaction with older adults in your community, we offer a broad variety of volunteer opportunities. We will be happy to get to know you and customize a program that meets your interest and abilities. Here are possibilities:
- Movie Day: Everyone’s streaming their entertainment these days, but we can use your old DVDs and videos! Organize a drive to add to our entertainment library, and plan a movie marathon with our residents.
- Care packages: Ask friends, family and neighbors to donate airline and hotel giveaway soaps, shampoos, and lotions. Create your own gift packages and give them to our residents.
- Customized Birthday Cards: Take pictures of residents on their special day, make personalized cards, deliver them in person and spend time visiting.
- Reading: Read aloud to a visually impaired resident.
- Concerts: Do you play an instrument, sing, write, or act? Show your talent and create a concert or show for our residents.
- Pillows: Decorate a pillow with a resident’s name or other meaningful image.
- Adopt a grandmother or grandfather: Make a new friend! Visit, play games, write letters, and keep in touch.
- Karaoke Night: Plan an evening of sing-a-long fun. Lip sync with the residents to their favorite music.
- Oral History: Interview residents and create an oral history project. Write a summary of your interview and create a display or book with their photos.
- Bake Sale: Sell baked goods as a fundraiser for our residents’ recreation fund.
- Family Recipe Book: Gather family recipes from our residents and design a recipe card simple cookbook.