Hobbies That Will Give Seniors A Sense of Purpose

November 10, 2022 by ·

One of the thing that many seniors struggle with is having a sense of purpose. Once they have retired seniors often feel like they have nothing to do with their time. That can cause depression and anxiety. But retirement is the perfect time for seniors to explore new hobbies and try some things that they have always wanted to do. Seniors who have elder care can depend on their elder care provider to help them shop for supplies or arrange transportation so that they can do their hobbies. 

 And some hobbies help seniors to find a sense of purpose. Some hobbies that seniors can try that will also give them a sense of purpose include hobbies like:

Walking Shelter Dogs And Playing With Shelter Cats

Elder Care Saraland, AL: Seniors and Hobbies

Elder Care Saraland, AL: Seniors and Hobbies

Any senior that loves animals can find purpose helping dogs and cats stay healthy and get adopted. Animals shelters always need volunteers to help out with the animals. 

Seniors can volunteer to take dogs for walks or to take them outside to play. Seniors get the joy of spending time with dogs and the dogs get attention, love, and outdoor playtime. 

The shelter cats often need to be played with, held, and socialized to help them find new homes, especially kittens. Senior volunteers can spend hours snuggling kittens or playing with cats and be helping the animals as well as helping themselves. 

Volunteering With Hippotherapy Organizations

Hippotherapy is a form of physical therapy that helps kids and adults with motor, speech, and cognitive impairment as well as conditions like Muscular Dystrophy. The natural movement of the horse’s gait can do amazing things for kids and adults with certain kinds of impairments. But, in order for the riders to be safe on the horses there needs to be two people with them at all times. One person leads the horse, the other walks holding onto the rider to make sure they are steady and secure in the saddle.

Volunteering at a hippotherapy organization gives seniors the chance to learn more about hippotherapy. They can also learn more about horses and help take care of the horses. And best of all seniors get to do a lot of walking which is fantastic for their overall health. Walking is one of the best things that seniors can do to safeguard their health. Most communities have organizations that provide hippotherapy and they almost always need volunteers.

Holding Babies

Holding babies is something that many seniors love to do and don’t get to do often enough, especially if their own grandchildren live far away or are grown. But many hospitals need people to sit and hold or hold and feed newborns who are sick, not thriving, or are at risk because their mothers are recovering from a tough birth. By volunteering to sit and hold the babies the seniors are providing valuable human contact for the babies while giving themselves a rewarding hobby. 

Making Quilts For Veterans 

Seniors who sew or want to learn to sew can make quilts for veterans to commemorate their time in service. By making quilts with things like old uniforms or in patriotic patterns seniors can honor the veterans who have served this country while also engaging in a fun hobby.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Elder Care in Saraland, AL, contact Ashbury Manor Specialty Care and Assisted Living at 251-317-3017.

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About Cindy Johnson

Ashbury Manor’s Administrator since 2008, Cindy Johnson is a long-time expert in the assisted living field. Prior to her arrival at Ashbury Manor, Cindy managed acquisitions and crisis management for existing and new larger senior care project developments for eleven years. As regional manager for an Oregon-based assisted living management company, Cindy was directly responsible for operations for five 50-65 bed assisted living facilities. As manager during the transition to new ownership, Cindy reorganized internal operations and conducted leadership training for Executive Directors. As a result of her management and expertise, one of the company’s facilities (in Ocala, Florida) received a deficiency-free survey, resulting in the lifting of a moratorium on operation.

A nurse for 36 years, senior care has always been Cindy’s passion. Desiring to work more closely with residents, Cindy became a Category II Administrator in 2005. As Ashbury Manor’s Administrator, Cindy understands the complexities associated with dementia and cognitive impairment and she has fallen in love with seniors with dementia or cognitive impairment and their families.

Cindy is Treasurer of the local “Senior Coalition” chapter. She enjoys mentoring new candidates who want to become administrators.

As a 16-bed facility, with Cindy's training and experience, our residents and their families can be sure Ashbury Manor’s carefully selected staff provides the expertise of a larger facility while maintaining the individualized personal care of a small special needs home.
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