Ideas for creating an engaging and imaginative recognition event for senior volunteers are often shared on the Senior Corps (NSSCTalk) e-mail discussion list. Following is a selection of the many themes and ideas shared by different Senior Corps programs (in alphabetical order):
Breakfast of Champions
Host an annual breakfast event — it's less expensive than a luncheon or dinner. Use borrowed trophies as centerpieces. Take a photo of a Wheaties box, digitally add each volunteer's name and photo, frame them using dollar-store frames, and use them as giveaways. All seniors attend free and bring a box of cereal to donate to local food pantries. The group sharing this idea reports collecting 600 boxes of cereal, so the event served two purposes.
During the rest of the year, feature a "Champions of the Month" column in the program newsletter, spotlighting four volunteers each issue (48 for the year). Place a photo of the volunteers on a graphic that looks like a box of cereal. Interview the monthly champions: Ask about special interests, a person they admire, the proudest time in their life, their strengths and weaknesses, and something they've done that their clients really appreciated. This is a good way to generate interest in the annual "Breakfast of Champions" event, and a good way for volunteers to learn about each other.
Country/Western
Use country-and-western decorations and music, including a demonstration of line dancing that encourages everyone to join in. Consider holding it outside (e.g., at a campground). Have a "Jamboree"— use jars of jam among the table decorations and give one as a gift to each attendee.
Cruise
Offer "traveling entertainment," such as a magician who goes from table to table, balloon artists, and a strolling jazz combo that takes requests. Set up tables of eight to 10, with buffet food service. Staff can go from table to table introducing themselves, and volunteers can have personal conversation.
Day at the Museum
Arrange to have the local historical museum opened on a Monday afternoon for the group. Entertainment can include a storyteller in one room (for less mobile participants) and a historical scavenger hunt for those who want to participate. Encourage existing volunteers to bring potential volunteers as their guests. Serve old-fashioned ice cream sundaes as refreshment. As attendees leave, give everyone a helium balloon imprinted with "You are appreciated!" The program that shared this idea had attendance at about 70 percent and says that this very inexpensive recognition event was rated the highest of any recognition event by group members. The highlight of the evening, according to their survey, was getting to visit with other volunteers.
Variation on the theme: Hold the event at the local Museum of Art organization, with a theme like "The Art of Volunteering." Take some pictures of the volunteers, blow them up, and have them around the event on easels.
Everyday American Heroes / Volunteers Are Everyday Heroes
Use red, white, and blue tablecloths and patriotic decorations. Give the volunteers framed presidential awards and pins. During the year, take digital photos of Foster Grandparents at each site, preferably in action with the children they volunteer with, and have them nicely framed (ideally, donated frames) with the caption "Heroes Serve Here" on the wall above the pictures of the grandparents. Display them prominently at the site; then take copies of the photos and put them in donated albums, perhaps the kind with a metal frame on the front to hold a special photo of each individual grandparent. Give these out at the "Everyday American Heroes" event.
Garden Theme: Volunteers... Flowers in the Garden of Life
Hold the event sometime in spring. Place decorative birdhouses surrounded by ivy on the tables. For door prizes, give away gardening gloves, trowels, related items, and the birdhouses. For party favors, provide a large seed packet made of construction paper with a poem on the back about volunteerism. Inside the packet, put an FGP ballpoint pen, candy that is small and seed-sized, and a packet of real seeds.
Variation on the theme: Order flower ballpoint pens in flower pots to serve as table centerpieces. Inscribe each flower pot with the words "Volunteers plant the seed of kindness." The flowers can be a rainbow of colors. Put packs of flower and vegetable seeds in the gift bags.
Happy Birthday
Good theme for a milestone, such as age of a program. Decorate with balloons, provide birthday cards made by children at many schools, and have a performance by a local choir (who finish with the song "Happy Birthday").
Variation on the theme: Hold a quarterly birthday party to recognize volunteers. Invite all volunteers with a birthday in that quarter (e.g., Jan–March). Have one of the local nursing homes sponsor it, and provide cake and juice. Find donations for a small gift for each person in attendance.
Hats Off to Our Volunteers
On the invitations ask everyone to wear a special hat (but make it optional). Have a hat contest and use the advisory council as a panel of judges. Have a DJ play some marching music and have the volunteers parade around the dance floor. Prizes can be awarded for funniest, silliest, most complicated, etc. Centerpieces can be hats with flowers in them.
Hawaiian Luau
Decorate with a Hawaiian theme and suggest Hawaiian dress (but make it optional). Have children from a local middle school perform music as the guests arrive, and place a plastic lei around the neck of each volunteer. Have a Hawaiian group perform native dancing. Give single potted flowers and pens at the end of the event.
Variation on the theme: Adapt this idea to share native traditions from a volunteer station in the area.
Hollywood Theme
Literally roll out a red carpet for the volunteers, and have the local high school drama club act as paparazzi. Give each workstation a star on the walk of fame. Use black and gold decorations, with the tables having gold lamé tablecloths, top hats, and mini-Oscars that read "Hooray for Volunteers" (think of the tune Hooray for Hollywood). Play old Hollywood theme music. Have life-size cutouts of Oscar, a buffet with chefs carving roast beef, and a banner made to look like a theater marquee that reads "RSVP Volunteer Recognition — Hooray for Volunteers!" For entertainment, consider a Fred and Ginger or other classic Hollywood personality. Give out Oscars (6" gold Oscar look-a-like trophies with names imprinted; example of award: Best Supporting Role in Meals on Wheels Delivery) — rely on assistance from workstations for the nominations.
International
Have a buffet dinner with foods from around the world, play global music, and celebrate the diversity of members and the community. Borrow flags representing all nations from a local business or organization.
Movie Theme
Hold a movie day at a local theater that will donate passes. Those unable to attend on movie day can use the pass at their convenience. Volunteers choose which movie to see, and staff can name and promote the event based on the title or theme of the film. An example is the Wizard of Oz; for programs focused on keeping seniors living independently, use the slogan "There's no place like home" and have a yellow brick road down the aisle.
Picnic
Hold an old-fashioned picnic instead of a formal dinner. Serve the traditional chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, etc. Hold it at a park and have horseshoes, checkers, dominoes, and other games set up for volunteers to play. Set up areas with chairs for those who want to sit and visit.
Picture the Difference You Can Make
Have a local store donate 8x10 photo frames with 5x7 mats; use them as table decorations, along with RSVP balloons and iridescent "grass." Print volunteer poems, put one in each frame, and ask a local shop to put tiny dried flowers between the mat and the glass. Use these as table decorations and as prizes for games and activities during the recognition event. In news releases and on large posters at the event, thank the retailers for their support of community volunteers. (The stores later stated that donating to the recognition event was the best advertising money they had spent all year.)
Arrange with a local professional photographer to set up a backdrop and lights at the event, and to take a digital photo of every volunteer with the program camera at no cost. The digital photos are kept on file for ID cards, recognition spotlights, and related purposes. If any volunteer wanted print photographs, the photographer also took a professional picture of the volunteer and later delivered a packet that contained one 5x7, two 3x5, and four wallet-size pictures at a cost of $9. The normal cost of those photos would have been $39, but the photographer charged the volunteers $9 per packet and gave RSVP an in-kind contribution for the difference. The program was careful to document the value of the in-kind contribution by obtaining a copy of the standard price sheet. This was, by far, this group's most successful recognition event — it was also the least expensive.
Pirate Theme: Treasuring Our Volunteers
Make centerpieces out of cardboard treasure chests placed on top of homemade treasure maps. Fill the treasure chests with chocolate gold coins or greenery and flowers. Drape old jewelry around with more chocolate gold coins.
Reflection: The Meaning of Service
Have large poster boards in the lobby, bright Post-It notes, and colorful thin-line markers. Advisory council members can greet attendees as they arrive to register for the lunch and ask them to write something on the Post-Its about what volunteering means to them. The poster boards become a colorful creation about service and volunteering. Some reflections can be quite thoughtful and others will be something as simple as "Volunteering gets me out of the house"— but they are all fun to read. People visit the boards just to read what others have written.
Reflection: Through the Looking Glass
Have a speaker on reflective journaling and provide special pen and paper to encourage an "on-the-spot" writing exercise. This theme encourages senior volunteers to record their history, which is something many would like to do. Encourage the flow of ideas using their volunteer experiences, old photographs, an old piece of clothing, an old recipe, or related ideas.
Senior Prom: Decade Theme
Encourage volunteers to wear dressy decade-inspired clothes, play music from that time or offer karaoke with period music, and set aside an area for dancing. Before the event, get a picture of each volunteer from during that decade and make copies for a "guess who" game. At the event, put the pictures up on a big poster board so everyone can see them. One group used the 1940s as their time period — the entertainment was an Andrews Sisters-style trio and the meal was meatloaf, mashed potatoes, etc. Another group used the "Fabulous Fifties"— the staff wore poodle skirts, decorations included old vinyl records, and the meal was burgers and fries. Consider holding the "prom" at a school where the volunteers serve. Students can escort guests to a seat and serve the food. This way the senior volunteers can avoid standing in lines and the students get to express their appreciation. This is also less expensive than holding the recognition event at a restaurant.
Serving Those Who Serve
Have elected officials serve the volunteers during their annual recognition dinner. Make funny aprons to match a theme, and the mayors, councilmen, city clerks, etc., serve and clean up. The officials fight over who gets the funniest apron! The volunteers love it; during election cycle years (and sometimes in between) those same officials make in-kind donations to supplement the recognition budget in exchange for an ad in the program.
Talent Show
Volunteers can read jokes, dance, do karaoke, sing, and more. Aside from "live" entertainment, try showcasing handicrafts, such as afghans, stuffed animals, a money shirt, and so on. Making the event a pot luck turns each dish into a way for attendees to show off their talents in the kitchen.
Thanksgiving
Just before Thanksgiving, deliver a card to each RSVP member at the volunteer station where they serve. The cards (which can be purchased blank and personalized on a computer) express thanks for volunteering and include a U.S. flag pin. The group sharing this idea says feedback was tremendous. Volunteers loved getting the flag pin and being recognized as an RSVP member at their volunteer site. This approach elicited more positive comments than all the recognition events in the previous months. Cost was about $1.10 per volunteer.
Viva Los Volunteers!
Serve a buffet-style meal, with tortillas, beans, rice, salsa, guacamole, etc. Have a local band play Mexican themed music during the meal, or have a mariachi band stroll from table to table. Afterward, have a couple who perform salsa dancing or a group who do folklórico dance. They perform a dance and, when they are done, invite participants to join them to learn a dance.
Your Service Is Worth a Fortune
Show your volunteers how "fortune-ate" you are to have them volunteering through RSVP. Party favors can be fabric fortune cookies with special volunteer theme fortunes. Or have real fortune cookies made with the fortune imprinted with your program's name, etc. Have a fortune teller as entertainment and play a "Wheel of Fortune" inspired game for prizes (e.g., make your own "wheel" of fortune with a lazy Susan and supplies from your local hardware store). Present a huge mock check for the value of their service (and then present it to the County Board of Supervisors later). Get the current value of volunteer time from the Independent Sector and calculate their dollar value based upon the number of hours reported.