Every Day Is Special: January 27 – National Activity Professionals Week

January 27 – National Activity Professionals Week

Posted on January 27, 2017

From January 22 to January 28, 2017, senior centers and assisted living facilities are providing their activity professionals with the recognition, appreciation, and support they deserve.

I didn't know what “activity professionals” were, even though I am around them all the time, now that my mom is in a care facility. I had to Google "National Activity Professionals Week" to see what it is all about.

Turns out that activity professionals are people who help older folks find fun and purpose in life through music, arts and crafts, games, and other activities. It's all about life enrichment!

I was checking out the profession, and I noticed that activity professionals are being urged to use modern technology with seniors:

The Internet can aid in reminiscing; Google Earth can help them revisit places where they've lived, for example.

Seniors can also see things they have never seen before, using virtual reality headsets, say, or taking a Google Earth tour of all seven continents.

Family reunions can be hosted with a Google Plus circle or other audio-visual tech.

Fit bits or other wearable technology can encourage people to be more active.

Ancestry-dot-com can help older people who have, perhaps for the first time in their lives, time to research their ancestors.

Live music will always be best, of course, but not only can senior enjoy YouTube videos of musicians past or present, they can even create a YouTube video, themselves!

Maybe this is a career you may want, someday. If you like old folks, and if you like helping people, you should consider this as a possibility. Trust me, more people are living longer -- so this is a career that will be booming, not dying out!