Worship

Singers, pianists and other volunteers help our ministers lead worship services and hymn singing in care homes, convalescent hospitals and retirement centers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. 

We focus on enriching the spiritual and emotional lives of residents with music, readings and talks. Although most of our service attendees are elderly, increasingly we see victims of war, accidents and debilitating illnesses.
​
SpiritCare serves people of any religious background -- or none at all —​ including members of staff and administration. We respect the dignity of the individual and serve each person regardless of race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, social or economic status. 

Check out some of the hymns we sing. 

Friendly Visits

Friendly Visitors create a sense of connection and often deep friendships with nursing home and convalescent hospital residents. A visitor may:

• listen to a resident's life stories
• enjoy a cup of tea
• watch a game on TV
• read a favorite book or magazine
• share music, photographs and memories on a laptop, tablet or smartphone
• discuss new trends and fun events

Just loving the elders I visited today was a special experience.  They shared their concerns and they were so appreciative of hearing about happy family and community activities, rather than the negative news on the TV.

Pet Therapy

Friendly pets bring joy to care home residents who can no longer care for their own animals. ​Introduce a gentle dog to animal lovers. Walk around and let residents pet it.

Some residents appreciate the gift of a stuffed toy animal.

Art and Craft Workshops

Create a blanket to keep a wheelchair user warm. Help elderly residents create memories for their Christmas tree.

​Bring a church team to help a care home create and display seasonal decorations.  Play with drawing programs on a tablet. Give a slideshow of art exhibits. Both individuals and groups can engage residents with arts and crafts.

Children's Group Visits

Children's groups such as choirs, praise bands, dance troupes and ensembles can bring music to care communities. Youth groups and children's teams may offer a special event, such as a Halloween Party or Christmas pageant.

​An outing to a senior residence provides a great Sunday School class opportunity to share memories, ideas and news.

Parties

Church groups, families and school groups can organize parties.  Teams can help organize a one-off event, an annual happening or more frequent celebration. Christmas, New Year, Valentine's Day, Easter and Halloween all provide opportunities for a fun experience for a care home. 

In the summer, outdoor barbecues and Hawaiian luaus can enliven a community. Also teams can help organize birthday parties for residents throughout the year.

Chatting and Texting

Tablets, laptops and smartphones help people keep in touch with their distant families and best friends. Help them using video conferencing, text messaging, phone and email.

​As hearing and eyesight decline, adaptive technologies can clarify sounds through headsets or magnify text on bright screens to help people.   Apple's Facetime, Google's Hangouts and Microsoft's Skype are just some of the services that can reduce loneliness.

Garden & Patio Visits

Some care homes have vegetable plots and others have flower gardens.  Come and help residents weed, plant seeds, pick flowers and trim shrubs. Make raised beds for a facility or help put up hanging baskets. 

Volunteers can also arrange flowers to beautify a care home.

Some seniors are itching to get outside, but have nobody to help them. Take a resident or two outside for a discussion or short walk. Help a wheelchair user outside to enjoy a patio or garden.