National Activity Professional Week – 2023
Adventure Awaits
By Debbie Hommel, ACC/MC/EDU, CTRS
Another year has passed. It seems like infection control outbreaks are part of our day-to-day experiences, but the activity professional keeps looking forward. This year’s theme for National Activity Professionals Week defines the perspective of the activity professional – “Adventure Awaits”. Our profession greets each day as a new adventure. If we encounter a roadblock, we take a different path and make it work. The adaptability of our profession is a commendable quality.
National Activity Professionals Week, which is January 23rd through 27th this year, has always been a week of celebration and acknowledgement of the hard-working activity profession. It is a time to salute the tireless efforts of the activity professional. The National Association for Activity Professionals has defined this year’s theme as “Adventure Awaits.”
NAAP has organized a week-long celebration for our profession which includes chances to win a variety of prizes if you attend.
Monday 6:30 PM EST – Q & A with the NAAP Board
Tuesday 3 PM EST – Spintopia Game
Wednesday 1 PM EST – NAAP Webinar State of the Activity Profession
Thursday 2 PM EST – Travel Tour Activity
Friday 4 PM EST – Live with NCCAP
Visit the NAAP website for more information and to register for these events.
Here are some ideas to celebrate and communicate the value of what we do during NAPW.
- Create and display a photo gallery of activities and outline their benefits in a common area or thoroughfare.
- Plan an “Activity Open House”. Send out invitations and have display areas set up in your recreation room which emphasizes the value of therapeutic activities. Provide information regarding the benefits of activities and create displays with materials and photographs. Give out promotional items related to NAPW. Serve refreshments, decorate festively, and have door prizes.
- Find some poems and writings about activities. Many of the activity sites have poems devoted to our work and efforts. Display them in common areas, send them to the families or read them at activity groups.
- Request a Proclamation from the Mayor’s office. The proclamation is often printed with the township seal and looks very official. In some cases, a representative (even the Mayor themselves) may come out to present it to the community. This could be incorporated into a facility wide party or event. The proclamation can then be framed and displayed. To find out how to get a proclamation in your town, do an internet search for Mayoral Proclamation and your town or county. The township website should direct you to the correct link and suggested verbiage.
- Create a video emphasizing the benefits of each activity. Utilize one of the more popular songs of the day and film residents, staff and families dancing to the music. Have them hold up signs outlining the various benefits of activities. Set the video up in the lobby on continuous play, with a poster, tri-board or printed materials explaining NAPW. Create posters and signs for display throughout the building.
- Conduct an “Activity Scavenger Hunt” or “Activity Bingo Card”. Create a game card for staff/residents/families to complete certain tasks. To get credit for the tasks, the activity staff needs to authorize the cards. Tasks may include escorting a resident to an activity, having a cup of coffee in the activity room, sitting, and doing a 1-1 activity with a resident and other related, interdisciplinary activity task. After the game cards are completed, they are placed into a drawing. The drawing for a winner may be conducted at a party or reception at the end of the week.
- Conduct an “Activity Trivia Game” which is similar to the scavenger hunt. Trivia questions can be related to your activity program, staff, or the benefits of activities. Again, the completed game sheets are submitted, with possible winners being drawn daily.
- Create an open mural where staff, families and residents can write their thoughts about activities. A large roll/sheet of white paper can be hung on a plain wall, with an attached marker on a string.
- Plan an “Activity Olympics”. Each day of the week can offer various activities related to a particular activity domain. For example, Monday may be “Mental Aerobics Day”; while Tuesday may be “Let’s Get Physical Day”. Each day will focus on the various activities in that domain, with emphasis on the benefits. Interdisciplinary contests and challenges can be integrated into the program plan.
- Celebrate as a department and with your professional peers. Have a luncheon or private celebration for your department.
- Give yourself the gift of professional membership and affiliation. If you are not a member of NAAP (national association) or your local or state activity association – treat yourself to a membership in honor of our week. Membership in professional organizations provides the Activity Professional with education, support, state of the art resources and validation for the work that we do.
National Association of Activity Professionals Membership Application