We aren’t sure how this program could be scaled for multifamily, but we just loved the idea so much that we had to share! The “Book Buddies” program was created by the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, Pennsylvania, to bring together shelter cats wanting companionship and school-age children wanting to improve their reading skills. Children in grades 1-8 who are able to read at any level may come into the shelter to read to the cats in our adoption room. Similar programs at other shelters across the country have seen the benefits the program has to offer. The program will help children improve their reading skills while also helping the shelter animals. Cats find the rhythmic sound of a voice very comforting and soothing. We think that is a brilliant way to work with the outside community in a way that...

You don’t have to be in New Orleans to get ready for Mardi Gras. With the iconic masks, beads, food, and music, any Mardi Gras celebration is sure to be a blast. Creating your Mardi Gras crafts while enjoying some traditional kings cake can be fun for everyone! With a paper plate and some craft supplies, you and your residents can make some very festive masks for Mardi Gras. You can use some supplies such as glitter paint, gems, some paper flowers and even some gold buttons. You could use whatever supplies you have on hand. Markers or crayons, ribbon, tissue paper, whatever you’d like. Have fun with it! You can also find Mardi Gras craft templates online. Here are a couple of examples. Create Your Own Jester Hat http://www.mardigrasoutlet.com/_images/blog/jesterhattemplate.pdf ...

Most of you have seen domino chains where dominos are lined up one after the other into long lines and designs. Knocking down the first domino then knocks down the second, third, etc until the whole series is down. Lots of fun as a kid, and a great activity in its own right! But what you may not be familiar with is a similar concept using Popsicle sticks! (NOTE: After researching for a while, we have heard that tongue depressors are actually better for this, so we’ll go with tongue depressors from here on out). Check out this cool effect here: The sticks are essentially woven together with a lot of tension built up as they flex between each other, and is often called a “stick bomb”. Here’s another great one: ...

With bitter temperatures sweeping the country, many may not be thinking of doing an outdoor event at their community, until they see this very cool project that anyone can do! This community project builds an actual igloo on your property, with beautiful colored ice bricks to liven up the dreary winter. The Trokhan family created this particular igloo, buy buying 210 tins to create the ice blocks, using normal food coloring to create a colorful candy-like appearance. Once they were frozen, they laid two blocks together and used snow as mortar between the cracks. After each two-block groups, they would pour water over it and let it freeze together, which took between 30 and 60 seconds to become solid enough to be stable. They said the top of the igloo took a little longer to freeze in place enough to be...

This event was originally created for a nursing home calendar, but we believe it could be applied to anyone! Basically, the nursing home created outfits to match famous movie scenes with their residents. Since they dealt with an older generation, many of their movies were classics, but one could easily pick more modern movies for a non-senior community. Make sure to share both digital and hard copies of each picture, so that they can be shared! Also, you can offer the option to create Christmas cards later on with the images, or go the route of the nursing home and create a community calendar! Blues Brothers: Dirty Dancing: Easy Rider: Saturday...