Every month, "From the Heart" hosts a "bingo night" at a local nursing home.  We never know who is having more fun...the "From the Heart" volunteers or the seniors!  The smiles on everyone's faces and the friendships that are made makes every month a special event!
​Every senior wins a prize on each game called  (this way no one is ever left out)!  We are always in need of donations and we try to bring prizes that the seniors can use, such as personal products and small, unbreakable, knick-knacks to help them decorate their rooms each season! 
​While the prizes are important, these bingo nights are really all about bringing friendship, laughter and support to each and every senior with hopes of replacing a sometimes physically difficult or lonely day for a couple of hours of fun and fellowship.  The best part of the night, as they are helped back to their rooms, is hearing how much they enjoyed the evening!  Inevitably there is always a volunteer who is last to leave because the senior they brought back has a lot to share...that...is what these evenings are all about....making time and making friendships that they can look forward to each month.
Some of the items we purchase and seek prize donations of each month are:

• Monetary support or gift card to the Family Dollar Tree for our helium balloons 
• Personal items: hand & body lotions, tissues (large boxes and smaller purse sized), chap stick, shower gel, body sprays, shampoo, deodorant, scented soaps, shaving cream etc. (women and men)
• Brand new small beanie baby sized stuffed animals, small knick-knacks,  seasonal items, etc.
• Lap blankets and/or small blankets (handmade are always special)
• Prayer Shawls
• Costume Jewelry 

Our typical evening begins by setting up our display of prizes so the seniors can view them as they enter the recreational room.  Our volunteers help the seniors into the room and get them situated with everything they need to be comfortable to play.  Once the games begin, our caller begins calling the first three games and our volunteers select seniors to help. They make sure the seniors can see and hear all the numbers that are called and then hand out the prize for that particular game!  Midway through the evening we always host a raffle (no cost...seniors receive a raffle ticket just by coming to play).  We raffle off everything from handmade scarves,  bags of Goldfish crackers, stuffed animals and seasonal or holiday items. The seniors love this part of the night!  As the raffles are underway, we pass out a snack (generally homemade sugar cookies) and then end the evening with the remaining two games of bingo.  The last prize is always a large decorated gift bag for the seniors to put their evening winnings in.  At the end of the evening our volunteers help the seniors back to their rooms which is generally when a lot of yapping begins about the evening! ...always fun!
These evenings have brought much joy for so many years now.  We could not run these bingo nights each month if it wasn't for all of your support...thank you!!  

Some photos from Bingo Nights: