The Holiday Project

What: Formed in 1971, The Holiday Project is a national all-volunteer organization with chapters in a large number of cities throughout the United States. The Holiday Project's central function is to organize volunteer visits to shut-ins at hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions. It is perhaps best known for its annual Christmas Day visits, but many chapters sponsor visits on other selected dates throughout the year.

The Houston area chapter of The Holiday Project operates under the auspices of VOLUNTEER HOUSTON, a member agency of our local United Way.

Why: Holidays are times for connecting-- with family...friends...the community at large. Many thousands of our neighbors are cut off from this connection due to health problems, advanced age, or other circumstances. The Holiday Project provides a way to let these persons know that they have not been forgotten and to brighten their lives by brightening their day!

When: Visit dates scheduled for 2006 are as follows:

Thanksgiving Day - 11/23/06 (9:30 a.m.)

Christmas Day - 12/25/06 (9:30 a.m. and 12 noon)

Valentine's Day Saturday - 2/10/07 (9:30 a.m.)

Easter Saturday - 4/7/07 (9:30 a.m.)

Mother's Day Saturday - 5/12/07 (9:30 a.m.)

Father's Day Saturday - 6/16/07 (9:30 a.m.)

Fourth of July - 7/4/07 (9:30 a.m.) (tentative)

Grandparents Day Saturday - 9/8/07 (9:30 a.m.)

Veterans Day Saturday - 11/10/07 (9:30 a.m.) (tentative)

Thanksgiving Day - 11/22/06 (9:30 a.m.)

Christmas Day - 12/25/06 (9:30 a.m. and 12 noon)

(The Fourth of July visits focus exclusively on a residential facility for homeless veterans. All other visits will be to area nursing homes, with the veterans' facility an additional option if volunteer numbers permit.)

Where: Volunteers meet to form visit teams at any of the following three locations:

CENTRAL (Galleria area):
Volunteer Houston -- 3033 Chimney Rock, Suite 460

NORTHWEST (near Willowbrook Mall):
Heartland Health Care Center at Willowbrook -- 13631 Ardfield

NORTHEAST (Kingwood):
Atria Kingwood -- 2401 Green Oak Drive

NOTE: All visits to the residential veterans facility will use the Volunteer Houston meeting place only.

How: At each meeting location volunteers will break into teams to go to assigned visit sites. (Each volunteer is responsible for his/her own transportation.) They will each be given a map to the site, greeting cards to share with the persons they visit, and cookies to offer to those they visit. At the individual visit sites each team will re-form and proceed with the visit under the guidance of the team captain. Time spent at the visit sites varies from visit to visit, but typically a visit lasts from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. (One of the variables affecting the duration of a visit is the question of whether we are permitted to visit from room-to-room for those persons who don't get out of their rooms.)

Who: That, of course, would be YOU. Make an upcoming holiday more than just another day on the calendar by giving the gift of yourself!

For more information, or to get your name on an upcoming visit roster, contact Walter Black at 713-964-0229 or by e-mail at walterb@volunteerhouston.org.

Click here to see a few snapshots from a recent Holiday Project visit.

Additional note: If you would like to get involved in making greeting cards for any of our Holiday Project visits, click here to see some simple guidelines for making the cards and information on the locations to which the cards can be mailed or delivered.