Musician/Entertainer

About the volunteer opportunity

Volunteer opportunities are available at all three of our locations: Nuuanu (Hale Kūʻike, 95 Kawananakoa Place, Honolulu, HI 96817), Kaneohe (Hale Kūʻike Bayside, 45-212 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kaneohe, HI 96744), and Pali (Hale Kūʻike Pali, 2627 Pali Highway, Honolulu, HI 96817).

Your time and energy mean a great deal to our success and support for individuals in our homes that are living with dementia. Volunteers have the opportunity to engage with residents.

Opportunity

Solo entertainers or groups (singers and musicians, groups not bigger than five individuals due to size of our home) are needed to perform for our residents living with dementia. If you have a love of music and want to share it, we have a loving, appreciative audience for you! Throughout the course of dementia, the part of the brain that connects to music remains. Our residents who might not be able to speak can still sing all the words to songs from their youth.

Responsibilities

• Use music to connect with our residents living with dementia
• Sing and/or play a musical instrument for our residents
• Perform old-timey songs, both in English and Japanese (big hits)
• Performances should be an hour or less (works best for our residents)
• Bring your own instruments (except piano — we have one on-site)
• Speakers or amplifiers are generally not needed due to our small home; if used, volume does not need to be very high

Skills & qualifications

• Must be willing to perform, enjoy talking and visiting with people
• Must be willing to interact with people who have a memory impairment
• Must treat participants, staff and fellow volunteers with dignity and respect
• Must be dependable, patient, and have a good sense of humor

Lines of communication

You will work with the Activities Department Staff and the Director of Community Engagement.

Orientation

Volunteers must complete a video orientation. Volunteers learn about Hale Kuʻike, dementia, communication skills, and dementia activities.

Times available

We work with your schedule! Best performance times are 10 am and 3 pm. Performance should be between 30 minutes and one hour maximum.

Volunteer benefits

• Free parking
• Free lunch
• A Hale Kuʻike t-shirt!

Contact HR Generalist, Chelsea Ho, via email if you are interested in applying for this volunteer opportunity: volunteer@halekuike.com.