Activities
Our residents live an active life based on personal choice. We encourage our resident to be as active as they would like and as their individual abilities allow. We offer on-campus activities, unit based activities, pre-arranged off-campus activities, and we are located on the Blue Line for Marshalltown Transit which allows our residents the opportunity to enjoy everything that Marshalltown has to offer.
On-Campus Recreation
Unit Activities
Each of our units is assigned a recreation therapist who plan the units daily recreational activities. Unit activities are those activities which are designated for the small group of individuals located on a particular unit.
Some of the activities on the individual units include:
- Arts and crafts
- Current event discussions
- Devotions
- Visiting animals
- Kitchen activities
- Card and Board games
- Bingo
- Reminiscing groups
- Storytelling
- Music
- Exercise and Movement activities
- Movies
- Computer games
Facility-Wide Recreation
In addition to activities which happen in the unit, residents have the opportunity to enjoy activities and events which are open to residents throughout the facility. These include:
- Celebrations and events such as: Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, New Years, Christmas, Halloween, Valentines Day, Thanksgiving, St. Patty's Day, Easter, the Summer Fair, petting zoos, etc.
- Visits from performers such as: dancers, magicians, hypnotists, singers, comedians, bands, and choirs
- Visits and activities put on by local organizations, groups, and schools such as: caroling, fish fry, red hat parties, buddy programs
- Outdoor activities presented by volunteers such as: Off Highway Vehicle rides, motorcycle and classic car shows, and antique tractor shows
- Garden boxes/Greenhouse
- Incentive Therapy (this is a way for the resident to be active at a job inside IVH)
- Facility Band and Choir
- Bingo
- Church/Bible Study
- Library
- Movies and popcorn, trivia, karaoke/sing alongs, cards, computer games, and puzzles
- Pool tables
- Nut picking
- Exercise classes and access to open gym
- Coffee and social clubs
- Poppies (This program is in conjunction with the Iowa American Legion Auxiliary who pays our residents for their craftsmanship.)
- Bike rides (we have specially equipped bikes which allow our residents to ride around our grounds with staff )
- Arts and crafts: painting, leather working, rug weaving, sewing, beadwork, needlework, knitting, crocheting, ceramics
- Book club
- Red Hat Ladies
Off-Campus Recreation
The Iowa Veterans Home is equipped with ADA compliant transportation methods to allow our residents to experience life off of grounds.
Our trips include:
- Cultural Experiences (theater productions, musical performances/concerts, historical tours)
- Seasonal Experiences (Christmas light tours, county and state fairs, fishing trips, farmers market, parades, zoo trips, gardens)
- Athletic Experiences (local, regional, and state high school sporting competitions, semi-professional sporting events, college sporting events, local stock car racing events)
- Food, Shopping, and Casino Outings
- Swimming at YMCA