It pays to keep busy. (Not - For - Profit Report).

Ah, retirement! The children are grown, the house is paid for and, although some health issues begin to surface, the rat race is over. Suddenly, 40 unclaimed hours reappear each week. The retiree is now free from whatever occupation and/or hierarchy owned those hours for so many years. Sounds ideal, right? Not quite.

For many seniors, this idyllic version of the "golden years" doesn't pan out. For some, health problems, the loss of a mate and/or the inability to maintain independence could consign their retirement years not to a golf course, but a nursing home, where those newly gained hours are not a boon, but a burden. Filling those empty hours with camaraderie, purpose and accomplishment is what the Jewish Home for the Elderly (JHE) of Fairfield County's Work Activity Center (WAC) is all about.

According to Tim Fox, director of the WAC, where JHE residents, adult day care clients and senior volunteers from the community have the opportunity to work, these individuals enjoy the challenge of meeting deadlines. Their contributions give them a sense of achievement and value in doing meaningful work. Starting 21 years ago from humble circumstances--a classroom seating six, where residents provided free services to local companies--the WAC's reputation spread and kept growing. After the first six months, according to Fox, JHE knew it had something good, and the WAC began charging for its services. Now the WAC occupies a 50' x 50' basement room in the Home and is usually occupied by 40 to 50 workers at a time. "In the beginning," says Fox, "our jobs were mostly assembly projects. Now 95% of our work consists of mailings."

This type of work activity is not for everyone--but everyone is welcome to try. "We do our best to suit people to the jobs according to their capabilities. We've had blind residents and victims of strokes who had physical limitations successfully participate, because we match the job to the person's talents and functional level."

The WAC is promoted in the JHE's brochures and is a popular stop on facility tours. If a new resident expresses an interest, the WAC sets up an interview. "Usually you know in the first minute if this program is appealing because it shows on the resident's face," Fox observes. Some people have the attitude that they've worked all their lives and don't need this; others sign on because they need something to fill their time productively.

"Luckily, we haven't had to limit the participation, because we've found that the seniors vary in their commitment and the hours are flexible. In the mornings, we max out and have to place some workers in the halls or send them up to the nursing floor." In the afternoon, Fox admits that things are a little slower because residents are attending therapies or would just rather play cards and bingo or enjoy the many other activities available to them. "For some, it's important to them that they are here all the time. Others prefer to come down once a week," he explains.

Staff have a twofold assignment: (1) to make sure that every job meets its deadline and goes out perfect and (2) to match the right task to the right person. The majority of the tasks involve labeling, sealing, folding and sorting. Residents do not run any of the mailing machinery. "We try to have everyone sitting down at all times," Fox explains. "Much of the machinery requires long periods of standing. We always give the residents sit-down tasks that might require the use of staplers or handheld heat sealers. We don't want to worry about someone getting hurt or overtired."

One of the WAC's quarterly projects involves assembling the components of copier cleaner kits. It's a job where everyone--staff, volunteers and residents--needs to be involved, because there are a variety of tasks and some heavy lifting is required. It is a source of pride for the WAC team that they once assembled 10,000 pieces in three weeks for a job that usually requires eight weeks to complete. "We had people working morning, afternoon and evening shifts to meet the Deadline and fulfil the contract," recalls Fox. "Many residents like to hear, 'Hey, if you want to come back tonight, we need you,' It's immaterial that this is a nursing home; we're a business and have to meet business deadlines. The dedication of our workers is a large part of our success."

The residents are paid on a formulated piece-rate basis. Their paychecks can be spent at the JHE gift shop or beauty parlor, or saved at the resident bank maintained at the facility. All other money stays in the WAC and is used for expenses and upgrading or adding equipment. "We don't make money," explains Fox. "Sometimes the JHE has to add money to the Center for it to break even. The Home has made a commitment that the benefits to the residents outweigh the monetary losses."

Like any other business, the WAC bids on jobs, which can be tough because it must compete with other fulfillment companies that are entirely mechanized to get the job done cheaper and faster. As Fox points out, "Sometimes if you're busy, you bid a little higher and don't get the job or, if you need the work, you bid a little lower and don't make that much money."

Fox feels that there isn't a distinct advantage of being a not-for-profit business. "On one hand," he says, "there are companies that like to help out the elderly but, on the other hand, others just look at the bottom line. If we ca give them a quality product at a quality price, they'll want to use us whether we're the Work Center from the Jewish Home or XYZ Company."

Fox advises a facility to start slowly when developing a workshop. Check out the competition in your area to determine if there is a need for the services you plan to offer. It is also important to form positive relationships with your competitors, in case you want to partner on some assignments or help each other out in a crunch.

The real bottom line is that the residents, adult day care clients and senior volunteers are happy and fulfilled. As Fox reflects, "With all the ups and downs in a nursing home, we really try to keep things fun and positive down here. There's always music playing, and our energetic staff enhances this positive outlook."

And there's something about work and feeling needed.