December 2024 Newsletter

Hi Everyone,

The newsletter is a little late due to my ill health. I picked up the chest cough virus somewhere in our little town, and it really made me very thankful for the past eight years of not being ill. Thankfully, we have antibiotics to help us get well quickly, and I’m up and running.

The newsletter will comprise what went on at the Board meeting, so here we go. Elaine May, our kitchen supervisor, reported that four of our kitchen helpers will no longer be volunteering. In each newsletter, I ask for more volunteers, and I really hope some of you will step up to the plate and begin making new friends and having fun with other like-minded people. Our Centre cannot run without you. We need your help, and I think we can start the New Year with many volunteers having fun!!

For the record, we love the great baking you do, but we also need more bakers to keep our freezer full. A treat in the afternoon or morning keeps a smile on our faces, and I love the wonderful soups you make for my lunch on Mondays.

Just a reminder, we are now taking registrations for 2025. In other words, pay the $20.00 membership fee for the Centre now, in 2024, and you’ll have this off your list of the many things you do in December. This will help us with the rush in January. Thank you.

We will have a raffle for a beautiful Christmas basket donated by Berwick Place. For $2.00 a ticket, you can enter to win a chance to win a basket displayed on the kitchen counter with the raffle tickets. The lucky winner will receive a welcome treat.

The Centre still has some money in our Helping Hands bucket. The application form is attached here; all you have to do is fill it out and put it in the marked box. It is confidential, and who can’t use an extra $50 at Christmas? Please put the completed form into the slot on the top of the box, which is on the filing cabinet in the office.

We will have hot Friday lunches on December 6th, 13th, and 20th. The sign-up sheet is on the kitchen counter, and there is a $10.00 fee when you sign up. Our best cooks are cooking these special lunches for you, so sign early and don’t be disappointed. There is a maximum number of people who can sign up.

At the board meeting, it was mentioned that we want you to give us suggestions for activities you would like to see at the Centre. Also, if you’re happy with the activities, you have to let us know. We will have a suggestion box ready for you at the beginning of January, and we look forward to hearing your ideas.

We’re having a Kraft Korner every Wednesday afternoon from 12:30 to 3:00, so come for a visit, bring your craft, enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and a goodie (thank you, bakers), and show us your handy work. If you see me there, I’m coming to learn what you do. I’m not crafty, but I enjoy watching others who are.

If you are a member who doesn’t come often to the Centre and you would like to do some new things in the New Year, we have an Activity Book that you can look at. All you have to do is ask the Greeter on duty to see it. We at the Centre want you to have a happy place to go to any day of the week. It’s very worthwhile to phone in the morning, book your lunch, soup and 1/2 sandwich for $7.50, you could even pay for your friend and have a great visit, play a game of cards, and you’ll feel good about life.

The Centre was created by a group of people who wanted someplace to go to and enjoy what life had to offer when they retired. Everyone who receives this newsletter has the Centre to do just that. All the volunteers want you to have the best of experiences: playing games, reading, exercising, dancing, chatting, painting, helping, being on the board, working in the kitchen, being a greeter (that’s what I do). I like people, and I enjoy being with them. Writing this newsletter has been a privilege for me, and meeting new friends has been a joy. How can we help you? I know December is a busy month, but make sure you take time for yourself and others. Enjoy this month, love the smell of baking, treasure the memories while taking out your Christmas treasures and placing them in your home, go for a drive and check out all the Christmas decorations, smile, phone old friends and play catch-up, and be good to yourself.

A little reminder, the Centre will be closed from December 23 to January 2, and we’ll be having a Pyjama day on January 3.

Bev Swann
Editor.