January 2025 Newsletter

Happy New Year to you all. I can hardly believe it’s 2025. Just yesterday, everyone was worried about turning over to 2000; I had a friend from Alberta who came for a visit because she thought the world would end and wanted to die with friends. Some of our worries are unjustified.

The dates and the seasons change, and we change with them. We’re the older population, and sometimes it’s harder to do things that seemed easier last year, but then maybe we learned something new, like being kind to yourself, which is one of the greatest kindnesses. We often wait for kindness, but being kind to yourself can start now.

Being at the Centre over these past six years, I’ve had many memories of strangers helping and being kind to someone new. I’ve also witnessed exclusion, and that makes me sad. Kindness is easy: a smile and a “Can I help you?” I’m a little nervous about a new place and worry I won’t fit in. We all can make others feel welcome and included by just being kind. So, my friends, start the New Year by observing how you can be kind, and our Centre will be the happiest place in town!

Have you ever wondered where we get our bread from, as it’s so yummy? Well, Nana and Papa’s Bakery donates our bread every week (how’s that for kindness?), and I pick it up and deliver it to the Centre. I love going to the bakery, and I enjoy the people who work there.

Last week, a lovely young man named Joshua Fox waited on me, and we talked about work and what was available here in town. He told me he did odd jobs like yard clean up, and if you supply the tools, he’ll supply the brawn. That made me think about all the yards Bill and I pass when we do our daily walks and how some are so neglected. I’ll leave Josh’s phone number on the bulletin board in the hallway, and if you want to meet Josh, go to our fabulous Nana and Papa’s bakery and buy some yummy goodies.

At every Board meeting, I ask the Board Members who they would like to say thank you to. With this Newsletter, thanks from Sheila go out to Dale Kethler for the lovely handmade hats she gave away to members. Donna, our librarian, wants to give a big thank you to all our kind members who donated large-print books to the library. We always need these for many who have difficulty reading small print.

We would also like to thank all our members who contributed to the Angel Tree. This is a program run by the SOS that gives us information on needy children and then people buy a Christmas present for them. See the attached picture of the presents that we collected.

Also, at the Board meeting, we decided to have our annual general meeting on April 30th instead of March. Our bookkeeper Sharon had a terrible fall three weeks ago and is in the hospital recovering. We all wish her continued healing. Please get well soon.

Our President, Patti, will be doing our books for the end of the year and requires more time to work on this chore.

Our volunteer luncheon will be on Sunday, May 4th, at 12:00 p.m. I will be organizing this luncheon, and it is so much fun for me. It allows me to thank all our volunteers who manage the kitchen, bake goodies, make soups, and keep our kitchen spotless. We need the income the kitchen brings in daily, and we always need kitchen volunteers to keep it running smoothly. Please think of our kitchen and donate some time to it. We need YOU!

If you’re considering volunteering, we also require greeters to welcome newcomers and sign them in as members. All of us should take a turn in being a part of the Centre and its running. Be Kind. I will be asking a few friends to help me put our luncheon together. Only the centre's volunteers can help me, so if you want to come to our luncheon, you will have to be a volunteer!

Carol, our line dancing instructor, has asked us to advise everyone that the current session will finish on March 7th. If there is a commitment of at least 10 people, line dancing could start again on April 18th and run until May 30th. If you are interested in this session, please indicate in the Activity Book under line dancing. Ask the greeter on duty for the book.

Ernie, our art teacher for drawing, is ready to start a new class of Learning to Draw. Ernie is a great teacher; he even taught me, so once he has enough pupils, we’ll announce the date. Ask any greeter to let you sign up on the sign-up sheet in the Activity Book.

One of our board members asked me to ask for toiletries for the poor or homeless, so we will collect them. You can give them to the greeters to put away and pass them on. 

Our monthly draw winner this month is Fred Bull. Congratulations Fred.

Bill and I decided to go for a walk each day, and last week, we walked the Parksville Community Park Board Walk. For each person we passed, we said "Good Morning," and only one person of the 30 or 40 we told it to didn’t respond in kind. It cost us nothing to do this, and everyone smiled when we did. Be Kind; maybe you could be the one person who said something to them for that whole day.

A new activity will occur starting Monday, February 3, from 10 a.m. to noon. It is called the Widows’ Friendship Circle and will be a weekly event,

Please consider this a reminder. Food made in our kitchen is for onsite consumption only. We are not a restaurant for take-out orders. The members must pre-pay for the Friday hot lunches, and if they do not show up, they forfeit their money and food.

Food and meals are not to be taken off the premises. This is consistent with health, food, and safety regulations.

Editor
Bev Swann