May 25, 2015 Presentation to City Council Good Evening Mayor Adams, Members of Campbell River City Council, and members of the city staff… This is a very low tech presentation; but a very genuine one. I come tonight to express a thank you -- a big thank you -- on behalf of the Campbell River Seniors’ Centre Society. ` Last year, at this very time, I was part of another presentation to council. We had hopes for a permanent home for a Seniors’ Centre in Campbell River, and asked for help in making that possible. Well, the hopes became plans, and the plans became a reality; and now there is a Seniors’ Centre, a bustling, busy Seniors’ Centre in a beautiful open airy space at the Campbell River Common. So I am here this evening to say thank you ; And to tell you about our progress to date and maybe to dream about some future possibilities. Three thank yous. The first thank you is to the Parks and Recreation Commission. They heard our presentations, asked some questions and were supportive. Mr. Milnthorp was always accessible to us. But our big thank you is to the city councillors who really listened to us. They made recommendations about how to best make a seniors’ centre happen. They set the wheels in motion. And our ongoing thank yous are to the staffs of the recreation department and of the property department. They made it happen for us and they continue to be supportive to us with ideas and advice. We are so grateful to them. So those are the thank yous … genuine and heart felt …from the board and from the general membership. We moved in December and had a ribbon cutting party and the hanging of the Seniors’ Charter. We opened on January 5 th and it became immediately apparent that we were a hit. We had a membership surge that exceeded our expectations. The city gave us time and money and expertise and energy; and we want to tell you what we have done with that investment. So … the progress report …in several parts…. What do we offer to the members? What do we do for our neighbourhood, for our immediate community, and for our city; and how can we network with the community of seniors on the island. The members! There are more than 650 of us. And more than a dozen honorary members who achieve such status on their 90 th birthday. The really important figure however is the daily tally.
Every day, Monday through Friday, between 70 and 150 come to the centre to participate in one activity or another. 70 to 150 and growing! Why do the members come? The kitchen program is our primary program. The coffee and kettle are always on; and a loony buys a tea or coffee and refills for the rest of the day. The socialization programs are up and running--- card games, bingo, Mexican train. The Art group flourished, then faltered …we hope to revive it in the fall. There is a great craft group. They meet regularly to share their ideas and talents. Two new pool tables arrived on Friday. We are looking forward to having the pool playing group ‘hanging out’ again. There are four exercise programs --- yoga, line dancing, fast and slow poke mall walking, and chair exercises. I love to mention the Fit for Health program. The city recreation department takes its talented staff and a needed program out into the community; and runs it in a public space provided by a local business man. And the members of the seniors’ group benefits. It is a good story. We have an easy to use ‘take a book leave a book’ library that is very popular. We have begun our ‘talks, lectures, presentations’ from groups that have something pertinent to teach or tell or sell to seniors. We are piloting a discussion group , “Aging to Sage-ing.” This is a workshop designed to help us make the most of this stage of life both as individuals and as a collective. We try to be good neighbours in the mall. Staff from the stores often have lunch with us. We have the defibrillator for the mall area. Twelve seniors received an AED in-service from St. John Ambulance. We are working towards becoming a greener organization. There is some composting out of the kitchen and we recycle our plastics, paper, and pop cans. Google Campbell River Seniors’ Centre We have a great web site…lots of information and pictures. And within our community … We have renewed our relationship with Yucalta Lodge and New Horizons. Care givers are honorary members and all seem to enjoy the outings to play bingo. Our new tables make it easy to accommodate wheelchair members. We have renewed our association with Robron School and welcome the young people from that program and from NIEFS who volunteer to do dishes and table bussing. We enjoy each others company. We accumulate and distribute pertinent information. We kept the old bar as a beautiful piece of furniture and it has become “news grazing central.”
We share our newsletter out into the community. We have connected with businesses and agencies within the city with which we share common goals. We learn from one another -- new ideas and problem solving possibilities. Good community bridge building. Berwick by the Sea sponsors a page for us in the What’s on Digest.” Many CRSCS members have been guests for a tour and a lunch. We liaise with the Better at Home project. We have met with the seniors’ peer support group that volunteers out of the Community Centre. We have met with the over 50 active living staff and are working towards some shared activities. We applied for a New Horizons Grant in 2013, and spent it, as much as possible, in the city, on the ‘Heart and Soul’ kitchen in 2014. We received a generous gift of tables and chairs from the Rotary clubs of Campbell River. Monk Office made sure the chairs were very comfortable and easily cleaned. We have received a matching funds grant from the Recreation Foundation of BC for the purchase of pool tables. They have just been delivered and installed. Our small table went to a local youth group. On the island We hosted the seniors’ advocate town hall meeting in January; and review Ms. Mackenzie’s reports. We have connected to the seniors centres in area D, Port Hardy, Gold River and from Tahsis [they borrowed our constitution to get started,] Their members hang out at our place when they are in town for shopping or appointments. The Elders of the Campbell River Indian Band came for lunch one day. We will maintain these connections re seniors’ issues on the island. We have been up and running for just 20 weeks and so we need to stabilize the primary programs before we take on any new major project. We remain at present, a volunteer organization. There is an excellent 2015 executive and board. The Board will revisit the mission and prioritize the issues, internal and external in the autumn. ¡
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