Looking forward and being appreciative
By Pat Goyeche
May April showers indeed bring May flowers. Our volunteer gardeners are hoping for lots of April showers to feed the beautiful flower beds that surround Abbotsford Seniors Centre.
The tremendous efforts of our main volunteer gardener and of the many volunteers who keep Abbotsford thriving and surviving were celebrated this month. Staff, members and clients were encouraged to nourish and thank our 150 strong Abbotsford volunteers throughout the month of April as part of National Volunteer Month.
Abbotsford flourishes in no small part due to our tireless volunteers who drive clients to medical appointments, support our Day Programing (Luncheon Club & Dementia Day Program), facilitate clubs and instruct classes, serve on the Members’ Council, sort, price and sell donations for fundraising initiatives, serve lunches, create and sell high quality crafts and homemade teddy bears, greet members and clients at reception, tend our gardens, and support our small staff team in innumerable ways.
Spring programming began the second week of April with a full complement of fitness classes for the varied levels and needs of our 650 strong membership. Art classes and workshops, along with language classes, memoir writing, and several weekly clubs, have kept the centre buzzing with activity.
We continue to face financial challenges at Abbotsford Seniors Centre, as the need for our in-community seniors programming increases, beyond our resources. The boomers are blooming, keeping fit, connected, and supported as they age and we aim to support them through our programming and support services at Abbotsford. We have been acting in this role since 1975!
Abbotsford has never been fully funded, but we are mandated by our provincial funders to be accessible and affordable to the general population of adults 55 +, which is of course the mission that inspires us all. We are only able to continue to deliver our programming through the support of community, volunteers and dedicated staff.
Our major fundraiser coincides with the Great Glebe Garage Sale, to be held this year on Saturday May 25th. We will be selling both indoors and outdoors. On offer will be the enormous range of donated goods that has been accumulated, sorted and priced by our volunteers. You will see 70 of our finest volunteers working up to and on that day, all with the goal of helping Abbotsford meet its financial needs.
How can you help? Donate your slightly used, but still wonderful, things to Abbotsford. We are open Monday through Friday during regular business hours. We gladly accept flea market items, jewelry and what we lovingly term ‘elegant treasures’. If you are downsizing or spring cleaning, please think of us. We accept, price and sell items all year round in our nearly-new shop as part of our fundraising, but we are particularly in need of goods to sell at this time of year.
Thank you to the community of Abbotsford members, clients and volunteers who do so much to keep Abbotsford thriving. Whether you donate goods, time or money, it all adds up to keeping our community strong.
We are also reaching out to the larger community to support our fundraising endeavors by becoming a sponsor of our event, donating goods for us to sell, or committing to be a monthly donation. All of those contributions help support seniors in our community. We all play a role in supporting our elders as they age where they live.
Abbotsford is your Seniors Active Living Centre. We are the community programs of The Glebe Centre Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit, organization which includes a 254 bed long term care home. Find out more about our services by dropping by 950 Bank Street (the old stone house) Mon- Fri 9-4 pm, telephoning 613-230-5730 or by checking out all of The Glebe Centre facilities and community programs on our website www.glebecentre.ca
