Article By Julie Ireton

Photo: Doritt Crosby congratulates Norm Knight at Volunteer appreciation event.

This year, Abbotsford at the Glebe Centre is set to mark 50 years as a social hub and service provider for seniors, and for Dorrit Crosby, long-time staffer and volunteer, there’s much to celebrate.

“Abbotsford is very important to a lot of people — it’s where important friendships form,” said Crosby. “And it was pretty much my only place of employment.”

For her, it all began in the craft room, helping with ceramics classes in 1977. Decades on, she’s now taking advantage of the centre’s activities as a retiree and member herself.

Crosby has watched programs at the seniors centre across from Lansdowne Park develop and evolve over the years.

1990s at Abbotsford

Back in the 1990s, she helped out with the popular luncheon club that would pick up 30 clients, two days a week for lunch, exercises, word games, and music at Abbotsford.

Luncheon club was designed to give seniors who were at risk of isolation some social interaction with others living on their own, she said.

“It was a fun program. I really liked it. It was mostly ladies, but also some men,” said Crosby. “I just fell in love with many of the participants.”

Then in 1996, she helped develop the centre’s ‘day away’ program as it got underway.

Still in operation today, ‘day away’ provides activities and entertainment for seniors diagnosed with early stage dementia. It also helps provide some respite for the spouses or caregivers at home who watch out for them.

“We spent months researching and going to other ‘day away’ programs to see how they were run,” said Crosby. “We recruited volunteers — some who are still helping.”

Teddy Bear production

Since the 1990s, Norma Knight, another volunteer-turned-Abbotsford member has spent much of her time at the centre with the teddy bear crafters.
“Abbotsford has been a very good place for me,” said Knight. “I could go there and make friends and contribute to what they were doing.”

Knight, who grew up in Quebec’s eastern townships, was young when she learned how to sew, so volunteering with the teddy bear group was a natural spot for her.

“I’ve made several friends over the years making teddy bears. A lot of us are getting to the older age group now, so it’s nice to go in and see them,” she said. “We’ve done some recruiting and there are now some newer, younger members too.”

Friendly face

By 2001, Crosby had worked in a variety of staff positions at Abbotsford when she moved into her role at the reception desk and became the friendly face when visitors came through the door.

“I retired on a Friday, but was back in the chair on Monday,” said Crosby about her volunteering. “I worked every day the first week of retirement.”

Now as an active member, Crosby helps out with fundraisers, answers phones or prices items for the annual garage sale.

A celebration is being planned for the official 50th anniversary this fall. And you can be sure that Crosby will be at the party.

Abbotsford Seniors Centre is part 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 programming on our website www.glebecentre.ca

By: Julie Ireton

Senior leisure activities at Abbotsford at the Glebe Centre have changed dramatically since the 1970s when crafting with macrame or decoupage was all the rage. By contrast today’s members, aged 55 plus, are more likely to be lifting weights than crochet hooks, as they take part in a wide variety of activities including Zumba Gold and belly-dancing.

“It’s so interesting how being an older person today is so different than it would have been in the 1970s,” said Janice Bridgewater, Abbotsford member, cardio instructor and the centre’s former executive director.

“I’m so proud of this place and the way it’s evolved.”

This year, Abbotsford is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a resource, social hub and service provider for seniors in the Glebe and surrounding communities.

“Abbotsford Seniors Centre has been a great touchstone for seniors living in the community throughout these past 50 years. Whether for recreation, socializing, creating, volunteering or keeping fit, Abbotsford has been a constant in an ever changing and aging society,” said Pat Goyeche, coordinator of community programs at Abbotsford.

Big changes in 50 years

The gothic revival stone house which has become a beacon for elders in the community has a rich history. It was originally built in 1872 as the private residence for Bytown pioneer Alexander Mutchmor.

When Bridgewater first arrived at the heritage house across from Lansdowne Park in the early 1970s it was an all-male senior’s residence, which at one point housed 38 men.

Now retired, Bridgewater has witnessed some of the changes at Abbotsford over the years, having worked there before starting university, then establishing her own career at the centre after graduation.

“We served meals for members of the community. If they’d lost wives or needed some help they came by for lunch – a dinner in those days,” remembers Bridgewater.

“1973 was an important time of transition – the evolution really started as it transformed into what it is today.”

When Abbotsford officially opened as the “Elderly Persons’ Centre” in 1975, the first formal duty of Ontario’s then-minister of community and social services was to cut the ribbon.

Crafts were the big draw in the 70s, said Bridgewater, including ceramics and quilting. Art classes and craft making for the annual Craft Fair are still woven into the fabric of what Abbotsford is today.

Celebration being planned

“Now at Abbotsford, people take language classes, meditation, writing and there’s a much different focus than 50 years ago,” she said.

Today, the exercise programs that fill the centre’s multipurpose room several days a week such as tai chi would have been unheard of at its 1975 opening.

“Abbotsford will keep reflecting the needs of seniors who want to and can ‘age in place’ through programming and services for at least another 50 fabulous years,” said Goyeche.

Stay tuned a celebration will be planned for the official 50th anniversary in the fall.

Abbotsford Seniors Centre of The Glebe Centre Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit, organization which includes a 254 bed long term care home. Find out more about our services and programming by dropping by 950 Bank Street (the old stone house) Mon – Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, telephoning 613-230-5730 or by checking out all The Glebe Centre facilities and seniors services on our website www.glebecentre.ca

By: Pat Goyeche
Before we shut the door on 2024 and open the window to 2025 I find myself reflecting on where we are and where we are heading. In 2025 Abbotsford Seniors Centre will turn 50 years of age!
Abbotsford Seniors Centre has been serving adults 55 + in community since in1975, when the last of the men who lived in Abbotsford moved into the ‘Tower’, now known as Chartwell Lord Lansdowne.
Abbotsford membership and participation in general recreational programming has more than doubled in the last 10 years. We also support clients through Community Support Services such as provincially regulated Day Programs: Luncheon Club (those at risk of isolation) and Adult Day Program (for people in the early stages of dementia). We also help seniors remain in their own homes through services such as home help, medical drives, friendly visiting and telephone assurance.
The population of seniors in Ottawa is growing, as it is in all of Canada. The baby boomers have bloomed into zoomers and they are looking for interesting, challenging fitness, art and other recreational activities to enjoy. Abbotsford is buzzing with activities, participants and volunteers.
Our membership and programming is flourishing but our government funding, though consistent, is not keeping up with inflation nor the demands of building maintenance. Our mandate is to offer affordable programming, but our challenge is that we are not fully funded and therefore we need to fundraise.
Luckily we have creative staff, volunteers and members who keep coming up with marvelous fundraising ideas such as the Birthday Circle where members and their friends donate their age in money on their birthdays. Other initiatives like the Abbotsford Garden Tour and The WomenSong Collective concert have been well supported by the wider community as well. These new initiatives, along with our traditional annual Holiday Craft Fair and our participation in the Great Glebe Garage Sale, go a long way to keeping Abbotsford on track. We also appreciate the many individuals who donate monthly or annually.
That said we couldn’t keep up our programming and services without the support of the many local businesses who donate goods for our silent auctions and lend a hand to sponsor many of our fundraising events.
We would like to recognize and thank Whole Health Compounding Pharmacy Glebe, Chartwell Lord Lansdowne, Glebe Metro, Amica the Glebe, Jack Uppal Realtors, and David Burns & Associates Brokerage, for their continued sponsorship of events and programming over the years.
As we look toward 2025 we value our community partners, friends, members and volunteers who continue to support Abbotsford’s programs and services.
Abbotsford Seniors Centre has a full menu of fitness programs set for 2025. Yoga, dance and different levels of fitness will keep many healthy, fit and engaged this winter. Some of our fitness classes are held on Zoom.
Are you interested in artistic programming? We have classes in pottery, mixed media and watercolour for our members.
Membership is $50 for the calendar year. Membership is key to our being able to offer so many affordable activities such as our clubs.
We have a retirement club, play reading club, book club, pool/snooker club, ping pong, writing clubs, bridge clubs, hand bell ringing, mah-jong, men’s breakfast, Tai Chi clubs and caregiver clubs.
We also offer language classes in Spanish, French and Italian. If you are looking for music, we have Ukulele and piano classes, and monthly Hootenannies where you are encouraged to join in by playing or singing along.
We hope you walk by and walk into Abbotsford if you haven’t already done so. Our volunteers curate and sell second hand items on the main floor to help Abbotsford thrive. You will find Dorothy’s Boutique (women’s nearly new clothing), a wide variety of books, jewelry, greeting cards and other treasures such as art, household items and décor for sale.
Our weekly Learn & Explore ‘Speakers Series’ is also a great way for non-members to get a taste for Abbotsford Seniors Centre. These talks take place on Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 pm. You must register in advance but it is free and open to the public.
We welcome 2025 and all that it brings, we hope you pop in and see us. We would love to show you around the centre.
Abbotsford Seniors Centre is part 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

By Julie Ireton

Sharon Ferrill has been crafting with fabric, paper and paint for 60 years and for the past three she’s been doing it alongside a group of creative women every Thursday afternoon at Abbotsford Seniors Centre. 

“They let me do anything I like,” said Ferrill who moved to the Glebe from Winnipeg in 2021 and became a member at the senior’s centre. “Today I made mug rugs, kind of a tiny quilt to put beside your computer with your mug on one side and your cookie on the other.” 

As Abbotsford Seniors Centre, across from Lansdowne Park, prepares for its third annual Craft Fair, the crafters are working on seasonal cards, ornaments, baby clothes, knit wear, yoga bags and other hand-made creations.

The fair, set for November 30, from 10 am to 2 pm, will also feature hand-made teddy bears, and home baking including frozen apple pies. Visitors that day will also be invited to visit the tea room, where you can relax and enjoy lunch and treats.   All the proceeds will go toward supporting the senior’s centre.

Having spent close to four decades travelling the world on postings for Canada’s foreign affairs department, Ferrill was accustomed to moves and making new friends, but Abbotsford made the transition to life in a new city even easier, she said. 

“Everyone in the craft group is very friendly. It’s a social occasion, and a very relaxed, lovely place to go. We sit around, chat about other things – not just crafts,” she laughed. “Some are knitting, some are sewing, others are making cards.”

Ruth Hetherington, one of the veteran crafters, has been involved at Abbotsford for more than 20 years. She said Ferrill has been a great addition to the group.

“Sharon is amazing. She has tons of ideas and shows up with something different every week,” said Hetherington. 

After spending her career in high tech and government in Ottawa, Hetherington did some crafting on the side. Now it consumes a lot of her spare time.

“When COVID closed everything down, we were wondering what would happen to the craft group since it was dwindling then,” said Hetherington. “Now we have about a dozen members. Everyone gets on like a house on fire and we share ideas and suggestions.” 

Since Abbotsford often receives donations of supplies, the group will also set up a table at the Craft Fair to sell supplies, beads, buttons, fabric, yarn and fabric. 

Fundraiser concert

Abbotsford Seniors Centre hosted the Womensong Collective: celebrating local women songwriters and supporting community on Sept. 20. It was a fundraiser for the senior’s centre. 

Sponsors of the event included: Whole Health Pharmacy (gold level) DBA, (silver level) Amica The Glebe and JUHL Realty Team (bronze level) and Gigspace and The Blue Pearl Foundation. 

“Seventy audience members were riveted by the performance of five,

talented local musicians: Sarah Jackson, Lisa Taylor, Caroline Cook, Patti Burnett, and Karen Oxorn,” said Karen Anne Blakely, director of community services at Abbotsford. “Each musician showcased their inspirational songs within the genres of

folk, country and bluegrass music.”

At the cocktail party after the concert, bids were made on silent auction items in the Abbotsford dining room. 

The chef and director of culinary services at Amica The Glebe, Robert Hughes, provided the hors d’oeuvres.

I’m Retired! (now what?)

A Workshop of Discovery for the Newly, or Nearly, Retired

By: Nadine Dawson

(bear with me, it’s not really a non sequitur, but) Remember when you were expecting your first child?  That time in your life when you are completely consumed by What to Expect When You’re Expecting, along with such important decisions as midwife or obstetrician? home birth or hospital? Remember how you walked around town glowing with Expectation?

Soon enough, your little bundle of joy arrives in the world, and you are thrilled! Welcome, little one, welcome, you cry!  And then Junior does – cry, that is, and you realize, you have absolutely no idea how to care for an infant.  It occurs to you that maybe this parenting thing is going to be a bit more complicated than you first thought…

Fast forward a few years, and you are ready to retire.  Hooray!  You’ve taken the course about pensions and old age security and you’ve crunched the numbers.  You’ve made important decisions such as June or September? cruise or safari?  And you walk through your days glowing with Pending Emancipation.

Soon enough, your last day arrives. You say your farewells, pocket your gold watch (or in my case, a handbell…?!), and step out into Freedom.  That’s it, you cry.  I’m retired!  But then a little voice whispers, now what? and it occurs to you that maybe this retirement thing is going to be a bit more complicated than you first thought…

The truth is, just like parenting, retirement can test our mettle.

Statistics will tell you that many people’s happiness actually falls during the first two years of retirement.  Research will show you that many retirees end up spending their days with their new best friends – the couch, the tv, and the fridge.  And if by retiring younger than your peers, or in poor health, or from a workaholic job, and if you find your social contacts, like your finances, are tighter than expected or the hours in the day longer, quite unexpectedly you may find yourself drifting – bored and lonely and decidedly unhappy.

Before you give up on retirement and scurry back into the workforce, consider this: with a little knowledge, a little patience, and a few well-placed resources, you, too, can retire happy, wild, and free!

Yes yes, you exclaim.  That is exactly what I want!

Good news! An interactive, one-day workshop is coming your way.

The goal is to bring together new retirees so that we might discuss what it means to make the transition into retirement, explore ways in which we might reinvent ourselves for our new role, and consider how we might structure our time to better serve our happiness and satisfaction.  Additionally, we will consider ways to make meaningful connections in the community so that we remain vital, contributing members of society.

How did this workshop come about, you ask?  My former colleague, Kathy Bol, and I have sampled the panoply of emotions that retirement has to offer – from the early confidence of thinking, we got this, to the dawning realization that January in Ottawa is dark and cold and long when you’ve no particular place to be.  Thus began a search to discover how to be more happily retired.  Now collectively, we can speak personally about part-time work and volunteer work, physical activity and routine, creativity and identity and travel and play.  As retired teachers, not only do we still love to learn, we still love to share what we learn, and hence, we created a workshop for people to meet, exchange ideas, and move forward in retirement with greater awareness.

So if you are wanting to make the most of your retirement – but not exactly sure how, or if you would like to connect and share experiences with other newly, or nearly, retired people, please join us for the day on Wednesday, October 16th.   We can’t guarantee you will have a long and meaningful retirement – but we can help you orient yourself towards one.

For further inquiries or to register, look for the Fall Program Guide for Abbotsford Seniors Centre, or contact them at 613-230-5730 or abbotsford@glebecentre.ca.

Nadine Dawson is an artist of fickle loyalties who lives in Old Ottawa South.  She is the almost completely unknown author of Lavender, Longing, Love; A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Memoir.  Abbotsford Seniors Centre Member and Volunteer.

How Does Their Garden Grow?

By: Pat Goyeche

Abbotsford Seniors Centre is hosting a unique and certainly beautiful fundraiser on Saturday June 22^nd from 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm.  This members-driven fundraiser offers a tour of eight magnificent local gardens.

The eight gardens on the tour represent the efforts of Abbotsford member gardeners in the Glebe, Old Ottawa South and Old Ottawa East, and at Lansdowne. Tour participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, learn and get inspiration from experienced gardeners with a variety of styles who have practical advice to offer about what grows well in our zone and in an urban setting.

You can purchase tickets for $25 over the telephone or in person at Abbotsford Seniors Centre Monday – Friday from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.  Drop in at 950 Bank Street (the old stone house) or telephone us at 613-230-5730.  Have your Visa or MasterCard handy.

Check out these tantalizing descriptions of the gardens on the tour, to get your green thumb itching. And then be sure to pick up your ticket(s).

Organized disorder

The first garden, situated on a deep 165-foot lot, has been continuously maintained by the owner for 52 years. It has evolved over the decades from the shade of elms to full sun and vegetable plots, and then back to shade. The front garden is densely planted with full sun flowers and the back is an oasis of colourful shade perennials and annuals in containers. It is characterized by “organized disorder” and the gardener has incorporated many plants given by friends over the years. 

Native plants, flowers, shrubs and vegetables

Next, fittingly behind the Horticultural Building at Lansdowne, is a demonstration garden consisting of 25 raised beds of corten steel. The landscape designer, an Abbotsford member, will lead you through this garden and describe the themes of the various beds. She will share what has worked well in the last nine years since the original installation. Seven of the beds are planted with native plants of importance to the Algonquin people of the region. Other beds feature perennial and annual flowers grown together with shrubs and vegetables. You will learn about a variety of plants that grow in containers as well as the challenges and the benefits of integrating food and flowers in our plantings to optimize the benefits to pollinators.

Wild thing

Mine is a wild-ish shade garden.  Over my stewardship, it lost a venerable silver maple in an ice storm and been surrounded by infills.   I’ve planted many, many birches for privacy and summer cooling.  Wildlife loves the wee still pond.  Pampered plants are native woodland, including a big trillium patch. 

Particularly pleasant

Our next garden is all about enthusiasm for the diversity of leaf and flower forms. It has changing displays about every 10 days from April to November. Layers of colour and shape make up a tapestry of wild beauty. You move from a small sunny front garden packed with plants, down what was once a shared drive, but is now a fabulous pebbled path with flower beds on each side, to a rear garden that is a riot of colour and volume. After 25 years, the gardener no longer needs to manage her perennials, they just enjoy themselves and are supplemented by yearly gifts from other gardeners and must have nursery finds. 

Downsizing but blooming beauty

For our next gardener, downsizing their garden twelve years ago was one of the hardest parts of moving to a new home. From having a quarter of an acre to play in, it was quite a jolt to go to one small arc of earth around a concrete patio, (whilst a bit of a relief to aching bones). Retrieving small clumps of all the gardener’s favourite perennials, they transplanted them to a new garden very quickly that fall and crossed their fingers that the plants would survive. Some did and some didn’t. Eventually, all of them got moved around as the gardener gained new knowledge of the miniature patches of sun and shade in the new garden. Over the past twelve years they have nurtured a tiny garden that pretty much looks after itself with just enough soil to get a gardener’s hands dirty and enough tiny spaces to fill to justify visits to garden centres in the spring. And it is much loved!

The grass isn’t greener but the perennials are brilliant

This front yard garden was recently planted with an assortment of perennials and a wide variety of ornamental grasses to replace a front lawn. The gardener designed this partly-shaded space using a colour palette of chartreuse, steely blue, reds and greens. It features a Japanese lilac tree along with a Bloodgood maple. In the backyard of this home an inviting curved pathway leads you though a cottage style garden showing how much serenity can be achieved in a tiny garden using a large variety of shade loving perennials. It is further enlivened by lots of garden art. Don’t miss the shed featuring a green roof.

Round and round the garden

This small garden is neatly laid out on a small city lot. It is reminiscent of a formal English garden with roses, peonies, clematis and hydrangeas. It features a number of compact and columnar tresses, well-suited for a small urban site. A number of bird baths dot the garden and a small deck fountain blocks out city noise.

Whimsy and beauty combined

Our final garden, on a double lot, features whimsical containers such as a log train planted yearly with annuals. It abounds with perennials for both sun and shade. The collection expands annually and includes grasses, bleeding hearts, tradescantia, ferns, sedum, nine bark, tiger eye sumac and more.

What an inspiring, relaxing and beauty-filled way to spend a Saturday afternoon. You won’t want to miss this splendid opportunity. And you will be supporting Abbotsford at the same time!

Abbotsford Seniors Centre of The Glebe Centre Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit, organization which includes a 254 bed long term care home.  Find out more about our services and programming by dropping by 950 Bank Street (the old stone house) Mon – Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, telephoning 613-230-5730 or by checking out all The Glebe Centre facilities and seniors services on our website www.glebecentre.ca

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 25^th.  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

By Pat Goyeche

Early bird spring has brought the Canadian geese home early and the ‘snow birds’ have landed!

Everyone is ‘flocking back’ to Abbotsford for a taste of spring programming and we won’t disappoint. 

A recent survey of our membership asked for feedback on programming ideas and one dominant ask was for more art classes and workshops. This spring, we have added five new workshop of one afternoon each.  Members will bring home completed projects in block printing, silk-screening, mini textured landscape painting, tulips painted on silk, and watercolour on plexiglass and DuraLar.  These will be wonderful keepsakes for the artist or lovely gifts for friends and family. 

We also have watercolour, drawing and an expressive portraits class on our spring menu.  Members will be able to join pottery classes, facilitated bring-you-own art project sessions, as well as club time, where members work on projects with fellow members.  Our potters continue to enjoy studio time under the guidance of Andrina Cox.

Abbotsford has an extraordinarily creative bunch of volunteers; our craft group participants have swelled and the group that makes handmade teddy bears is bursting at the seams.  These two groups have been creating and fundraising for Abbotsford since the mid 1970’s.  Each year they create unique crafts to sell in our ‘nearly new’ shop with seasonal offerings as well as at our craft fair on the last Friday of November each year.

If you are looking for something special for a baby/child or friend, you should stop in at Abbotsford during our hours of operation Monday – Friday from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.  We have gently used ladies clothing, books, cards, puzzles, jewelry, and many ‘white elephant’ items for sale daily.  We also stock brand new, hand made teddy bears and seasonal craft items that our talented volunteers create.

Fresh air brings fresh starts.  Get started by getting fit when you join one of our many exercise programs.  We have different levels for different levels of participation.  You will be challenged no matter the fitness level.  We also continue to offer some programming virtually over Zoom.

Do you play pool or ping pong and are looking for an opportunity to play? We have that covered.   Are you keen to play Bridge?  Yes, we have that too.   Make your move, come on over and see what you have been missing out on!

Abbotsford Seniors Centre is for Adults 55+.  It houses 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 telephoning 613-230-5730 during regular business hours or by checking out all of The Glebe Centre facilities and community programs on our website www.glebecentre.ca  See Abbotsford Seniors Centre’s drop down menu for a comprehensive overview of our services and our current program guide.

Day Away Programming at Abbotsford

By Julie Ireton

Two mornings a week, David and Aggi Hutton arrive to Abbotsford Seniors Centre, to the Day Away program for dementia clients. 

Aggi, David’s bride of 53 years, stays for the activities and lunch, allowing David some time to do groceries, errands and chores before he picks her up at 3 pm. 

“Sometimes I’m exhausted and I’ll sleep for part of that time,” laughed David who is Aggi’s primary caregiver as well as the cook and cleaner in their Glebe home. 

The Day Away program at Abbotsford Seniors Centre provides a safe, familiar environment for people with early to mid stage dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, while giving their caregivers some much needed respite.

The program, offered to those who live in their own homes or in a retirement residence, runs from noon to 3 pm on Thursdays and 9:30 to 3 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. 

Three staff members, along with two or three regular volunteers, guide the 12 clients through intellectual, physical and social activities throughout the day. 

“The activities run for about 45 to 50 minutes, considering their shorter attention spans and we change rooms after each activity so they get a change of scenery,” said Cassandra Ford, program facilitator. 

“We offer seated exercise programs, games such as headline hunter, singing, and crosswords. We try to give structure to the day so there are similar activities, there’s a routine and they know what to expect.” 

Each of these days, participants all get a hot meal which includes soup and a main course made in the Glebe Centre’s kitchen. 

“The best part is making a connection with the client, even if it’s brief, and seeing their faces light up when they’re able to contribute,” said Ford. “But the worst part is because you see them every week, you recognize the changes brought by this progressive disease.”

Aggi Hutton, a former intensive care nurse, gradually started to show signs of dementia a few years ago. 

Her husband says it’s now quite pronounced and she can no longer be left on her own. 

“She’s still very cheerful and fun to be with, but she just doesn’t know what happened five minutes ago,” said David. “The program gives her lots of stimulation, more than I can give her, and it gives me time to do other things.” 

She never hesitates to head to Abbotsford, the senior’s centre across from Lansdowne Park.

“She loves it there. The staff are well organized and the program runs like clockwork,” he said.

There were funding cuts to the Day Away program in the spring of 2023, according to Karen Anne Blakely, director of community programs at Abbotsford.

“So we’re creative with the money we still have,” she said. “We cut back on one day of programming and ended virtual programming in September.” 

The catchment area includes the neighbourhoods of the Glebe, the Glebe Annex, Old Ottawa East, Old Ottawa South, Riverside Park, Heron Park, the Hunt Club area west of Bank St. and Carleton Heights.

Caregivers looking for respite for someone with early to mid stage dementia can call Home and Community Care for a referral. There’s currently a wait list and it could take a few months to get into the program, according to Ford.

“I feel very fortunate to have this service. It’s really good for Aggi and it’s really good for me. The only way they could improve it would be to offer more days to more people. But what they give us is great,” said David Hutton.

Abbotsford Seniors Centre is for Adults 55+.  It houses 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 telephoning 613-230-5730 during regular business hours or by checking out all of The Glebe Centre facilities and community programs on our website www.glebecentre.ca  See Abbotsford Seniors Centre’s drop down menu for a comprehensive overview of our services and our current program guide.

By: Pat Goyeche

Abbotsford hosted a Seniors Active Living Fair on Friday, January 5, 2024, funded by the provincial government through the Older Adults Centre’s Association of Ontario network. MPP Joel Harden and Glebe Centre’s Executive Director Emma Tibbo offered words of welcome to the participants and a letter was read from Minister Raymond Cho, Minister of Seniors and Accessibility. 210 older adults took part in free activities throughout the day: fitness classes, hearing tests, water colour painting, needle-felting art, a talk about alerting seniors to frauds and scams, and another talk about the benefits of exercise as we age with Heartwise instructor, Lisa Guadamuz.