Food Hamper Project

By

Kirsten O’Brien, Program Facilitator

At Abbotsford House, we connected by telephone and email with seniors remaining at home throughout the pandemic. During some wellness checks done by staff and volunteers, food security was mentioned as an ongoing issue for some seniors that we serve. We considered how we could support these seniors in the community during the pandemic.   For many it was the struggle to get to a store, not having a credit card for online shopping, the fear of going into a store, and for others it was having to shift finances to cover increased costs of all things associated with the pandemic.

Director of Community Programs, Karen Anne Blakely, applied for a grant through the Ontario Community Support Association to assist seniors who were struggling with food security. We received funds to be able to provide up to 50 food hampers. Staff reached out to the many seniors with whom we had spoken to in the early days of the pandemic who had identified the need. We made of list of clients, recruited volunteers, developed a delivery route and began to shop! Staff and volunteers took the time to personalize the food boxes, ensuring that what was in each box would meet the needs and preferences of each of the seniors. Deliveries of the food boxes were done by staff.

As our resources dwindled, we were fearful we would not be able to impact as many seniors as we had hoped. Then, Abbotsford House was fortunate to receive a $500.00 donation from the Glebe Metro! Owner Rebecca McKeen and her team never hesitated when they were approached to assist with this project. The team at Glebe Metro provided us with the resources to not only meet our target, but exceed our target. So far Abbotsford House has delivered 48 food boxes and the target is now increased to a total of 60 food boxes.

In addition to the donation, Glebe Metro provided Abbotsford House with a 5% discount on the grocery bills. A huge shout out to Rebecca McKeen and her team at Glebe Metro for helping with this Food Hamper project.

Clients stated their appreciation for the food hampers in their feedback to staff at Abbotsford House. We received comments such as: “Only a few people are full of compassion like you”; “You are truly an angel”; “… (the food box) was so generous, now I don’t have to arrange for someone to go get my groceries for at least a week”; and “Thank you for the food hampers. Bless you all for being part of this”.

Rebecca McKeen presents check for $500.00 for Food Box Project. Pictured are: (front row) Rebecca McKeen and Kirsten O’Brien, (back row) Nick Bermudez, Jane Stallabrass, Student Rahima Abdillahi. Missing from photo: volunteer Clara Luck. Photo credit: Pat Goyeche.

Abbotsford is your community support centre for Adults 55+.  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: Karen Anne Blakely

In 2022 celebrations will be held to mark 150 years since the construction of Abbotsford House on Bank Street. With planning underway to recognize this major milestone it is worth noting to Abbotsford House members, clients and our Glebe neighbours of the work that has taken place and will be done in the coming months on our heritage-designated home.

In March, all the old shingles on the roof were removed and to our delight exposed an interesting design feature. Whereas one might usually see sheets of plywood under the shingles the roof instead was layered with barn boards. These long pieces of wood were two inches thick and for the most part in very good shape. We were advised to keep these in place and add plywood over these boards so that roofing nails would hold.  New soffits are coming in soon.  Fortunately funding for this very significant project came partially from a government grant.

Over the past five years, twenty-five new windows have been installed while the heritage wood windows facing Bank Street have been refurbished with the aid of grants.

Next on the list are the front porch and the intricate wood gabling adorning the roofline of the house. Due of the heritage designation, we have had to follow a series of steps in order to comply with City of Ottawa rules and regulations.

Working with Tim Davis Design, an architectural plan was developed for the porch. Once approved by the City we can the move forward with the renovation in June. Thankfully we had initiated conversations with an experienced heritage property contractor in 2020 so they were able to commit to this work.

This contractor has made a commitment to try and reuse wood from the original porch but that task will only be realized once the old porch is dismantled and each piece examined. Given the pandemic and significant increase in cost of materials and renovations this project will be more expensive than originally planned.

The final project for this year is refurbishment of the roofline gables. The next time you walk by Abbotsford House cast your gaze of to the roof. Attached to it are intricate circular wood gables (also called gingerbread). Unique in style, it is interesting to note that these gables are different in look at the front and back of our home.

Quotes for the gable work are expected in the coming weeks. It is expected that work will commence in the fall. Come December you will see the same historic house on Bank Street, only better.

Specific tax deductible donations for the porch and gable work have come from many committed Abbotsford members and friends in the neighbourhood, including a nice gift from Amica Mature Lifestyles.  Should you wish to make a gift please call Bruce Hill at 613-238-2727 ext. 316 or e-mail him at BHill@glebecentre.ca

Abbotsford House provides community programs and services. The building is currently closed to the public due to the pandemic however community support services and recreation programs for seniors aged 55+ and adults with disabilities living in the community are offered virtually on Zoom, on the Seniors Centre Without Walls telephone conferencing platform and by telephone.

Call us at 613-230-5730 for more information or visit our website at www.glebecentre.ca

By Julie Ireton

More than a year into the pandemic, the team at Abbotsford at the Glebe Centre has become creative with technology, music and distanced visiting when it comes to keeping its Day Away program clients engaged and active.

The Day Away program is for clients between 60 and 90 years old who are currently in the early to middle stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Pre-COVID-19, the program ran out of Abbotsford House, the seniors’ centre across from Lansdowne Park.

The clients and staff would gather regularly to play games, do exercises, sing songs, chat and have lunch. But over the past year, the sessions have become virtual, on Zoom or through telephone conferencing.

“This week we did scavenger hunt,” said Jen Dare, Program Facilitator Abbotsford at the Glebe Centre who has been working with seniors for 30 years. “They were running around and finding things, having fun with what’s around them. Some clients interact very well, while others are not sure where the voices are coming from.”

The online programming has also included music trivia and reading short stories.

A few times, Dare and her team have created individualized activity kits with puzzles and games to drop off at the clients’ homes.

For those who aren’t able to join via Zoom, a teleconference, “party-line” has been set up to gather 7-8 clients by phone.

While switching to the virtual platform has meant a steep technology learning curve for both the organizers and the caregivers, many quickly figured out how to get-together online, said Dare.

Quite often the care-givers are spouses who also depend on the Day Away program to bring some respite, allowing them to do something on their own.

“Keeping in touch with caregivers is also important,” she said. “We find out if they need other outreach services or if they need more help in the home. It’s a difficult time for all of us, but if you’re caring for someone 24/7 it’s more challenging.”

Throughout the pandemic isolation, some have struggled with keeping their loved-ones active, said Dare.

“It certainly is a struggle at times, finding things to do. Boredom sets in and then you can see other behaviours,” she said.  “But even on our Zoom calls, it’s wonderful to see them engaging with each other. They just miss that togetherness,” said Dare.

As the weather warms up, the Day Away organizers will plan porch visits with their Day Away clients so they can catch up in person.

This spring, expanding vaccination programs across the city are bringing hope that regular programming will eventually resume.

“It’s the game changer. Once people have vaccines we can look at gathering again,” said Dare. “We can’t figure it out just yet, but there is hope we’ll get some sort of normal back again.”

Abbotsford is your Seniors Active Living Centre 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

By: Pat Goyeche                                                    March 2021

Here we are one year after COVID-19 changed our day to day way of life.

Abbotsford Seniors Centre is no exception. We were planning our usual spring registration when, like everyone else, we came to understand the need to shut down with little or no warning.  We all had to deal with the growing reality of the severity of the virus and its effects on society and, in our case, on seniors in community.

The verb ‘pivot’ has become the mantra of almost all businesses and organizations over the past year. And pivot we did!  The priority for Abbotsford became both the personal and physical wellbeing of our clients, members and volunteers. Are you living alone?  Can someone bring your groceries?  Do you have a support network?

To pursue these questions we mobilized staff and our wonderful volunteers who made phone contact with our members and clients.  That initial ‘check in’ grew into a phone tree of volunteers and staff to reach our clientele that has been maintained throughout this past year.   Volunteers, clients and members have made new friends, shared resources and tapped into the tremendous network of resources that Abbotsford staff have at their disposal.  Friendly chats have alerted us to the needs of seniors regarding food security, health, wellness and need for connectivity.

As we began to realize that we would have to ‘live with’ COVID-19 for quite some time, it became apparent that we had to reach our members where they were…at home!

The telephone was and is still a very effective means of communication with our clientele but we needed to connect in a new way, a way in which we could continue offering engaging programming that takes account of the realities of COVID-19.

Our clients, members and instructors were patient and imaginative in experimenting with virtual programming in those early months when for most of us the word ‘zoom’ was still a sound we associated with a speeding car!

What started with and continues to be a wish to ‘see’ family and friends we were not allowed to visit due either to distance or restrictions quickly morphed into a way of continuing to engage in treasured pastimes and keep up with fitness regimes.

Isabel Gonzalez is one of Abbotsford’s many instructors who initiated a way to keep our members engaged and fit.  It started with a Zumba Gold workout video by Isabel that we could share on our website.  While it was a new format it was also so familiar for our patrons to have Isabel take them through familiar routines.  This became the bedrock of keeping engaged and connected when nothing was normal.

Isabel who is originally from Chile has also been facilitating Conversational Spanish classes for Abbotsford for many years.  She and her students were keen to continue practicing their language skills. That interest and willingness paved the way for our first set of virtual programming using Zoom.

Zoom, like Google, has become its own very particular verb.  We ‘Zoom’ with our family and friends and now we Zoom to practice Spanish, write memoirs, take art courses, dance, perfect our yoga positions and engage in a myriad of fitness classes.

Virtual programming is far from perfect and cannot entirely replace the connection, socialization and spontaneity of in person interaction, but it certainly does help keep us connected and motivated.

We still have a ways to go, as seniors living independently in the community await their turn to receive the vaccination against COVID-19.  The challenges of the past year for individual seniors has been immense and at times overwhelming, but many have ‘pivoted’, flexed and changed their ways enough to keep both safe and engaged.

Much gratitude goes to the instructors, facilitators, members, clients and volunteers who have kept the faith and continue to find, partake in and create meaningful activities.  Abbotsford will continue to do its part to keep up with you!

Our March/April programming schedule boasts of over 30 different classes to choose from.  Registration for members will began on February 18^th and will be ongoing, with most classes starting the week of March 8^th.  Anyone 55+ is encouraged to become a member and join in.  You can join in and do four weeks of class if class size allow.  Call Abbotsford to connect. 613-230-5730

 Jan/Feb 2021

 By: Julie Ireton

Joan Norvid, 100, always looks forward to the mini-bus picking her up on Tuesdays and seeing her friends at Abbotsford House’s luncheon club.

Since the pandemic arrived last spring, the club now meets via teleconference, and while it’s not quite the same, Joan still enjoys catching up with the luncheon friends she initially met at the senior’s centre across from Lansdowne Park.

“They’re a nice bunch of people. I wouldn’t want to give it up,” said Joan, who still lives in her own home, but has family nearby.

Joan’s daughter, Nicole Norvid, visits and helps her mother daily. The luncheon club, even if it’s over the phone, gives Nicole, the caregiver, a bit of respite.

“They maintain a connection, it’s a tight knit group,” said Nicole. “It’s nice to know every Tuesday we have that call.”

Every week, at the end of the teleconference, Joan sings her friends a well-known tune before signing off.

I always sing Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll meet again’,” said Joan.

For Barb Neilson the calls help beat the boredom that’s come with being in a lockdown for so much of the winter.

“When I get with people I talk and talk and talk,” said Neilson. “I love the conference call and enjoy the people. There are about ten or twelve of us, including two men, but they don’t have too much to say.”

This telephone connection is just one of the programs that Abbotsford at the Glebe Centre has adapted throughout the pandemic.

This winter, 27 programs were offered to the general membership and 13 sold out. Realizing that both inclement weather and lockdown conditions have made it difficult for seniors to exercise, the centre has offered several fitness classes via zoom.  Art, Language and dance classes seem to have struck a particular chord with the members this winter.

Meditation, conversational French and Spanish, memoir writing, yoga, book club and several art classes are also offered online with new eight-week sessions opening up for March and April.

Registration will be mid-February, with classes open to all members of Abbotsford House.  It is the perfect time to join as the membership runs on a calendar year.

Marion Haunton usually travels the world every winter, but since that’s not an option this year, she’s trying out programs at Abbotsford for the first time, in fact, she has a packed schedule.

“I’m taking four art classes per week: watercolour, sketching, collage & mixed media, and one on colour,” said Haunton. “It’s very well organized and very flexible when it comes to the materials you use. I like to have something to do four days a week.”

Haunton, who is also recovering from hip surgery earlier this winter says the classes have kept her busy at a time when her choice of activities has been very limited.

While she looks forward to getting back to her travels when the pandemic is over, Haunton says she’s so pleased with the selection of classes she’s found at the seniors’ centre.

“It’s a very nice recreational thing to do and Abbotsford does a wonderful job,” she said.

Seniors and Students Connecting

December 2020 

Rosemary MacKinnon has made a new friend during the pandemic and spends hours each month chatting with her on the phone. Decades separate these new pals by age, they’ve never met face to face, but they have no problem finding things to talk about.

This fall, some Carleton University sports teams have been matched up with isolated seniors like MacKinnon, and they socialize with them by phone.

Some young women on the university’s rugby team are making calls to residents of the Glebe Centre and members of Abbotsford House seniors centre.

“With COVID I don’t get out to socialize much so it’s really nice to talk to someone about what they’re doing,” said MacKinnon. “Getting to know someone young brings more to our lives.”

University teams are still training and practicing, but varsity competitions are on-hold right now, giving athletes much more spare time than usual.

Some teams decided to spend that extra time giving back to the community.

“It’s really cool to make connections outside the school and it gives an opportunity for the seniors to keep in touch, keep busy, especially with COVID, because they aren’t able to do other activities,” said Zoe Coulter, a third year Carleton student and varsity rugby player.

Coulter, who is studying anthropology and sign language, is also hoping to put her signing skills to practice with other seniors in the community.

“It’s great practice for me,” said Coulter, “As a student, it’s nice to have a break and not think about any school work and just listen to them. It makes everyone feel good on both sides.”

Sometimes the phone calls last an hour or two, according to Coulter. They talk about anything and everything during these conversations, including politics.

Coulter says she looks forward to the end of COVID when they can meet each other in person, and maybe set up a “paint evening or story night.”

Kirsten O’Brien, program facilitator at Abbotsford House, makes the match between students and seniors and shares information about the clients so it’s not a “cold call”.

“They form friendships and look forward to the calls. They can all use a phone, so they don’t have to be techy with a computer for these chats,” said O’Brien. “The seniors are interested in that real connection, a voice at the end of the line.”

By: Julie Ireton

As COVID-19 continues to force everyone to adapt to new and safer ways of doing things, Christine Nassrallah thinks seniors should embrace new forms of technology to allow them to socialize, learn and enhance their lives.

At Abbotsford House at the Glebe Centre on Bank St., programs moved over to online platforms in the spring and continue to attract active seniors, including Nassrallah.

“Some of us are very conscious of the need to stay home and not mingle, but the Zoom classes connect us to the outside world without having to leave home. It’s a good way to diversify daily activities,” said Nassrallah, a member of Abbotsford House.

Every Monday morning, Nassrallah and half a dozen other members grab a tea or coffee, click on their Zoom app and greet each other in Abbotsford’s virtual Spanish class.

While the classes would normally be held at the senior’s centre across from Lansdowne Park, moving the program online still allows for lively conversations and direction from the instructor, in their own homes, according to Nassrallah.

But she says the zoom classes may inspire some to do a little house cleaning before class.

“Everybody comments on what they can see in the background, maybe a painting or something in your home. One person joined from her patio in Nova Scotia,” she said.

While the language classes help exercise the mind, Nassrallah and other seniors also take part in Abbotsford’s Zumba, aerobics and stretch classes to keep the body limber.

Over at Judith Yemen’s house, she shifts the dining room table so she can take part in her “functional fitness” classes on Tuesday afternoons in the air conditioned comfort of her Glebe home.

For Yemen, the Zoom class gives her the motivation to stay active.

“We’re still communicating with the instructor and the exercises are good, said Yemen, who plans to continue her twice weekly online exercise routine into the fall.

She, like Nassrallah, says she’s had no problem figuring out the technology, but notes that helpful staff at Abbotsford are eager to help those who have trouble getting connected.

“Once you have the app on your tablet or computer the link goes into your calendar. You go to that and tap it and it takes you right to the Zoom program, said Yemen.

Look for new interactive programming this fall to keep connected, challenged and fit.  A paper copy of the fall program guide is available on the front porch of Abbotsford House and on the website, www.glebecentre.ca

“Zoom, Whatsapp, FaceTime are all essential, a lifeline throughout COVID to stay in touch and stay active and keep up with family,” said Nassrallah. “All community centres should continue to look at innovations that can engage people in the community to keep them active.”

Abbotsford’s 45^th Annual Bazaar has a twist this year…it is taking place on three consecutive Saturday’s in September…12, 19 & 26!  Patrons will come in through the patio/parking lot in small groups and move through the hallway and multipurpose room (with new windows that open), purchasing touchless as they go and exiting onto Monk Street.

Come out to support your local seniors centre and find an Art, Jewels or other treasures.  Hand made teddy bears, knit wear and ornaments will be available for sale.