On Tuesday, April 14, a new venture, called Seniors Networking with Seniors and the Community, began with a complimentary luncheon at the Elks Hall.
Lynne Frizzle was introduced as the senior co-ordinator who has been hired for the term of the grant which ends on March 11, 2016. Lively, knowledgeable speaker Sharon Neufeld described options for patio gardens, explained the many benefits of gardening at any age and stage of life, and encouraged seniors to make use of any space they have or develop a plot at the Community Garden beside the Yellowhead Community Services (YCS) building. Neufeld displayed examples of “intense” gardens to her attentive audience, focussing on the growing of plants for food, and gave away various starter kits.
Following this, choices of different homemade soups, buns, and delicious squares, all prepared through the Challengers program at YCS, were served by smiling young ladies from Clearwater Secondary School. Hearty applause thanked all of the above along with Susan and John McFarland who set up, served coffee and assisted the students with clean-up. Frizzle concluded the event, which had begun with time for socializing over tea and coffee, by making announcements about upcoming events.
Luncheons will occur on the second Tuesday of each month with different speakers addressing seniors’ issues and leading gentle exercise programs. “Coffee klatches”, with time to chat and share ideas, will soon begin in the Seniors’ Drop-In Centre at Dutch Lake Community Centre. More inter-generational, community-oriented events will be arranged throughout the term of this generous, federally-funded grant. Where possible, these events will be timed to use Transit or other transportation. Committees of volunteers will be set up during the oncoming months so that these initiatives will continue after that, including a committee for welcoming new seniors and their families to Clearwater and area.
The grant that makes this project possible is from the federal New Horizons Seniors Program.
Below: Clearwater Secondary School students (l-r) Kaitlyn Hunter, Shanequa Harwood and Vanessa McGill serve food during a seniors lunch held April 14. 