News

Director Letter – September 2022

I have to thank Jennifer Berg, our amazing chef, for 20+ years of involvement in the senior center as volunteer and staff. She is retiring to enjoy more time with the grandkids. I know you have all really enjoyed her incredible made from scratch meals, so I hope you’ll be able to attend a farewell party for her on Friday, Sept. 23 at noon. She has made life happier for us all and we wish her all the best.

Wow! I am in awe of your generosity and that of our community for the Sno-Valley Affordable Senior Apartments! Thank you! I’ve been deeply touched by some low-income seniors who scraped together funds so they could contribute too. I know one person who saved $5 each week to make what was a huge donation for them of $60 with a verbal pledge for the remaining $40 so they could get the match. I don’t even know how to describe how that makes me feel that they sacrificed needed items to be part of this. So many gave what I know what a real stretch for them so they could buy a brick. Thank you. Won’t it be amazing to see the housing break ground next summer! I can’t wait to see it in person.

I write this letter in the middle of the month, so it’s only mid-August as I write and I don’t have a complete update for you on the housing.  As of this date we are half way to our goal of $300,000. I’m quite sure we’ll get to $200K by the end of the month thanks to the generous challenge pledge of Michael and Gina Fisette of $20,000.  They agreed to extend the match to Labor Day so if you haven’t had a chance to contribute – you can still get a match until September 5!! That’s great news!

Thanks to a generous member coming in and pledging the sale of their Duvall home to the center and donations from the community, that leaves us with a $100K shortfall, which is amazing considering we initially needed $1 million! What happens if we don’t make it? I have some good indications from some private foundations that they may be able to contribute the remainder – not guaranteed but encouraging.  (I’ll know in November.) They, like you, understand the need here. So, in our application to the state for the last $1.3 million needed, we can show foundations as a pledge. We’ll show definitively that our community cares and supports this project. That is huge! All private foundations also required that we prove community support so please know that every dollar you gave made a difference in helping us get more funds!

In December, we will hear if we got the remaining funding from the county and state. I’ll let you know for sure in our
January newsletter. Then we’ll apply for a mortgage of $800,000 which will be paid by the rents of the residents. The state requires that we have a mortgage or they think we don’t need grants! Government logic! Then we get all the
building permits needed.

Once we have all the permits and funds then in the spring, we will close on all the financing. Then we can break ground early summer of 2023.  The building will be complete summer 2024 and ready for people to move in!

I keep being reminded of the need by the seniors who want to move in there! Here are some of their stories:

One woman told me that she lives in Senior Housing now…but she had to move out of the area to find an affordable senior apartment and she REALLY wants to move back to Carnation so she would be very excited if our Senior Housing Apartment was built.

Another woman shared that she lives with her family now because she couldn’t afford to live on her own-but she would love so much to be able to have her own apartment and is so hopeful that our Senior Housing Apartment might be an option for her!

Thanks for being part of this dream for affordable senior housing.  If you have questions, contact me anytime at
Lisay@soundgenerations.org or call 425-333-4152.

I’m so excited to give you a progress report on the Sno-Valley Affordable Senior Apartments! Thanks to support from our generous community, we’re making headway on gathering all the funds needed to start construction next summer.

We are getting closer to our financial goal as private foundations consider our proposal and as our community continues to give. We have $75,000 in hand as of mid-July and much more promised or considered toward our $300,000 goal. The great news is that we have procured 70% of the $7.4 million in funds needed to construct this building. We are so close!

You still have an opportunity to give any amount or buy a brick with your name and message engraved! These bricks will go up the walkway to the apartments so your name or message will be visible to all for years to come. What an opportunity to make a permanent impact!

I hope you can help us get the rest of the way toward our goal. We’ll have a housing breakfast on Tuesday, August 16 from 8:00-9:00am with pastries, fruit, coffee, orange juice, and more! At this breakfast you’ll also have an opportunity to see the drawings and ask questions and rejoice in the progress made. Be part of this historic moment.

Curious about the senior center workings? Our board meetings are open to the public. We meet every other month so the next meeting is Monday, Sept. 12 at 5:30 pm. Our minutes are on the website and on a bulletin board in the hall by Re-In Carnation. Our annual report with financials is on the website.  If you want to see the financials for the month, ask Lisa and she’ll e-mail or print for you. Our treasurer is an accountant who with our finance committee keeps a close eye on the financials. Right now we are running a deficit, but when we get payment for some grants in the fall, we are projected to end the year in the black. We are now recruiting for the board, so if you are interested in serving the Center this way, let Lisa or Board President Sara Lambert know.

We are offering Estate Planning Day on Tuesday, August 23  We’ll start with a presentation from 9:30 – 10:30 am. Followed by individual 45 minute appointments from 10:45 am – 4:30 pm with the option to spill over into the next day with appointments if needed. This is an opportunity for you to have a free consultation with Elder Law Attorney, Jerry Sprute. Call 425-333-4152 to line up your free appointment and be sure to attend the live presentation at the senior center. We’ll have free forms on making a will too!

So now you have no excuse for not being prepared for the inevitable. While you are making your will consider a gift to the Senior Center in your will or make SVSC a beneficiary of your life insurance.  A legacy gift ensures that this senior community center is around for a long time to continue to inspire, support and empower seniors to lead healthy enriched lives.

If you have questions about anything, call Lisa Yeager at 425-333-4152 or e-mail Lisay@soundgenerations.org or contact board president, Sara Lambert- saradlambert@me.com .

Director Letter – July 2022

I am reading a book called “Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit and Sexy until You’re 80 and Beyond”. This isn’t an ad for the book but it woke me up to how much the senior center is doing that this doctor advises to help you live your best life now. I’m inherently lazy. My hobbies are reading and puzzles both pretty sedentary.  But lately, I’ve been motivated to try to do more to be healthy. The author says “Play like a dog” which brought up interesting images, but the point is to have fun. The first key is exercise.  The senior center has so many fun things to do get your body moving!

Laughter Yoga is a ridiculously fun way to get healthier.  You should check it out. Then there’s the hiking group out in the local forests and trails.  And the drumming class is energetic but you don’t even feel like you’re exercising.  I hear the bursts of laughter from the balance class Otago so I know they’re having fun!  Chair Yoga is relaxing yet impactful.  I have enjoyed Enhance Fitness and really missed it during the pandemic. It’s not the same doing it alone at home.  Our fitness classes fit the bill for health in two ways – exercise and socializing.

A second key is as mentioned above – socializing. We need people. It’s easy for me to let inertia take over but I know it’s important to get up and get out.  The pandemic put us out of the habit of socializing, but it’s so key to our mental health.  A good way is to share your hobbies with others which is why I’m part of a book group. SVSC has a good one!  There’s also bridge, handwork, Bunco, table tennis, art, singing group, armchair travel and more.  Just pick something you’d like to learn about or enjoy doing now. You’ll find a warm welcome. I moved recently so I’m trying to meet people by joining some art classes and clubs.  It’s important to feel part of a group. Volunteering is a great way to get involved too!

One part of connection is technology which is here to stay.  So we hired Lance as our Digital Equity Coordinator which is a fancy way to say he can help you with your phone, tablet, computer or help you obtain a tablet or a mobile hotspot so you can get internet. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it. We’ll have some classes coming with some ideas how to use technology and not get used by it!

A third key is intellectual stimulation which is why we have the brain fitness group which enjoys puzzles and games together and laughs together. But even armchair travel keeps us learning new things as do the many adult education classes we have. The trips Kira plans are always a fun way to learn at a museum or tour or what have you but it’s also a great way to meet new people.

The final key is nutrition. I just did the Trimazing class at SVSC on eating healthier to avoid diabetes. I learned a lot. We often offer classes on nutrition.  Jennifer’s homemade meals are checked by a dietician to confirm we are meeting your full nutritional needs.  The homemade desserts are just for the joy of it. You can’t beat Jennifer’s cookies!

Anyway, get as much as you can out of the Center’s programs and introduce us to others.  You might find out that you are living a longer, happier, healthier life just by having fun with us.

Feel free to tell me or Kira if there are programs you’d like to see or improvements we can make to programs.  We’re here for you.

Lisa Yeager, Director Lisay@soundgenerations.org or 425-333-4152, ext 1

P.S. We’re still working on gathering the final $300,000 to build our senior housing. Bricks are still available for purchase!  Information on our website www.snovalleysenior.org or at the Center.

We’re going to have a party!   Exclusive Preview!

You’re invited to an event for the Sno-Valley Senior Center’s once-in-a-lifetime special project fund for the Sno-Valley Affordable Senior Apartments! 

Please come to the grassy area next to the parking lot at the Sno-Valley Senior Center on Wednesday, June 29 from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm.

• Enjoy live music and appetizers.
• See the architect drawings and the area for the Senior Housing.
• Get all your questions answered.

This is your opportunity to learn and donate any amount in order to unlock more funds by our generous granters!  Our goal is only $300,000 because we’ve already raised $4 million in grants of the $6 million needed!!

You hold the key to opening the door to $2 million dollars more! Our final funder wants to know that all funds are in or pledged before giving the final amount so we need your special donation pledge by September 1^st. 

To make it easier, we can take pledges that are not paid until the construction begins enabling you to give more than you might otherwise or even pay your pledge over time.  OR we can take cash or credit cards now. Any amount helps!

This is a special fund with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make Carnation a better community for low-income older adults forever!  This is a gift that will live on.  It’s a way to make a permanent impact on our community and for our seniors.

It’s also an opportunity for your name to live on!

At this party, we’ll have information about opportunities to buy a brick with your name engraved!  These bricks will go up the walkway to the apartments so your name or message will be visible to all for years to come. What an opportunity to make a permanent impact!

An engraved brick costs $1,000. You can put whatever message you like on it so be thinking about who you might like to honor or memorialize.  The brick can be paid for in ten $100 payments over time or all at once. At the event, we will unveil the size and the number of letters you can use on your special brick. You can order your brick at the event or on our website at https://snovalleysenior.org/ You also have the opportunity to pledge $10,000 for your name on a prominent plaque in the apartment lobby or $50,000 for the opportunity to name a room!

I can’t believe that we are so close to realizing our dream. I’ve been working on senior housing with the senior center since 2005.  Making this goal will allow us to break ground for 15 one-bedroom apartments right here in Carnation. No longer will our beloved seniors have to move out of the area to downsize a home or find an affordable place to live.

There’s more information on our website but if you have any questions about this – or anything – feel free to contact me at 425-333-4152 or Lisay@soundgenerations.org

– Lisa Yeager

Directors Letter– May 2022

A pivotal point for our membership was the 2018 Membership meeting.  Nearly all those in attendance rated “Senior Housing” as their top priority. We can be proud that our board of directors heard you and is responding!

Since then, the board commissioned a feasibility study (completed March of 2020.) The study showed that indeed, the need for Senior Housing is immense in our community!  In fact, there is no affordable senior housing in the Snoqualmie valley.

We know that, because of the lack of affordable senior housing, many of our beloved members were forced to move far away when their single-family homes became too expensive or too hard to maintain.

Sno-Valley Senior Center is dedicated to solving this seemingly insurmountable challenge.

One member’s story, among many that you know, stands out in my mind. Howard Miller was a friend of mine. He moved to Carnation when he was in his 20s and opened Miller’s Dry Goods. He bragged he knew the underwear size of everyone in town! He was so involved with youth sports that the playfield at Tolt Middle School was named after him. He was deeply embedded in this town. But as he reached his 90s, he found it increasingly difficult to maintain his home. He wanted to downsize to something more affordable but he couldn’t because nothing existed. He had to move away from the town he was so invested in and where he raised his family. Howard, a veteran, passed away far from the people and places he loved. I miss him – and so many others – who have been forced to move away due to the lack of affordable senior housing.

But there is good news!  We are well on our way to getting Sno-Valley Affordable Senior Apartments built! Please read the fact sheet in this newsletter with the details.

We have already procured $3.2 million of the $6 million we’ll need, with other awards to come soon. I know, with the community’s help, we will fund the 15-unit 3-story affordable senior apartments.

However, it’s evident that SVSC needs to contribute approximately $1 million as our portion of the full cost. But more good news!  When one of our members heard about our financial need and the grants coming in, they decided to pledge the sale of a home they own in Duvall to the senior center! It is valued at $700,000 so now we only have $300,000 to fully fund our affordable senior apartments.

But, we are on a deadline.

While we have a very good chance of getting that $2.3 million government grant – we must show that we have all other funds in place by September 1^st. That’s where our membership comes in.

This is your opportunity to support this work. You hold the key to unlocking more funds.

This is a special one time fund – a once in a lifetime opportunity – to make Carnation a better community for low-income older adults forever! If you would like to make a donation to this fund today, send it in the envelope included in this newsletter, and indicate “senior housing” on the donation.

Much more information is to come! In the meantime, please ask any questions you have. Feel free to call me at 425-333-4152, ext 1 or e-mail me (lisay@soundgenerations.org)  or our board President, Sara Lambert at saradlambert@me.com

Thank you!

Lisa