Thank you to everyone who attended the Annual Membership Meeting! As a member of the senior center, this event each year is a chance for you to learn about accomplishments in the previous year, ask questions of the Board of Directors, and let us know what you want to see in the future.
2023 was a year of transition at the Sno-Valley Senior Center. We saw the retirement and hiring of several staff members, including Executive Director, Program Coordinator, FESH Hub Coordinator, and Re-in-Carnation Manager. Both entrance ramps were completely replaced, thanks to the support of our 2022 Raise the Paddle donors and as more programs were added to the schedule, there were several office and program room reconfigurations.
Construction is now fully underway on the Affordable Senior Apartment project, and construction on the 15, one-bedroom apartments should be finished in the Summer of 2024. Look for more information about the application process for an apartment as we move into the Spring.
The March Newsletter will include our 2023 Gratitude Report, with more updates and information about how we ended the year financially. As a preview, in 2023 we were able to host more fundraisers, including 1 more Rainbow Bingo, the 4th of July Spaghetti Dinner and Steak Dinner & Pie Auction. Those additional fundraisers, as well as the support of our donors and increase in Thrift Store income (great job Kate!), led to a much smaller deficit than in 2022.
The VSHSL grant application has opened up with King County, and we are excited to be partnering with Mt. Si & Issaquah Senior Center to provide shared programming and reach out to those older adults that we may be missing.
As a part of this application process, we will be working on collecting participant forms form those attending our programs. This will allow us to information you about class cancellations and schedule changes, as well as have your Emergency Contact information on file. This form also has a demographics section, which will give us a better idea of who we are serving and allow us to better serve you! Accurate demographic data (kept anonymous) is also a request of our grant funders, so filling this form our helps us receive money.
In the back of the newsletter, you can see that we are hosting the Spring Dinner & Dessert Auction on Saturday, April 6! If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please email kiraa@soundgenerations.org and be thinking about what desserts you’ll be bringing to be auctioned off!
As always if you have questions or concerns, please contact me at kiraa@soundgenerations.org or 425-333-4152.
Kira Avery Executive Director