Some nice changes are coming to the Sno-Valley Senior Center! Kira Avery got a promotion! She will be the new Assistant Director. Kira will continue her current job responsibilities but will also take on the day-to-day Senior Center operations, and more fundraising responsibilities. I will be working from home more with a focus on the senior housing, strategic direction, grant writing and fundraising. Kira’s hours will increase from 32 to 40 hours a week while mine will decrease to 30 hours a week. I will be in the Center only once or twice a week. It’s a real win for the senior center to be able to grow her skills and abilities and groom her for even more responsibilities. Congratulations to Kira!
I want to thank our most amazing Plant Sale committee, most of whom returned from previous years so we have an experienced crew of volunteers. Darcy Dinwiddie is our amazing Plant Sale Committee chair leading this successful event on April 30 and May 1. Tami Agnew does a great job of ordering us a wide variety of plants, making us the largest most comprehensive plant sale on the Eastside! We buy some plants at wholesale then re-sale them but we also get some donated. Pat Beagle was the person in charge of getting plants donated. She did a wonderful job talking to all the nearby nurseries and picking up their donations. John Lambert and Dan Acker oversaw the logistics of set up and take down and getting us all the canopies we need! Cecelia McCorkle is Volunteer Coordinator Extraordinaire! She lines up and schedules dozens of volunteers to assist all week! Our volunteers make the event run smoothly and well! We also have Liz Post to serve as our Master Gardener to answer all your questions.
Denise Crutchfield oversees the First Picks party on April 29 which will look a little different this year. Because Covid19 is still causing infections, we are encouraging people to wear masks. So instead of passed hors d’oeuvres, each First Picks party attendee will get a lovely box with food, wine/beer/soda and seeds to take home with them. Denise has gotten some great donations that will make these gift boxes a real treat! Tony Dambrava will provide the music as usual. He always has such a great mix of tunes. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, you better get busy!
GIVE BIG is this May 4 & 5! This is a great chance to double the impact your donation has! Kimberly Smith of Weichert Realty Pillar Northwest has agreed to match the first $1,000 donated! Michael and Gina Fisette of Fisette Charitable Trust have pledged to match the next $5,000! So every dollar you donate will become two thanks to their matching gifts! Give Big randomly draws some non-profits for matching funds so your gift has the potential to be even more! Give Big is an online event. Giving is open now on our website!
Big news! We got a grant to provide digital equity. What the heck does that mean? It means that if you need a computer or tablet or if you need internet or if you need computer help and don’t know where to turn – we can help you! So if you would like a free computer, free internet or free help, contact the Senior Center at 425-333-4152 and we may be able to get you the support you need to zoom into classes or Facetime with family.
We are here for you. Re-opening will be gradual. We’ll require masks and physically distancing for a while yet but we plan to re-start some small programs this month and keep growing. Keep up to date in the newsletter or on-line. If you have question, don’t hesitate to ask. Just call 425-333-4152 or e-mail me at Lisay@soundgenerations.org
Lisa Yeager