October 2020 Directors Letter
“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” – Leo Buscaglio
The Riverview School District set a motto of “Grace, Gratitude and Hope” for the year. It’s a good one. I know that Sno-Valley Senior Center needs lots of grace to figure out how to do a virtual senior center and grace with each other as we navigate these uncertain waters. But I am also filled with gratitude for the generosity and kindness of so many. It gives me hope for the coming days as we continue to deal with COVID, fires, and the challenges of life.
I am grateful for a recent grant with “Harvest Against Hunger”. This is a program where we get $2,500 to buy fresh produce for our lunches directly from our local farmers like Carnation Farms and Oxbow Farm. It’s such a lovely win/win. I’m excited to have such fresh produce to serve! Come try it out!
I’m also grateful for a grant of $20,000 from the city of Duvall to provide mental health counseling and emotional support to older adults. This is a challenging time, more so for some than others. Our amazing social worker, Kelly Fujiwara, is providing one on one support to many plus many support groups for family caregivers, grief, and Kinship (grandparents raising grandchildren).
I’m grateful to Angie and the Re-In-Carnation volunteers who put together an amazing garage sale in September. It raised $2,500! Well done! Thank you to attendees too!
There’s a lot happening in the world right now and lots to discuss with all that is happening in the news. Our Levy
Coordinator, Val Stewart, is leading “We’re all in this Together: Conversations that Matter”. The first topic on Sept. 29 was a discussion on racial justice and equality. This is an opportunity to thoughtfully consider many points of view – not a rant session. This will continue on the last Tuesday of the month. I encourage you to join it and share your perspectives. GenPride will be presenting on Tuesday, Oct. 27th at 10:00 a.m.
On a related note, Rotary dedicated a peace pole at the Sno-Valley Senior Center. You will see the words “Let Peace Prevail on Earth” on the post by the entrance to the senior center. It is in four languages – English, Norwegian, Spanish and Chinese Mandarin. The dedication was on World Peace Day Sept. 21!
Finally, you will find enclosed in our newsletter a survey. We are required to do this survey by King County. The reason is that people who donate to the Sno-Valley Senior Center want to know what they got for their money! They want to know if they are making any difference. So now it’s your turn to let us know if you feel we have improved your life in anyway. Are we living up to our mission to inspire, support, and empower seniors to lead healthy, enriched lives? We don’t know unless you tell us.
The surveys are anonymous but if you put your name on it, we’ll enter you into a drawing for a $50 VISA card. But don’t worry, your name is not attached to the results we send to King County or funders. It is aggregated (for example 97% of people think we are awesome!) So filling out a survey is an easy way to get us money without actually having to write a check. The survey results = money from grants and funders. So thank you in advance!
Grace. Gratitude. Hope. These are good words to live by. Thank you for
giving me so much grace, reasons to be grateful and hope for the future. Contact me anytime with questions or concerns.
Lisa Yeager, 425-333-4152, Lisay@soundgenerations.org