Senior Centers celebrate Christmas
Santa Claus was in town, and he saw a full house at the Waynesboro Senior Center on Wednesday.
WSC hosted a Christmas lunch for its members and members from sister Senior Centers in Staunton and Churchville.
The Centers hold similar mixers once a quarter, said Janice Gentry, the director of the Waynesboro Senior Center.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the members to be able to socialize with folks that they don’t get to see all that often,” Gentry said.
This year’s joint Christmas lunch was the first that the local Senior Centers have held together, said Gail Ham, the director of the Churchville Senior Center.
Close to 100 local seniors took part, with the lunch supplemented by entertainment and visits with Santa.
“You come here and get together, and you can mingle with everybody. I try to mingle with everybody, crack jokes. It’s nice. I enjoy it,” Waynesboro Senior Center member Larry Ransome said.
“I think it’s just wonderful that we’re all together. It’s the Christmas spirit that everyone should have at this time, love for one another, joy and celebrating Jesus’ birth. It’s just wonderful,” Staunton Senior Center member Marilyn McGonigal said.
SSC director Lynn Harris was all smiles seeing “so many people coming and enjoying themselves and singing and seeing Santa Claus and exchanging gifts.”
“It’s just been a great way to celebrate the holiday,” Harris said.
Churchville Senior Center contests conclude in shopping spree
Businesses in Churchville are struggling this Christmas season. as they are everywhere. Members of the Churchville Senior Center decided to do something about it, at least for one business.
Karen’s Boutique is a new business residing in an old grocery store. The owner, Karen Luster, is a resident of Deerfield who provides a marvelous array of gifts and antiques in her homey shop. A woman of many talents, Karen is also a dance instructor! During the month of December, gift certificates have been awarded as prizes for the various games and contests at Churchville Senior Center.
The big shopping day will be Thursday, Dec. 22, when Karen will provide refreshments for shoppers, give a 20 percent discount to CSC members, and redeem the gift certificates. This is the first of community partnership programs that the center is planning for the coming year.
More online at www.ChurchvilleSeniorCenter.org.
East Rockingham High School SCA spearheads donations for homebound seniors
Based on a presentation in November by East Rock Senior Center Director Lisa Gooden about ways the East Rockingham High School SCA could partner with the Senior Center, a plan was set in motion by ERHS SCA Advisors Kim Dean and Natalie McCrady to have students collect personal care items for the Center’s most vulnerable clients – the homebound elderly.
In the photo taken by Joshua Gooden last Friday, ERHS SCA officers are shown holding some of the items collected: powder, Q-tips, cotton balls, and soap. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand wipes, tissues, shampoo, lotion, and even some cute small stuffed animals were packaged for delivery to our clients receiving home delivered meals. Also, Rebecca Holloway, the ERHS FFA advisor, donated a case of oranges and grapefruit for the project, which will be a nice treat for the recipients. SCA members also created colorful, handcrafted cards to go along with the items that will be delivered to folks. Read more
Busy schedule at Staunton Senior Center
Grief Share Group: Melissa Morris, social worker with Gentle Shepherd Hospice, facilitates a Grief Share Group every first Thursday of the month at 10:45 a.m.
This program provides seniors with an opportunity to discuss feelings related to various losses they may have experienced in the past several years such as loss of independence, divorce, death, or loss of a pet.
Members have discovered this time to be beneficial as they enjoy Melissa’s gentle, encouraging approach!
Christmas spirit abounds at the Staunton Senior Center
Dec. 16 was a busy day at the Staunton Senior Center, as there was much Christmas cheer as well as December birthday celebration and Red Hat Day!
Two volunteers, Dorris Cogar and Marge Whitmer, led a Christmas sing-a-long dressed in sparkly green and red attire. Dorris added to the festive atmosphere by conducting a drawing for gifts using numbers tied to cut holly branches given to each member as they sang “Deck the Halls.”
Immediately after the singing, a drawing was made for the traditional prize that is given out on each Red Hat Day. Looking out into the sea of purple and red, Center Director Lynn Harris drew the lucky name which happened to be one of our birthday people! We then sang “Happy Birthday” to our special members and proceeded to eat our lunch which consisted of the additional mac ‘n’ cheese and jello added to our meal by staff.
After lunch, nine members, staff, and a volunteer departed the Center to give away some Christmas cheer at Rittenour Adult Home as we sang Christmas carols and songs with the residents. It made our hearts sing as we observed the delight on their faces as the group enjoyed the familiar songs of the season!
More at www.StauntonSeniorCenter.org.
Avoiding Charity Scams Discussed at East Rock
Extension Agent Cristin Sprenger offered a 45-minute presentation to 29 East Rockingham Senior Center members and eight guests on Dec. 14.
Sprenger provided attendees with four pages of information that covered a checklist of precautions to help ensure that donation dollars benefit the people and organizations desired. Specifically, it was suggested that potential donors not be shy about asking who wants their money, rust their gut, and know the difference between tax exempt and tax deductible organizations. Read more
