|
 
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Distributed to Village members and to others who have expressed an interest.
The Ashby Village Member Digest, published between newsletters, is available to members only.
|
|
|
|
|
I just returned home from the second day of the National Gathering of Villages held this year in Oakland. Ashby Village has had a strong presence at the conference. Five Ashby Village members made presentations or were moderators. In addition more than ten Ashby Village members were conference attendees. I'll talk more about the conference in our next issue.
 | |
Ashby Village executive director speaks at national village gathering
|
Ashby Village has been in the news this past week. A major article and photos appeared in the most recent UC Berkeley News Center site as well as a KCBS radio interview. On Monday, ABC 7 News highlighted Ashby Village and the national conference. You will find links to the coverage in our Word on the Street column below.
Finally our FALL MEMBERSHIP DRIVE is in full force, with several Special Events that have been designed togive prospective members and or volunteers an opportunity to meet Ashby Village members and experience sample gatherings. More information is in the Upcoming Events and Help! columns below.
During the conference there is the first convening of recipients of the Archstone Foundation grant. We're already plugging away on the goals we've set, including our yearlong strategic planning process, development of organizational linkages, and cultivation of our volunteer services.
This is such an exciting time this for all of us at Ashby Village and I am delighted to be at the helm.
Andy Gaines
Executive Director
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
Activities sponsored by Ashby Village
| |
TODAY - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Innovative Technologies for Aging with Julie Menack In-home technologies can help older adults maximize their independence, improve quality of care and quality of life and enable them to live in the least restrictive environment for as long as possible. Our presenter, Julie Menack, is a Care Manager, a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary, and a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist. She has written and presented extensively on long distance caregiving and the use of technology to assist individuals who want to age in place. - Jewish Family and Children's Services, Suse Moyal Center for Older Adults, 2484 Shattuck Ave. (corner of Dwight Way). Street parking is available in front of the building for 90 minutes (there will be a break to move cars) or on Blake Street for two hours.
- Wheelchair-accessible
- RSVP here, or call our office at (510) 204-9200
- Let us know if you need a ride
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
"Vibrant Aging" - Film and Fitness
 Join us in a jointly sponsored event hosted by Ashby Village and The Works Cooperative Exercise & Dance Studio. At The Works, 60+ers are aging vibrantly with regular exercise classes in yoga, Pilates and dance designed to build strength, flexibility and balance.
This special event will include an introduction, stretch and movement, an opportunity to meet members of the cooperative, and a special screening of "Vibrant Aging". This short film, created by Julie Miller - graduate student of social welfare at UC Berkeley - that makes viewers gasp, blush, chuckle, and most importantly, reconsider what it means to age in America.
- OPEN TO ALL - Members, Volunteers and Prospective Members
- The Works Cooperative, Exercise and Dance Studio, 2566C Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704
- Wheelchair-accessible
- RSVP here here, or call our office at (510) 204-9200
- Let us know if you need a ride (members only)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Potluck Gathering Come dine together. All Village members are encouraged to attend, and those who live near Ashby Avenue (The Elmwood) have received a personal invitation from the hosts. Herb and Carolyn are eager to know the people who live nearby to foster their own "village" within Ashby Village. Theirs is the brown shingle house with the big tree and old fashioned garden.
- Home of Carolyn North and Herb Strauss, 2447 Prince Street (between Dana and Regent), Berkeley
- This house is not wheelchair-accessible
- RSVP here, or call our office at (510) 204-9200
- Let us know if you need a ride
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Game Night
- Home of Carolyn North and Herb Strauss, 2447 Prince Street (between Dana and Regent), Berkeley
- This house is not wheelchair-accessible
- RSVP here, or call our office at (510) 204-9200
- Let us know if you need a ride
DATE CHANGE - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Tea & Chat: Reflections of the National Gathering of Villages 20+ Ashby Village members and volunteers attended the meeting in Oakland of all the nation's villages. It's been a opportunity to gather information on Village strategies, methods and systems. Please join us as we discuss how Ashby Village will benefit from what we learned.- OPEN TO ALL - members, volunteers and prospective members
- The Ashby Village office: 2330 Durant Ave, Berkeley
- Wheelchair-accessible
- No RSVP needed
- Let us know if you need a ride
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 10:00 a.m-1:00 p.m.
Lake Merritt Walk
We invite prospective members to join us on our Lake Merritt Nature Walk to meet, engage and spend some time with current Ashby Village Members...to get a better  feel of what the Village is all about.
Hosted by Nancy Cerdiwyn and Audre Newman, we will start our walk at 10:00 a.m. Children's Fairyland, (the inspiration for Walt Disney's Disneyland). We'll walk along the shoreline of Lake Merritt for 1/2 mile to the Memorial at Grand and Lakeshore and back. Serious walkers can venture further around the lake. We'll finish the day at Bacheeso's Mediterranean Buffet, 246 Grand Ave. for lunch with new & old friends and plenty of good food.
- OPEN TO ALL - Members and Prospective Members
- The walk will begin at Children's Fairyland, Bellevue Ave at Grand Ave
Oakland, CA - Wheelchair-accessible
- RSVP here here, or call our office at (510) 204-9200
- Let us know if you need a ride
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch at China Village
- 1335 Solano Ave (between Pomona Ave & Ramona Ave), Albany, CA
- Wheelchair-accessible
- RSVP here here here, or call our office at (510) 204-9200
- Let us know if you need a ride
Back to Top |
|
| WORD ON THE STREET | |
ABC 7 TV NEWS
October 24, 2011
Seniors Get Help from Village Support Network Report by Lyanne Melendez  Seniors in California are getting the help they need with various services through a new village program... KCBS-AM Radio
ALL NEWS 740 AM
October 23, 2011 Oakland Conference To Offer Tips For Seniors In Village Movement Report by KCBS' Jeff Bell
"We have an incredible capacity in our communities to support one another," said Andy Gaines, executive director of Ashby Village in Berkeley...
UC BERKELEY NEWS CENTER Village movement takes root among UC Berkeley's dynamic elders
By Yasmin Anwar, Media Relations
October 20, 2011
Need a ride to the doctor's office? Someone to clean out your rain gutter, accompany you to a movie or help write your memoir? If you're 50 or older, and pay your membership dues, Ashby Village may have just the right person for you...
To Steve Lustig, a recently retired UC Berkeley administrator and Free Speech Movement veteran, Ashby Village is a logical next step in a life steeped in community activism and health- and eldercare leadership. A vigorous 66, he's devoted to finding ways to extend members' reach to needed services and resources, from negotiating price discounts to bringing new agencies into the village's network...
Back to Top
|
|
HELP!
Village needs and opportunities
| |  FALL MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
The Ashby Village Board recognizes that our current members are our best recruiters, so during our Fall Membership Drive, every current member who brings in a new Ashby Village membership (individual or household) will receive a 10% discount on their own membership dues next year. Hosting a Living Room Chat? For each person you invite who joins within 30 days after the Chat you receive a 10% discount on your membership dues for the following year. Play your cards right and you will pay a significantly lower fee in 2012. Simply ask that the new member you are referring write your name on the top of their membership application. Sorry no rebates for more than 10 new memberships! We are all winners when our Village grows faster and is able to provide a richer array of services. Meeting Scheduled to Explore Linkages with UC Berkeley
Steve Lustig, an Ashby Village member, and Village Executive Director Andy Gaines are actively exploring linkages between Ashby Village and UC Berkeley. We have had several meetings with th UCB Retirement Center. We would like to get together with interested Ashby Village members who are retirees/emeriti of UC Berkeley (and/or their partners) to discuss additional ideas as to how and where to partner with UC Berkeley for the benefit of Ashby Village members and prospective members who are part of the UCB community. We will be gathering on Thursday, November 3, 3:00 p.m. at the Ashby Village Office, 2330 Durant Avenue. If you would like to join us, please rsvp to andy@ashbyvillage.org.
Membership Committee Expanding
The Membership Committee got its start by welcoming new members to the Ashby Village community. We then became responsible for sending out renewal notices, reminders, and thank you letters from the office. We are now planning to help build the Ashby Village Community. Ashby Village covers a wide area, (from Oakland to El Cerrito and Albany). We have had several gatherings/forums/parties for the whole membership but we think that people might like to get to know fellow members who live nearby. The Membership Committee wants to expand so that we have representatives from all the Ashby Village neighborhoods in order to better know and serve each other's needs, so we are beginning to plan "coffee klatches" for neighborhood groups. If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, please join us on Tuesday November 8, 11:30 a.m. at the Ashby Village office for an organizing session. If you are interested in participating, even if you cannot make this meeting, please contact Betty Webster at b.b.webster@att.net or 510/524-8260. Back to Top |
| VOLUNTEERS & VENDORS | | |
Appreciation: PAT CARVALHO
Everybody wants her help. Here's what Andy says about Pat Carvalho: "Pat is in transition from a high-powered retail career, and she has been an important gift to the Ashby Village office. She has ease and competence in a wide range of administrative areas, and is a delight to work with. After meeting her, several committee chairs have been vying for her assistance: right now she is helping the Special Events and Outreach Committees... We dread the day that we lose her."
 And there's more: as well as helping us out in the office she volunteers at the Berkeley Food Pantry; Emeryville Senior Center Meals on Wheels; the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center; and she even helps build houses for low-income families with Habitat for Humanity - "I'm up on the roof hammering nails into crossbeams!" she exclaimed, a little surprised herself at all she does. When asked what motivates her to do so much - that's about 30 hours a week of volunteering - she said "I want to give back ...and I want to make my mom proud."
She was born in Paul River Mass. where her Portugese parents had settled - and that Old World charm lingers in hr flashing eyes and ready laughter. Because her father died when she was ten she was brought up largely by her mother who supported them by working in a factory sewing labels on the back of shirts. After 30 years of this she earned $4.00 an hour. Pat thinks of this when she hammers in those nails.
-- Written by Marion Benedict
|
|
MILESTONES
Retirements, book publications, art openings . . .
| | Grand Marshal of Kensington Parade
Lorraine Osmundson was the Grand Marshal at the Kensington Community Council parade on Oct. 16th. - a tribute to her long busy life of engagement with and service to others. A woman of great equanimity, she seems able to manage anything. Despite trouble with her knees and 'lousy hearing' she doesn't give up. Her cheerful smile always brightens the room when she comes in. She is the perfect example of graceful aging.
Ninety years old, she lives alone and plans to continue to live alone. A retired realtor, she continues to manage four apartment buildings, she takes charge of the landscaping for the Kensington Improvement Club, she meets with old friends for coffee every Saturday morning at The Junket in El Cerrito, and she keeps on driving - even to S.F. or Los Gatos whenever a pleasant occasion calls.
|
| NEW MEMBERS | |
- Jacqueline Bandel
- Michael King
- Ingrid Radkey
- Shirley Smith
- Matilda and Charles Stewart
- Carol Takaki
- Wynette Weaver
|
|
CONTACTS
| | |
Committee Chairs
MEMBERSHIP: Betty Webster, b.b.webster@att.net
COMMUNITY-BUILDING AND EVENTS: Laura Peck, lpeck@clarosconsulting.com
Barbi Jo Stim, barbini27@aol.com
SERVICES: Joann Sullivan, joann_sullivan@comcast.net
Judy Boe, judyboe@aol.com
Shirley Haberfeld, shaberfeld@comcast.net
SOCIAL SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE: Roberta Pressman, rpress19@comcast.net
FUNDRAISING: Enid Pollack, enidcpollack@gmail.com
NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Patricia Sussman, pat@psussman.com
MARKETING AND OUTREACH: Marcia Freedman, marciafree@earthlink.net
LIVING ROOM CHATS SUBCOMMITTEE: Jane Selby, janeselby@comcast.net
Staff
GENERAL INQUIRIES: info@ashbyvillage.org
MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS: membership@ashbyvillage.org
NEWSLETTER/DIGEST SUBMISSIONS: publications@ashbyvillage.org
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Andy Gaines: andy@ashbyvillage.org
ACTING MEMBER SERVICES COORDINATOR: Irene Marcos, volunteer@ashbyvillage.org
Board
CHAIR: Patricia Sussman
VICE CHAIR: Shirley Haberfeld
SECRETARY/TREASURER: Andra Lichtenstein
Bob Davis
Marcia Freedman
Laura Peck
Roberta Pressman
Jane Selby
Barbi Jo Stim
Betty Webster
Marj Wolf
Back to top
|
|
|
