Vital Aging Network e-Bulletin
MARCH 2015

FROM THE CHAIR  

Enjoy a Healthy Life! 
Enjoy a healthy life sticker
By Pam Hayle, Chair, Vital Aging Network   
 
We tend to think of health care as what happens in our doctor's offices or during a hospital stay when in actuality those situations are just the result of lack of health care. Health care happens in our homes, work places, churches, community centers and in the places and with the people with whom we spend time.

Knowing that health is often a communal process, Stratis Health has developed a program called "Enjoy a Healthy Life!" It is a series of short, fun guided conversations where individuals can discuss important health issues in a safe comfortable atmosphere. It is based on four simple steps:

Enjoy a healthy life steps

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Celebrate Spring!
 
Mark your calendar for the Vital Aging Network's
2015 spring celebration.
 
Swedish Institute Sunday, May 3, 2015
2:00 to 5:00 PM
American Swedish Institute
2600 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55407

It will be a fun afternoon with music, engaging speakers, connecting and more. 

AND. . . a silent auction. Do you have something you would like to contribute?

A product or service, something you've created or an item you've asked someone else to donate. Think outside the box! Whatever you donate will help the Vital Aging Network continue its work of educating, inspiring and connecting.

Download the donor sheet and make your contribution by April 23.
Then, plan to join us at the Spring Celebration on May 3.

VAN WORKSHOP   

(Re)Defining Home
Meeting Challenges of Housing, Living, and Community  
 
Saturday, April 18, 2015 community scene
8:30 AM to 4:30 PM  

Ecumen Seasons at Apple Valley

15359 Founders Lane

Apple Valley, MN 55124 [map]  


Workshop Leader:

Lynn Englund, PhD,

Department of Family Social Science

University of Minnesota

 

How well we adapt to challenges in our lives depends on how we view our circumstances and, often, the level of social support we enjoy. This daylong workshop will help you examine the issues you or loved ones face as you re-define home, and create strategies for solutions.

 

Learn to recognize and respond to two distinct types of challenges that every person faces throughout life. Understand why one type is often overlooked. Discussion and reflection will help participants assess family members' needs and strengths for addressing each type of challenge.   

 

Download the flyer  

Cost $35
Includes lunch

Questions? Call VAN at 651-917-4652  

 

Register now     

 Space is limited!                    
 
 Co-sponsored by:
Ecumen: innovate empower honor 





Discern within

Laurie Mattila is an Evolve graduate who teaches Discovery Writing and works as a career counselor in St Paul. She wrote an article for the Women's Press on listening to your essential self and included her top five books that offer ways to listen to your own inner knowing.

"As we come to know ourselves from within, we discover a bottomless reservoir of inner wisdom. When we say yes, we mean it, and when we say no, we are firm. Things are different; we are different. Our words and our lives align with our own deep knowing." Read more.
Evolve: Re-igniting Self & Community


class starts in Bloomington on April 1.

The Bloomington class is shaping up well. A great group of people have signed up. If you are interested in being a part of this cool and engaging group, now is the time to act!   

 

Join us for an information session on Wednesday, March 11, 1:00 to 2:00 PM in the Dakota Conference Room, Bloomington Civic Plaza. See address below. Register now!  

 

Evolve engages people 50+ in making our

Know plan act evaluate: Evolve framework

communities better. The class helps you focus your energies, build your skills and connect with a network of others who share your interest in making a difference.

 

In just eight days over eight months---one day a month---you will deepen your knowledge and expand your horizons.

  • (Re) discover purpose
  • Build your community leadership skills
  • Plan and implement a project that contributes to the common good
  • Become a part of a high-energy network for exchange of ideas, connections and support

core purpose is the point where talents, passions and need come together

 

 

E
volve course location:
Bloomington Civic Plaza 
Rehearsal Hall
1800 W Old Shakopee Road
Bloomington, MN 55431
Free parking! 

 

 

 

 

Evolve classes meet 8:30 to 3:30 the first Wednesday of each month, April 1 to November 4, 2015. Those who live, work, volunteer or recently retired from a business or organization in Bloomington qualify for a discounted rate of $250. Sliding fee may be available. (Regular course cost is $750.) Everyone is welcome to apply. Applications are available online or by mail. Contact Bloomington Human Services at 952-563-8733.  

 

 Download a flyer.  Read more about Evolve. 

For information call Julie Roles, 651-690-4111 or email [email protected].
In the News

Forty Portraits in Forty Years
The New York Times Magazine, October 13, 2014, photographs by Nicholas Nixon
Nicholas Nixon was visiting his wife's family when, "on a whim," he said, he asked her and her three sisters if he could take their picture. Forty years later, the series of annual photographs has been published in a book The Brown Sisters: Forty Years. Throughout this series, we watch these women age, undergoing life's most humbling experience. 

Housing Later in Life: New Freedoms to Choose
The Huffington Post, February 26, 2015, by Ken Dychtwals, PhD
In the past, most older retirees had only three options: (1) they were healthy and vital enough to continue living independently at home, (2) they could move in with supportive family members, or (3) they could move to a nursing home. Although these three options are still available, today choice has become the watchword. In the last decade, the number of nursing-home residents has declined, while we see a growing continuum of housing/community options for retirees to choose from when facing health challenges.

Will the Elder Boom Spur a Caring Revolution? Ai-jen Poo's Inspiring Vision
Yes! Magazine, February 16, 2015, by Wendy Lustbader

We need to shift the stories we tell ourselves about the value of elders, the care they need, and later life itself. In her new book, The Age of Dignity, Poo writes, "Care is something we do; it's something we want; it's something we can improve. But more than anything it's the solution to the personal and economic challenges we face in this country. It doesn't just heal or comfort people individually; it really is going to save us all." 

The Miracle of Minneapolis
The Atlantic, February 16, 2015, by Derek Thompson
Among residents under 35, the Twin Cities place in the top 10 for highest college-graduation rate, highest median earnings, and lowest poverty rate, according to the most recent census figures. And yet, according to the Center for Housing Policy, low-income families can rent a home and commute to work more affordably in Minneapolis-St. Paul than in all but one other major metro area (Washington, D.C.). Perhaps most impressive, the Twin Cities have the highest employment rate for 18-to-34-year-olds in the country.
Renowned Minnesota photographer Jim Brandenburg has a new project underway: He's posting short videos of nature - most around a minute long - every day.
Volunteer Opportunities
 

Normandale Center for Healing and Wholeness

Memory Companions 

If you want to learn more about Alzheimer's disease and related dementia, enjoy working or socializing with seniors (West Metro), and want to support persons who have mild to moderate memory loss and their caregiver - then this opportunity is for you! An upcoming training session is Tuesday, April 7, 4-6pm. Contact Marta Volbrect at [email protected] or call 952-929-1697 ext 31.

DARTS and Rebuilding Together
Handy Person
DARTS and Rebuilding Together are in partnership to make homes safer for seniors, living in Dakota County area, by providing minor home safe modifications such as grab bars.  Utilize the skills you already have, or learn new ones! Be matched with another volunteer and work together as a team providing the service.  Tools and training provided. Contact: Barb Tiggemann at 651-234-2254 or 

2015 National Senior Games

Volunteer Opportunities for Individuals and Groups 

The Vital Aging Network is partnering with the 2015 National Senior Games to help recruit volunteers for the event. Visit teammnvolunteer.com to learn more about the opportunities. This is a great opportunity to volunteer as a group. Use the event as a way to create visibility, and to build camaraderie and friendship within your group or organization. Questions or invitations for presentations on the Senior Games can be sent to [email protected].


The FATHER (Fostering Actions To Help Earnings and Responsibility) Project

GED Tutor
The FATHER Project is a program of Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota. The Project goal is to assist parents in overcoming the barriers that prevent them from supporting their children economically and emotionally. We are looking for volunteers to work individually with program participants to help them prepare to take the General Educational Development (GED) exam. Our goal is to help participants pass each of the parts of the GED exam so that they can receive their diploma. Review key concepts with adult participants including English, math, social studies and science. Two-hour shifts are preferred on Tues, Wed, and Thurs 10am-4pm at 2700 E. Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55407. Call 651-378-5800 for more information or apply to be a volunteer.  

Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
Wilder Caregiver Peer Support Volunteer 
Did you take care of your parents as they were aging? Your spouse? Your partner? Your friend? Then you get it: caregiving can be challenging, frustrating, and fulfilling. If you are a former caregiver and want to make a difference in the life of a current caregiver for an older adult, then consider becoming a Peer Support (P.S.) volunteer. PS volunteers are former caregivers who are matched with current caregivers for monthly phone conversations. Volunteers understand what it means to care for someone because they have done it, and now they want to help others in their caregiving roles. Volunteers will be trained prior to being matched and are asked to commit to at least six months; volunteers can expect to spend 3-5 hours a month volunteering. For more information, please contact Grant Watkins, at [email protected] or call 651-280-2504.  

   

More on Volunteer Opportunities

The following calendar items are presented as information only. They are not Vital Aging Network events.

For Your Calendar   

 

March and April 2015

Health & Wellness Classes (variety of subjects)

Normandale Center for Healing and Wholeness

Normandale Lutheran Church

6100 Normandale Boulevard

Edina, MN

Three classes (Powerful Tools for Caregivers, Matter of Balance and Better Choices, Better Health) offer participants a small group educational program to learn self-care while taking care of others, make changes to reduce fall risks and improve strength and balance, and to increase self-confidence to manage personal health goals. One class (Memory Movements) is designed for those with mild memory loss and a family member or companion. Contact Martha Anderson, Health & Wellness Coordinator at [email protected] or call 952-929-1697 ext 46.   

 

Monday, March 16, 2015 

Are You Happy Now? Help Yourself to a Bigger Slice of Life
7:00 to 9:00 PM

Carondelet Center, St. Catherine University
1890 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul 55105
If you had the ability---with very little personal investment---to improve your overall health and well-being, would you? Research indicates that only 8-15 percent of your happiness is circumstantial; the remainder is learned behavior. This session will expand your personal awareness and provide you tools and techniques with which you can increase your overall happiness. Presented by Robin Getman. Hosted by The Transition NetworkDownload the flyer. Get more details or register online. Contact Jill Goski at [email protected] or 651-398-5506 with questions.

 

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Book Launch for "We Know How This Ends: Living While Dying"

7:00 to 8:30 PM

O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium

2115 Summit Avenue

St Paul, MN 55105 

We Know How This Ends, forthcoming April 1 from the University of Minnesota Press, details discoveries by authors Bruce H. Kramer and Cathy Wurzer as they embarked on a journalistic project to document Kramer's struggle with ALS. Cost is free with registration.  More details.

 

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Caregiver Support Group

5:30 to 7:30 PM

Wilder Center

451 Lexington Parkway N.

St Paul, MN 55104

Wilder Center is creating an LGBTQ-specfic Caregiver Support Group that is multi-cultural, cross-class, and intergenerational. They will meet monthly on the fourth Thursday of the month and our first meeting is March 26. Download the flyer

 

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Price of Healing: Diversity Issues in Wellness, Health and Healthcare 

1:30 to 3:00 PM

U of M, Elmer L Andersen Library, Givens Conference Room (120)

222 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455

This conversation examines health care research and treatment disparities while also exploring cultural knowledge and practices that communities use to maintain health. 

Cost is free with more details on their website.   

 

Thursday, April 2, 2015

"The Art of Active Aging" with Tim Carpenter

7:00 PM

MacPhail Center for Music, Antonello Hall

501 South 2nd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401

Tim Carpenter is the founder and executive director of EngAGE, a non-profit that changes aging and the way people think about aging by transforming senior apartment communities into vibrant centers of learning, wellness, and creativity. Register now.  

 

Friday, April 24, 2015 

Minnesota Gerontological Society Annual Conference

8:00 AM to 4:00 PM (7-8AM registration and networking)
Earle Brown Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center, MN 

Seniors/retirees, you are invited to attend to the 39th Minnesota Gerontological Society Annual Conference, "Designing Our Destiny: Aging Ain't for Sissies-Challenges, Opportunities, and Affordability". Cost: $45.00 includes: coffee, lunch, post conference reception, and prize drawings! Go to mngero.org or call 952-829-5937.   

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