As a part of our upcoming year of "Inspiring Leadership," we have assembled new teams that will take responsibility for some of the most important activities and programs the Village provides. The goals of these teams are to provide oversight and visioning for Village programs and services, to provide members with high quality and relevant activities and services, and to develop new leadership from members, volunteers and the larger community.

Program Teams - The teams listed below are currently active or being developed.  Additional leadership and team membership is urgently needed. If you are interested, please contact the team leaders directly.  Following is the "charge" of each team:

• Social Service: Consultation and Referral: To provide prompt and effective referrals and services that best promote the overall well-being (social and emotional) of our members. The four essential components include consultation, training, prevention and support groups, and creation of community partnerships.
• Membership Support: To welcome new members, orient them to how they can contribute to and make use of their membership, to engage new and non-engaged members in the programs and services of the Village, and to support connections between members and the overall Village.
• Outreach Ambassador: To recruit and secure new members by spreading the word of Ashby Village in the community, identifying and engaging interested prospects and making those for whom it is appropriate members of our growing Village.
• Volunteer Recruitment and Appreciation: To ensure that Ashby Village has a vital, engaged volunteer program that serves members well and provides a rewarding experience for volunteers. Its primary activities are in recruitment, training and appreciation of volunteers.
• Events and Engagement: To provide opportunities for Ashby Village members and volunteers to meet socially, to provide access to educational events that promote better understanding of issues of aging, as well as outings to cultural events.

Program Leadership Team ("PLT") - The PLT is made up of leaders from each of our new Program Teams. The goal is for each of the Program Teams to have two co-leaders. The PLT will serve as a forum for addressing emerging program issues and for suggesting policy and overall vision for Village programs and services to the Board. 

The newly operational PLT presented their individual team goals and plans for the coming year at the December Ashby Village Board meeting. It was a rousing meeting, as one Board member wrote:

"It was the most exciting and satisfying meeting that I have had the privilege to attend since I joined the Board in 2009. The energy and enthusiasm was infectious. It seemed as though we were seeing the village being lifted to a new plateau."

A member of the PLT responded:

"It was a stroke of genius to create this new layer of program leadership. It will surely make room for the Board to do the needed governance, fundraising, and policy formation that are necessary for our sustained growth and development."

At the 5th Annual National Village Gathering, Ashby Village was honored with two new awards.

The "Promising Practice of the Year" award recognizes practices which can be shared with and adapted by other villages. Ashby Village was recognized for its monthly practice of "Birthday Greetings for All" through personalized cards and calls. We are grateful to artist and member Dr. Danute E. Nitecki for donating hundreds of her beautiful cards of her paintings to Ashby Village to be used for birthday greetings (danutesart.com). Thank you Dr. Nitecki for your contribution!

Tom Boyden congratulated by  Andrea Mok (L) and Pat Carvalho (R)

The Village to Village Network also created its first

"Volunteer of the Year" award for exemplary service. Our very own Tom Boyden received an Honorable Mention for his service to Ashby Village. Tom has been working weekday mornings in the office since 2010, answering phones and providing rides. Staff members describe him as the "office jack-of-all-trades...someone whose irresistible laughter and warm, joyful demeanor are contagious." Tom has gone above and beyond in his volunteer duties, reaching out to local organizations to collaborate on projects which benefit our members. Congratulations, Tom. You deserve this recognition! 

FY 2012/13 Annual Report         

The Ashby Village Annual Report has been published for the fiscal year July 2012-June 2013. Many goals and milestones have been reached, including a substantial increase in our volunteer corps, a 20% increase in membership, 15 new recipients of the It Takes a Village Subsidized Membership Fund, a large increase in member participation in Village events, many new events and support groups formed, a 50% increase in revenues, the completion of strategic and business planning processes, and exciting programs planned for the year ahead. This was a banner year in which we moved substantially forward toward our goal of sustainability. 

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Shirley Jowell and Mary Jo Powell

Co-Chairs, Events and Engagement Team

Shirley Jowell and Mary Jo Powell volunteered to co-lead the Events and Engagement Team when Program Manager Andrea Mok sent out a call for team leaders in late Spring 2013. Jowell and Powell, as they are sometimes affectionately called, already knew each other from the Solano Lunch Bunch, an activity of the Thousand Oaks Hamlet Neighborhood Group. Mary Jo says that she and Shirley do some of their best work over lunch, and both are prodigious planners and organizers. In just a few months, they have built a team of volunteers who plan and coordinate events in four basic interest areas:  Health and Wellness, Financial, Technical, and Cultural. They

Shirley Jowell (photo: Zoe Meyers)

encourage their teammates to "think outside the box." One successful recent event was a cell phone training conducted by Sophia Johnson and several of the boys from the East Bay School for Boys, next door to the Village offices.

Mary Jo and Shirley share the same leadership philosophy -- they are inclusive and collaborative. Both say that the success of the team is not so much due to their leadership as it is to the strength of the team members to find topics and develop them independently. As Shirley says, "The exciting part is that we're at the beginning of our development." If a team member comes up with an event idea, they are encouraged to follow through on it. Two team members, Nola Chaves and Sophia Johnson, have been very proactive in creating and developing ideas.  Although finding a time for the team to meet was a challenge at first, a Friday night potluck was organized and, over food and wine, the ideas began to flow.

Shirley has been a Village Member since 2010 and believes in the mission to keep seniors in their homes. Within a few months, she found that she herself needed Village services while recovering from hip surgery. She was particularly impressed with the Med Pal and gardening 

Mary Jo Powell (photo: Zoe Meyers)

help. Mary Jo joined the Village in 2013. A retired registered nurse and health care consultant, she was looking for a volunteer outlet when she found Ashby Village. In addition to her work with the Events and Engagement Team, Mary Jo volunteers as a driver and with the Med Pal program.

Andy Gaines, Executive Director, has great respect for the Jowell and Powell team: "They stepped in at a time when leadership was lacking in the planning and coordination of events. The vital programming that has emerged from their efforts is impressively demonstrated in our full, dynamic schedule of events." Shirley and Mary Jo plan to continue their enthusiastic, low-key leadership. They encourage Village members to check the calendar frequently for new events, and to go to the Village homepage http://www.ashbyvillage.org/ and click on the "Calendar" choice at the top-center of the page.  

--Written by Mary Graham

We came home from vacation and found the kitchen dark, an upstairs light flickering, and a bulb out in the hall.  All high ceiling lights. What did we do? We called Ashby Village. Luciano rode to the rescue, changed, tested, and fixed all. Bless Luciano and bless Ashby Village.

Submitted by Members Ben and Marlene

Thanks again so much for our talk yesterday - it really boosted my morale! As I'm writing that down - I am realizing: Yes, maybe that's the greatest thing about AV: It boosts my morale so much: when I speak to the office staff - all you supportive people - and when a volunteer comes: not only am I grateful and relieved for the specific help I've gotten e.g,  in my garden, with things (like an old TV taken away), with a computer problem - I always feel so good and optimistic, my mood barometer makes a big jump up!

Submitted by Member Frieda

Just wanted to let you know that Joe did a fabulous job with our wireless network. It was a very complicated job, and he tackled it with determination and stuck with it regardless of how long it took. He not only solved the problem, he left us very organized notes on everything he did. I am really appreciative. Thanks so much.

Submitted by Member and Volunteer Andra

Your are the best. What a great job you are doing. It can't be easy to coordinate all your requests. Thanks for everything.

Submitted by Member Eleanor

I look forward to Thursdays for the chance to serve and the wonderful environment that you have created.  It is so much fun, thank you. Giving and receiving is part of life. My gift of a few pastries is not a fair exchange for all the joy I receive.

Submitted by Volunteer Lula to the office staff

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New Initiatives Designed to Attract and Engage "Under 70's"

Dianne Campbell (L) and Barbara Koren (R) of Lincoln Park Village with Andy Gaines presenting

• Developing programs designed to meet the needs and interests of this cohort, such as fall prevention, sexuality, issues of aging, death and dying, value of pets, and earthquake preparedness
• Forming peer sharing circles
• Hosting field trips and adventures
• Creating compelling cultural events

Board Development and Berkeley Board Fellows

Each academic year, the Haas School of Business partners with the Center for Nonprofit Leadership and the Bay Area nonprofit community to place Board Fellows with area nonprofits, working on board-focused projects that the nonprofit has determined. Brandi Howard (School of Social Welfare) and Casey Lord (Haas Business School) are our Fellows for the 2013-2014 academic years. These Fellows, although graduate students, have a great deal of professional experience that will assist in guiding us through the process of transitioning from founding board to one of governance. They are finishing up a series of interviews of current board and committee members, as well as staff and national village leaders, to identify strengths and skills that future board members can bring to a governance board. 

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Volunteer Support Given to Ashby Village in the Last Quarter

Our caring, talented and enthusiastic service volunteers have answered a variety of recent member calls for assistance and service requests including:

• Spending an hour with member playing the piano and singing along.
• Helping member print from iPad and managing passwords.
• Calling member regularly to check in and having a conversation.
• Altering clothing, repairing a skirt, making a pillowcase.
• Working with member to refresh French speaking skills.
• Studying for upcoming driver's test.
• Arranging mother's memoirs using MAC Word.

Organizational volunteer activities supporting Ashby Village's mission:

• Answering office phones
• Serving as committee and team members
• Conducting surveys
• Writing and editing
• Setting up and taking down for events

Volunteers are needed in so many ways! There are numerous opportunities at Ashby Village for you to help.

Rebecca Chambers

Kristina Holland

Anne and John Jaurequi

Judith and Stanley Lubman

Alice Meyers and Malcolm Zaretsky

Barbara Sargent

Enid Scheibman

Hugh Tassey

Anna Marie Taylor

Program Leadership Team Chairs

EVENTS AND ENGAGEMENT: 

Shirley Jowell - sjowell@sbcglobal.net ; Mary Jo Powell - mjpconsulting1@comcast.net

VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND  APPRECIATION

Irene Marcos, irenemarcos2001@yahoo.com; Julie Vega, julie@ashbyvillage.org

MEMBER SUPPORT: support@ashbyvillage.org

GENERAL INQUIRIES:  info@ashbyvillage.org 

MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS:  membership@ashbyvillage.org 

NEWSLETTER/DIGEST SUBMISSIONS: publications@ashbyvillage.org 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Andy Gaines -  andy@ashbyvillage.org  

PROGRAM MANAGER: Andrea Mok - mok@ashbyvillage.org

OPERATIONS & VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR: Pat Carvalho -pat.c@ashbyvillage.org

CHAIR:  Patricia Sussman

SECRETARY/TREASURER: Andra Lichtenstein

MEMBERS: Bob Davis, Marcia Freedman, Laura Peck, Roberta Pressman, Betty Webster

BOARD FELLOWS: Brandi Howard, Casey Lord