ASHBY VILLAGE NEWSLETTER
Changing Our World Again - Join Us!
|
|
|
|
Ashby Village
Goes To China
Little did Ashby Village members Margie Pezzaglia and Barbara Daly imagine that their phone calls to request volunteer assistance would make news in China!
On January 16, 2015, Ashby Village received a Google Alert notice that China Central Television was telling the story of the village movement in the United States, and Ashby Village is identified as a model.
The news story ends "Researchers in Hong Kong are studying U.S. virtual retirement villages to see if the model can translate to Asia. After all, Chinese do have a saying: "What's more important than a faraway relative, is a nearby friend."
Note: With a network of 45 channels accessible to more than one billion viewers , China Central Television (CCTV) has been the predominant state television broadcaster in mainland China since its founding in 1958.
|
Newcomers Welcome!
Bring a Friend
LIVING ROOM CHAT
Sunday, February 8, 2-4 pm
Hiller Highland (home)
Contact Joan Cole
joanhcole@gmail.com
510 845-5550
Living Room Chats are smaller
events where we give those
who might be interested in
joining Ashby Village a chance
to hear what it means to be part of our Village. Click here for more information.
Some of the particular areas
where volunteers are needed
for Ashby Village include transportation, home handywork, support of members at medical appointments, and communications (newsletter,
digests, website). To learn more about becoming a volunteer, or to know what volunteer services are available to you as a member, please contact the office.
|
FEBRUARY 2015
In This Issue
Tell us what you think
February 7, Saturday 8pm
Ashby Village Member Herb Bielawa
2015 Year of Stewardship
Ashby Village is powered by the active participation of its members and volunteers.
In keeping with the ethic of stewardship, we have a "responsibility to shepherd and safeguard" our Village in any way we can. We invite each of you to become a steward this year and further experience the value of being a member, volunteer or community advocate of Ashby Village. The Village belongs to each of us.
|
|
C O M M U N I C A T I N G 
Ashby Village's Message
In September 2013, Kathleen Russell Consulting (KRC) worked with Ashby Village to develop Ashby Village's first marketing and communications plan. The plan includes four primary strategies: 1) strategic messaging, 2) community outreach & organizing, 3) social media outreach, and 4) strategic partnerships.
 Ashby Village is making steady progress on all four fronts, and is especially committed at this time to ensure that its "message" helps people inside and outside the Village better understand who we are and what we stand for. Consistent use of this message increases recognition of Ashby Village. This process includes consideration of its logo, colors, and written expression.
An important aspect of Ashby Village messaging is through electronic communications, ranging from emails sent to the individual, to the Ashby Village website, to the Ashby Village Facebook webpage, to Ashby Village twitter account. (Click on the underlined words to visit these Ashby Village resources.)
 According to a survey, 86% of Ashby Village members indicate they stay informed about Ashby Village through emails and electronic newsletters, compared to 31% who go to the Ashby Village website or 30% who rely on word of mouth. In fact twice as many (84%) preferred to get information about Ashby Village by email rather than by phone.
In this 'Year of Stewardship,' a key goal is to provide our members with more robust, easy-to-use methods of communicating with each other and with the office. Several new online tools are being tested.
|
Stewardship in Action:
Someone Special
Communications Expert
Mary Keegan
Several months ago Mary Keegan led a group of Ashby Village leaders in creatively brainstorming to identify phrases that capture the essence of Ashby Village. One tagline favored by the group was "Changing Our World Again - Join Us!" To see more words that rose for the group when thinking about Ashby Village, see the right sidebar.
 Mary is currently leading Ashby Village's partnership with a professional creative design team to create its visual identity. A set of distinct design elements, including our logo, a color palette, typography and imagery, are being develop to quickly and effectively convey what Ashby Village is about.
Mary recently retired as executive director of marketing and communications at the University of California, Berkeley. Mary's expertise in development communications, events, and donor stewardship, steered the University through three successful campus wide fundraising campaigns. Her team won over 130 awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Awards. She is drawn to the strong community she finds at Ashby Village during this time when both she, and Ashby Village, are in an exciting transition.
|
Words that Reflect
the Spirit of Ashby Village
Generous
Vibrant
Belonging
Welcoming
Educated
Smart/ Accomplished
Resilient
Healthy Irreverence
Adventurous
Relevant
Fun
Hopeful
Crazy
Engaged
Challenging Convention
Dynamic
Inclusive
Taking Action
Activism
Transformative
Edgy
Beyond Ourselves
Social Innovation
Embracing Change
|
|
|
|
STAFF NEWS
|
Volunteer Manager Pat Carvalho (and
Chief Morale Officer, Lola)
Ashby Village is blessed with a wealth of committed volunteers. We're seeking volunteers to help us improve our volunteer program by creating appreciation events, developing new ways to engage them, updating recruitment opportunities and assessing what could be improved. Interested? Email pat.c@ashbyvillage.org
Please consider joining our Volunteer Team. For more about becoming a volunteer, click HERE.
|
Executive Director
Andy Gaines
Our new governing Board held its first meeting last week, with guests from San Francisco Village leadership. Joint endeavors are underway on state, regional and national levels to ensure the success of the Village movement. Meanwhile, on the home front, planning has begun for a June Town Hall meeting to celebrate our 5th Anniversary and envision the promising future of Ashby Village.
| 
Program Manager Andrea Mok
Getting ready for 2015 has been full of exciting ideas and progress in program development. New teams are exploring housing and transportation issues. I'm just back from a meeting of the Bay Regional Area Villages Organization (over 20) and am energized by the resources available. There's a wonderful feeling of "we're not in this alone" as we face challenges of growth and moving out of our start-up phase. After all we are turning 5 this year!
|
FEBRUARY CALENDAR
(click on date below for information) |
|
 Chair Yoga has resumed now that the holidays are over. Whatever your physical limitations, if you can sit then you can exercise! Its more fun with others. Join yoga instructor Lisa Brooks at Ashby Village office every Thursday morning at 10am
(at 10:45am the program moves to the floor with mats). Click here for details.
|
|
Ongoing Monthly Activities
|
Neighborhood Groups
Thousand Oaks Hamlet
|
Mid-Landish (N.Berkeley)
Feb 12 Happy Hour
(7-9pm, second Thursdays)
Mid-Landish (N.Berkeley)
Feb 15 Cafe Expresso Roma
(10am third Sundays)
Thousand Oaks Hamlet
Feb 18 Kensington Circus Club
(5:30pm third Thursdays,
every other month)
Emery Bunch (Watergate)
Feb 19 Trader Vic's
Happy Hour
(4:30pm third Thursdays)
***NEW***
Claremont/Elmwood
Happy Hour
Feb 20 Barclays Pub
Support Groups
Feb 3 & 17 Macular Degeneration/Low Vision
(2pm first & third Tuesdays)
|
|
Newsletter Editor: Sarah Hawthorne
|
|
|
|
|
