Center Update 3-29-20
Hello Senior Center!
What a different world we’re living in. Just a month ago your voices, laughter, and smiles were at the Senior Center daily. We were eating lunch. We were playing cards and games. We were together. This separation is hard, but y’all are doing exactly what you should be doing – staying at home and practicing the recommended social distancing and sanitizing procedures. Keep it up!!
The Center has been quiet since we made the decision to close the building on March 6th, but the closure has made us look for new ways to serve you and keep you safe. Liz Illg has been working hard to master the online meeting platform, ZOOM, so we can connect you over the internet with your favorite activities. The Book Club, Meditation Group, and staff have been utilizing this new tool. Let us know if you are interested in gathering virtually with a class or activity you participated in, and we’ll do our best to set up meetings on ZOOM.
Many of you have gotten phone calls and voicemails from Women Hold the Key volunteers. I am so grateful for their outreach and friendly voices. Through their calls we have learned that those of you with whom they connected are doing well, all things considered. Through them we have also learned that more of you would like lunch delivered, and several of you need groceries and medication delivered. We will be contacting you directly to arrange for deliveries, and they will continue to make phone calls for as long as it takes to make sure you have what you need.
Mary, Pamela, Kate (Smith) and I are all working from home to minimize the number of people at the Center. Kathleen is currently going in in the mornings to answer calls, check in with you, and collect the mail. Pam Wise is sanitizing and disinfecting the entire building. Karen, Jamila, Joe, and Kim Brown are the heroes – they are cooking, packing and delivering lunches. A huge thank-you to all of them for keeping the work of the Center going.
Meal delivery is currently happening on M-W-F. If you would like to sign up to get lunch delivered, please call the Center at 206-463-5173. Leave a voicemail if you don’t get an answer and we’ll call you back as soon as we can.
Many of you have offered to volunteer where needed, and we are grateful for your generosity. We are also mindful that many of you are in a high-risk category (60+ years young), so we are being cautious about putting any of you at risk on our behalf. If you are on Facebook, there is a group called Vashon COVID-19 Community Helpers where you can both offer and ask for help. The primary goal of this group is matching healthy helpers with neighbors in need.
From the Vashon Food Bank: The Vashon Food Bank is changing their hours on March 30th: Grocery pick-up is Wednesday only from 10am-2pm and 3pm-7pm, customers can fill out an order form that will be packed by staff and volunteers. Please fill out your order and wait in your car until the groceries are packed. For those who arrive on foot, there is outdoor seating where customers can wait at an appropriate distance from one another. Staff and volunteers packing bags follow stringent sanitation protocols. For questions or to sign up for home delivery, call the Food Bank Office at 206-463-6332 or email admin@vashonfoodbank.org.
The best resource for current, accurate information is Vashon Be Prepared. Their website is www.vashonbeprepared.org and their Facebook Page is https://www.facebook.com/VashonBePrepared/. Their daily situation report is a great resource. I encourage you to also listen to Voice of Vashon and sign up for their email alerts here. Their website is https://www.voiceofvashon.org/Alerts.
A daily summary of new and significant information is posted to the King County COVID-19 website at www.kingcounty.gov/covid.
Finally, please let us know what you need. If we can’t help, we can connect you to someone who can. This island has come together in service to its neighbors, and there are systems being put in place to make sure no one goes without. Check on your neighbors, please take very good care of yourselves, and know that we are here for you.
Catherine