Center Update 4-13-2020
And so it continues…the Stay Home-Stay Safe world we are now living in (or as I call it, Introverts’ Revenge). I know the order to stay home is making a difference – literally saving lives – but egad I miss all of you!
Not that I’m counting or anything, but we’ve been closed for 38 days, and yet we have still accomplished a lot in that time. I’m so proud of our staff for their willingness to completely shift our way of doing things. No one coming in for lunch? Not a problem – we’ll take lunch to them. Since we closed the Center, we have delivered almost 500 hot meals directly to members’ homes. Kudos to Karen and Jamila for continuing to provide their delicious and nutritious meals. Joe and Kim have not only delivered every one of those meals, they have also packed every bag that goes out the door. Thanks to DOVE, Women Hold the Key, our dear Weslie Rodgers, and Marrilee Runyan, those lunch bags have come stuffed with letters and cards and flowers once a week. What a thoughtful way to stay connected to one another.
It doesn’t look like things will be back to normal for a while, so we’ve decided to open the lunch program to the wider senior community, not just Center members. Thanks to a generous donor and a grant from the Rotary Foundation, we will be able to increase the number of meals we can deliver and will be able to feed more seniors on Vashon and Maury. If you know of a senior (age 55+) who could use a little help stretching their food budget, please encourage them to contact us and get signed up for lunch delivery. While our Bluebird program is on hiatus, Kate Smith will be coordinating new lunch deliveries. To sign up, send an email to bluebird@vashoncenter.org. We’ll need the senior’s name, address, phone number and days of the wek they want lunch delivered (currently Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). Orders for lunch delivery must be submitted by Wednesday for the following week. If a senior wants to get a regular delivery, we can add them to the on-going delivery roster. For those able to pay without hardship, lunch is $5, but no one will ever be turned away for inability to pay.
Things are changing every day, with many so many updates it’s hard to keep up. For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 on a local level, don’t forget the daily Situation Report on the Vashon Be Prepared website. www.vashonbeprepared.org Don’t forget to check our calendar for more virtual activities. Our group leaders are really stepping up to keep you active, informed, and entertained.
Finally, I mentioned Women Hold the Key above, but I want to thank each of their volunteers and acknowledge them here. They have been calling seniors every week to see how they’re doing, if they need anything, and just to chat. These wonderful volunteers have made over 700 calls to seniors on Vashon and Maury!
Zoe Bennington
Mela Bredouw
Cara Briskman
Kristie Cobb
Geoff Cole
Sophie Gagnaire
Amy Greenberg
Dale Greenfeld
Julie Grunwald
Lauryn Hildreth
Maggie McClure
Claudine Kim Murphy
Antoinette Levine
Kay Longhi
Lisa Lucke
Jay Masters
Amy Mercer
Martha Ormseth
Lark Pelling
Kathi Boroughs Ray
Cindy Scheer
Susan Puz
Leslie Shattuck
Tina Shattuck
Mac Shore
Bridget Shore
Catherine Sullivan
Deborah Taylor