Thanksgiving A Rewarding Experience

Many times I have collected food, supplies, clothes, and toiletries for the homeless but never actually helped in delivering them. This year I was with the Knit and Crochet group from the Mt. Juliet Senior Center. It was rewarding to visit the Help Center in Mt. Juliet, Tn. to take warm gloves and hats. The organization operates with all volunteers. In the front, there is a large room where anyone can come in and get food and clothing. Another room at the Help Center houses shelves full of imperishable food bins of fresh produce and two large freezers of food products that are donated. Volunteers package all the boxes that are to be distributed to people who come in and for delivery to the distribution points. Mt. Juliet Senior Activity Center is a distribution point every 2^ND Thursday of the month. It is called 2^ND Harvest.

On Thanksgiving Day my daughter, two friends and I joined the Gobble -Gobble Give program in downtown Nashville. A restaurant in the middle downtown closed down their restaurant and parking lot to provide space for the event to serve the homeless with a meal, clothing, shoes, hats, gloves, scarves, and hand warmers. One friend served on the line packing the Thanksgiving meals and another drove to deliver the meals and bags of items to the homeless out and about the city. Outside the restaurant, tables were set up for an assembly line to receive and sort the donations that came in. Bags of items were packed and carried to the volunteer drivers cars for delivery along with the food.

My daughter and I served at the table bagging toiletries, socks, and gloves. We also aided the people who walked in for help. Sections in the parking lot were set up for men’s clothing, and women’s clothing. A section for blankets and sleeping bags were set up. Another section was set up for children’s clothing and toys. The two sections inside for food and outside for needed items coordinated well to fill the volunteer drivers’ cars with packages to the homeless wherever they were found or they found us.

The most rewarding thing I found was how truly grateful the people we served were. They would not take anything they couldn’t use or try to hoard anything. All of the people my daughter and our friends served were polite and we did not encounter any rudeness. They smiled and said thank you.

How the Mt.Juliet Activity Center gives back to the community..."Let me count the ways."

How the Mt. Juliet Senior Activity Center gives back to the community… “Let me count the ways.”

1.      It shares luncheons, games, contests, and music with other senior facilities to reach more seniors.

2.      It provides a place for Meals-on-meals to pack and deliver lunch to many shut-ins in the area.

The Center also serves those seniors who can come in for lunch for the program.

3.      It provides over 600 items; hats, scarfs,  hat & scarf sets, cancer hats, dishcloths, pot holders, Lap robes, and many other handcrafted items, made by the Senior center’s Knit and Crochet for charity group and the Quilt Club. They serve over 6 charity organizations and delivers in November each year.

4.      The “Over the Hill Choir” travels to nursing facilities within Wilson County to share their music and provide music for members of the Center.

5.      At Christmas Time the Choir provides a Christmas card, signed by each member to each senior in the nursing facilities visited. The cards are designed and printed by a member and donated.

6.      All groups in the center provide programs, items, and services to offset operating costs.

7.      The Senior Center provides a place where Senior Members can pick up a box packed with groceries from the Help Center. The program is called Second Harvest and operates every 2^nd Thursday of the month.

8.      The Center provides a place where businesses can sponsor and bring their messages to the membership and events open to the public.

9.      The Mt. Juliet Senior Center provides daily communications with the community on social media… Facebook. Twitter, Next-door network, all surrounding Hip-networks. It promotes senior programs and schedules.

10.   Mt. Juliet Senior Activity Center serves as the pulse of the senior residents of the Mt. Juliet area.

There are many other ways the Center shares with the community but most importantly it provides a place for our seniors to go and stay active for a healthier and happier life.Social Media has created a faster way to communicate but it hasn't taken the place and value of the face-to-face meeting. In the fast-paced world, it is hard to get away, drive through heavy traffic to meet in what was supposed to be a " new networking" event. You know the one, a handshake, a business card, and a plate full of calories. Then you go back to the office or home and you wind up with a drawer full of cards. Something has happened to the sit-down, have a cup of coffee and get to know you face-to-face times. Some organizations have started to change by a member sharing business a business card with another and later on calling and meeting over lunch or coffee. And, in the meantime, we continue our Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and Google.

So how can we better communicate with this new communication wonder? It can start with you.
All the sites have a place for you to upload your picture called an avatar. This too can be a problem.
I like to see who I am talking to, but then I see something that looks like an egghead. It is hard to communicate by looking at an egghead. Then there are avatars of babies, animals and all sorts of things.
This is fine on Facebook for families sharing pictures and honoring members of their families. The avatar should be you and you can upload pictures as well. Besides, if you keep changing your avatar how do you expect people to recognize you? But if you are in business it would be nice to see who you are communicating with. It is acceptable to show a logo of a company like AT& T or other large corporations that have built a respectable business and have many employees.

The Avatar sets the tone of your message. Remember, when the telephone was the newest way to communicate your business? You were taught to give the conversation your undivided attention and put a smile in your voice. Social media calls for putting a smile on your message. So how do you do that? You put a smiling avatar up. Let people see a genuine smile.

The egghead avatar has caused me to encourage a change by creating a "Grandma Grin Award" I try to publish each week, Put a smiling avatar with your message.

    

Do You Know Where Your Parents Are ?

                                                 Do We Know Where Our Parents Are?

Yes, we know where our parents are. They are home where they want to be, but is that enough? Some cannot drive; some are afraid to travel alone, and some have no transportation. Many do not realize that society is isolating their seniors.

I am just one member of the Mt. Juliet Senior Activity Center who knows and shares the benefits of living in their own home and enjoying sharing fun, games, coffee, exercise, and many beneficial programs with friends of my own age.  Mark Hinesley, Mt. Juliet Chamber of Commerce President said: “If you want to check the pulse of a city, check the schools, churches, organizations, and the senior centers. Growth brings new businesses, new people, and with those new people are their families and parents.”

This is so true with the city of Mt. Juliet …it is growing. New schools and churches have been built; parks and playground facilities are being updated and, yes even a new beautiful Chamber of Commerce Building. So why can’t Mt. Juliet build a new facility for its seniors? Why is it not under the umbrella of the City? Why it is still a stand-alone…only funded through grants and the fundraisers by member volunteers?

Seniors are a part of the make-up of the Mt. Juliet community. Residents of Mt. Juliet, Tn. Help build a safe place for them now and a future place for you as you reach their age. Everyone in the community can help: Investors, Developers, Builders, Companies, Organizations, Churches, and Residents. Search in your hearts. Land, building materials, roofing, windows, doors, furnishings are all a part of fundraising for a new Senior Center to replace the now old and over-crowded facility.

Contact the Executive Director, Sharon Howard for your contributions. 615-758-9114

New Senior Center Needed

The small but growing town of Mt. Juliet, TN has a great need for a new building to house the Mt. Juliet Senior Activity Center.  The Center has reached out to the small community to help raise funds for the construction cost of a new 18,000 sq. ft. facility.  These efforts have generated $100,000.00 which is significantly below the 2.5 million estimated costs for the new facility.   Thus, the creation of this Go Fund Me account.    The Center has 650 members and saw a first-time member rate of 27% this past year.  The first time member rate is currently holding at approximately 24%.  The exercise classes are full and the Center actually had to turn some participants away due to space since all classes are at a maximum.  The Center has so many participants and groups that all rooms are occupied during the operating hours 8-4 PM, M-F.   The community has donated as they could, multiple fundraisers have been held, but the funds are not being generated at the volume needed or meet the need.  This Center is not city operated or county operated, it is a 501C3, Charitable Organization. The Center has been a part of the community since 1978.   The need is great as the current building in which they are housed was constructed in 1937.  Their mission is to provide a place for older adults to gather for social, recreational and educational programs and to alleviate isolation and loneliness among the elderly.   A new Center is needed due to overcrowding at the current facility, maintenance of a dated building and to be able to continue to offer these services to the growing number of seniors.   Your help is needed and will make a huge difference in this little community in Middle Tennessee.

If you find it in your heart to donate: http://gofundme.com/senior-center-needed. I totally support, volunteer my time, and promote the Mt. Juliet Senior Activity Center with a portion of my sales of my artwork going directly to the building fund. It is one of a few standalone Senior Centers in the country solely raising operating costs through grant writing and fundraisers by its volunteer members.

by Gloria Wilson, Volunteer, Promoter, and Artist.                    

About Artist Gloria Wilson

Gloria Wilson retired in 1996 after two successful careers; 31 years with Southern Bell Telephone Company as an assistant manager of customer education, and 14 years as a high school registrar. She sought something to satisfy her need to be creative by joining the School of folk art owned and operated by Mary Sue Baldwin. Gloria had always wanted to see if she could paint. Many times during her daughter’s school years she created projects for fundraising and decorations for awards banquets. The school was a way to learn and share the sheer joy of painting with friends.

Since 1973 Gloria has been a member of the Florida Business and Professional Women’s Club. Throughout the many years of the organization, she has championed the fundraising arm of the group by creating many ideas to raise money to provide scholarships for women in financial need to further their education. It was during the time Gloria was serving as the National Foundation Chair for the Florida Business and Professional Women’s Club that she made prints of her paintings and offered them as a fundraiser for Florida’s contributions to the Career Advancement Scholarship Program.

Now being sidelined with an injury and unable to travel much, she still had the desire to assist in fundraisers for scholarships to further the career of women who could not afford school.

In honor of a friend and hairdresser of 45 years, she opened a campaign to sell the note cards with a percentage going into the Nita McMillan Cosmetology Scholarship Fund. Gloria wants to continue to share her cards with the hope that “my style of painting will be your joy.”

Today at the age of 87, the New Age artist is devoting her volunteer hours to the Mt. Juliet Senior Activity Center. The Artist’s hand-painted glassware, note cards, bookmarks, and coffee cups can be seen at the Basement Marketplace in Old Hickory, TN.  Note cards can also be seen in booth #304 at #Basement Marketplace on Facebook. A portion of all sales will go to the Senior Center Building Fund.

How Does It Feel To Be 85.

Someone asked me the other day:” How does it feel to be 86 years old? My first impulse was to say: “I don’t know I have never been that age before.” Why did they ask that question? So with that in mind I ask them why?  The person told me that their image of “old people” was one of feebleness, grumpiness, and set in their ways. They didn’t think I fit that description even with my white hair and wrinkles.

Well, that got me to thinking…how do I feel at 85? Somehow I have grown accustomed to my white hair and frankly quite proud of it because I receive compliments daily on how pretty, thick and shiny it looks. I can’t say that much for my wrinkles though. I keep telling myself the wrinkles were etched in my face as I weathered life’s journey seeking my purpose in life. I am true to myself and fit in my own skin. I apply lotion every night as I did when I was a youngster.

As a Senior I walk a little slower, but I do not like the fast-paced world around me. As I grow older I have found the value of self-care. In fact, self-care at any age is valuable. One of my favorite quotes: “If you look good you feel good. If you feel good you do good.” Older folks have problems with balance and flexibility. However, the new age seniors keep on moving for a healthier happier life.

At my vintage age I love good fresh food. That hasn’t changed. Good fresh vegetables are making a comeback at the supermarkets and farmer’s roadside stands. What has changed for me is the way I cook meat…no fried foods. Occasionally, fried chicken does my soul good…and, I must mention fried catfish.

Inside, I feel as though I am the same as I was as a youngster. I have learned to think with my mind and feel with my heart. I love color and nature. I love connecting and sharing with people. I love learning new things daily and setting goals.

So to answer the question…”What does it feel at the age of 85? I feel young at heart, can walk my own path at my own pace, and enjoy life.

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