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 2nd 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.
