Community Living Campaign

Cultivating connections to help seniors and people with disabilities age and thrive at home.

Cultivating connections to help seniors and people with disabilities age and thrive at home.

clc_healthyaging

Resources and Ideas for Honoring Volunteers

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The Aging in America Conference energized and inspired colleague Carmen Mendieta, who prepared the following list of resources and ideas in honor of National Volunteer Week -April 15 through 21.   We continue to learn through our work how important it is to give people the chance to give back to their communities.

Theme:    Inspire by Example

Purpose:   To recognize and celebrate the efforts of volunteers at the local, state and national levels.

Website: http://www.handsonnetwork.org/nationalprograms/signatureevents/nvw

National Volunteer Week- 2012 Resource Guide

“Points of Light Institute is excited to offer this adaptable online toolkit, full of helpful ideas and marketing strategies to actively support your involvement in National Volunteer Week. Within the toolkit, you’ll find project ideas, volunteer leader resources, ideas and solutions for recognizing your volunteers throughout the week.
In this resource guide you’ll find all the essential messages and resources needed to effectively encourage and acknowledge volunteer participation, inspiration and recognition during National Volunteer Week 2012. This guide will help you make it a week filled with stories of inspiration and hope that encourages all of us to discover vital and imaginative ways to increase volunteer participation and intensify community impact.”

To download this guide, click here: http://www.handsonnetwork.org/files/nvw_resourceguide_2012_040412.pdf

Ideas for Making Your Own Beautiful Volunteer Recognition Awards

As you well know, recognizing volunteers with heartfelt gratitude does not have to be expensive. A bit of time and a little creativity can go a long way when it comes to thanking volunteers for their generosity of skills, time, patience and love. You know best what talents and gifts reside within your team.

Creativity in your Midst: Do you have a tech-savvy intern, a volunteer who has beautiful handwriting or a community member who enjoys calligraphy? One ream of lovely cardstock can deliver a meaningful message to a corps of committed volunteers. Here are a few examples to get you thinking about a written message that would best honor the good work of your program volunteers.

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”
~ Mother Teresa

This award is presented in gratitude to Fran Miles for your loving kindness,given all-year-round at the Forget Me Not Club.

“Love thy neighbor is a precept which could transform the world if it were universally practiced.”
~ Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) American educator

In recognition of being a loving, good neighbor, this award gives thanks to Jim Elder for his part in transforming our community.

“When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.”
~ Helen Keller

This award recognizes Luz Perez for always bringing your best to the members of the Mind Benders Program.

Websites to Find Quotes About Service and Volunteering

http://www.quotegarden.com/volunteer-apprec.html

http://www.energizeinc.com/reflect/quote1y.html

http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=2681

Free Printable Certificates and Postcards

http://www.freeprintablecertificates.net/category/volunteer

http://bloomington.in.gov/media/media/application/pdf/9751.pdf

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Thanks to Carmen Mendieta of the Brookdale National Group Respite Program for offering to share.  Visit them at www.brookdalefoundation.org

Healthy Diet Prevents Memory Loss

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OMI Food Network, and its sister project in the Park Merced/University Park area, have mobilized neighbors to box and to deliver fresh, healthy food to seniors over 80 and people with disabilities unable to use the local food pantry.

Now there is yet one more reason for us all to start eating healthier.

A new study led by researchers at the Scottsdale-based Mayo Clinic in Arizona supports the idea that what’s good for your heart is good for your brain.  The study, released last month, suggests that eating too much may double the risk for memory loss in people age 70 and older.  The research will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th annual meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28.

“We observed a dose-response pattern which simply means: the higher the amount of calories consumed each day, the higher the risk of mild cognitive impairment,” said study author Dr. Yonas E. Geda, a neurologist and psychiatrist with the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He noted that 2,143 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss.

While the relationship between cardiovascular problems and overeating are well known, the study further documents the similarities of cardiovascular risks and neurological risks such as mild cognitive impairment, Geda said.  The study involved 1,233 people in Olmsted County, Minn., ages 70 to 89 and free of dementia.

“Cutting calories and eating foods that make up a healthy diet may be a simpler way to prevent memory loss as we age,” Geda said.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Robert H. and Clarice Smith and Abigail van Buren Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program.

To see a video of Geda explaining the study, go to  http://youtube.com/watch?v=gF47eyjW2Pk   

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/science/health-med-fit/study-shows-healthy-diet-may-prevent-memory-loss/article_e74e59f7-492a-5d1c-bf70-ec2865953af9.html#ixzz1p0VDe4s5.

 

Tools to Build and Connect Your Personal Network

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What is Tyze and why do I keep seeing and hearing about it here in San Francisco?

Tyze was developed by the PLAN Institute of Canada and San Francisco was an early Beta testing site, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

When life is challenging, you don’t have to go it alone if you have a network – a Tyze network.

With Tyze you rally a personal network – friends family, neighbors and more – and connect them securely over the Internet. Keep those close to you updated with stories and photos and collaborate together with user-friendly care coordination tools. Your data is secure and there is no advertising.

With Tyze you can do practical things to make life easier and keep organized. Stay in touch with friends and family, organize medical appointments, keep track of medications, schedule outings, share stories and photos, store private documents and much more.

Tyze is one of the important programs that are featured on the new BTOP computers arriving at senior and community centers across San Francisco.

Want to learn more? View this brief video tour of Tyze or visit www.tyze.ca.