NEWSLETTER  |  MAY 2018
Join Us for Summer Sizzle!
It's time again for the annual LBFE Summer Sizzle! Together, you and your elder friend are invited to attend this fun kick-off to summer. Delicious, mouthwatering barbecue from Famous Dave's, keepsake photos of you and your elder friend, a drawing for St. Paul Saints tickets and a Minnesota State Fair Family Fun Pack with four admission tickets, Midway/Kidway tickets and a State Fair coupon book! You won't want to miss this fun afternoon and neither will your elder friend. Click here to RSVP for both of you.  Remember, elders will need to be accompanied by their Visiting Volunteers to attend this event. Happy Summer!
Saturday, June 16
11:00am - 1:00pm
1845 East Lake Street
Mpls 55407

A  buffet will be set up in the Community Room with extra seating under the tent in the back parking lot.
Great Project for LBFE AmeriCorps VISTA            
Do you know someone who is looking to make a difference, learn new skills, and roll up their sleeves to help end loneliness and isolation for people in their community? 

Beginning this August, an AmeriCorps VISTA member will lead a unique, neighborhood-based project to connect elders and neighbors through companionship. With leadership from the VISTA member, and support from the community, we will co-create a framework for achieving isolation-free blocks in the neighborhood, allowing older adult residents to age in place in the community they love with the support of their neighbors. 

If you would like to talk more about this exciting opportunity to join LBFE as an AmeriCorps VISTA member, please 
Contact Ann Fosco.
Selfie of the Month

Visiting Volunteer Suzanne and Elder Friend Marsha show us their beautiful smiles during a recent visit.  Together, Suzanne and Marsha enjoy expressing their creative sides in adult coloring books, doing their nails and learning more about each other. From the looks on their faces it's apparent that  they enjoy being together! 

Executive Director James Falvey Presents at Conference
The Minnesota Gerontological Society convened their annual conference on Friday, April 27, at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Park. The theme for this year's conference was Wellness Agenda: Healthy Communities. Healthy You.  James Falvey, LBFE Executive Director, and Julie Roles, Program Director at Vital Aging Network, co-presented a session that focused on Enhancing Wellness for Older Adults through Community Networks. 

As you know, 
community-based networks help older adults enhance their health, independence, and connectedness to their communities. 
By volunteering with Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly, you help ensure that even the most isolated and lonely older adults are connected to caring individuals and to their communities. 

After a lively discussion, Senior Services providers attending the session were challenged by the presenters to discover how they might infuse neighbor-to-neighbor connections into the services and programs they are already providing for elders. For example, chore service volunteers might come in to an elder's home for a cold glass of lemonade and some warm conversation after finishing their work, or volunteers who deliver groceries could maybe stay awhile and talk about some new recipes for elders to try.  Just a little connection goes a long way!  
NIGHT AT THE GUTHRIE
West Side Story
A re musicals your thing -- or maybe your Elder Friend's? The Vital Aging Network invites you to a special performance of West Side Story on Sunday, August 6, 7:30pm at the Guthrie Theater. 

Excellent seats are available for the reduced price of $35 per ticket. $10 of each ticket goes toward support for the Vital Aging Network. More information is available on the 
VAN website .  Thank you, VAN!
SPECIAL INVITATION!  Neighbors' Night Out
Senior rock concert with live music, singing and storytelling
Free admission, food and drinks!

Thursday, June 7th, 2018 
5:45 pm Welcome Party and 6:30 Show 
Bloomington Center for the Arts 
1800 W Old Shakopee Rd Bloomington, MN 55431

To reserve your tickets, you must CALL 612-344-222 by May 30th 
TICKETS: Normally $32, but FREE while they last. LIMITED SEATING!
To learn more about  www.AliveandKickinMN.org
Are We Killing Ourselves to Live Longer?
Barbara Ehrenreich is known for her dedication to issues of social justice, accompanied by extensive research and a biting wit.  

In her latest book,  Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer , she takes on society's attitude toward aging and death and finds that many of us are working too hard to prolong our lives at any cost.  Continue Reading
Dollars for Doers
Did you know that many employers offer grants of between $5 and $15 per volunteer hour to the nonprofit for which their employees regularly volunteer?

Many of our volunteers who work for companies such as 3M, UnitedHealth Group, Allina Health and more, go the extra step to add up the number of hours they have volunteered with us each year and submit a request to their employer to make a grant to LBFE in their name.  It is pretty simple to do, but it makes a big difference in the lives of our elders.

Please consider looking into how your company supports employee volunteerism. Thank you!