Full Circle
Circle Center's E-Newsletter
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"Never yet was a springtime when
the buds forgot to bloom."
-Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
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Spring marches on and we have all likely noticed the arrival of a busier calendar! We are all excited by the return to a sense of normalcy, but rest assured, we are maintaining the priority of the health and safety of our participants with our continued adherence to covid protocols.
Spring brings a time of celebration, and we certainly have a lot to celebrate! April is National Volunteer Month, and we always love any excuse to honor our volunteers! Spring is also the time when we celebrate our Anniversary! While we feel like it was just yesterday that we ushered in our 45th Anniversary with a weeks long celebration and the unveiling of our updated branding, somehow it is already time to celebrate our 46th Anniversary this May!
Our Anniversary is always a time when we like to reflect on the core of our mission and renew our focus on serving the aging adults and care partners in our community. We are also reminded that we would not be able to celebrate 46 years of service without all of YOU! Our supporters, friends, volunteers, families, participants, staff and community partners. We celebrate YOU and everything you do to help us every day.
You help us support our participants and care partners, like Leah and Willa, whose story we share below. Thank YOU all for continuing to be a bright spot as we navigated these challenging years and thank you for helping us to continue to serve every day.
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Another story that we shared during our inaugural Inside the Circle virtual event was that of Leah and her grandmother, Willa. Willa has been a participant at Circle Center since 2018, and never fails to brighten our days with her smile and joy.
Willa's granddaughter Leah is her primary caregiver, and found Circle Center when she realized she needed a solution that worked for both of them. When Willa began leaving their shared home unattended to make daily trips to the grocery store while Leah was at work, Leah became increasingly worried for her grandmother's safety. Willa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and as her disease progressed, Leah knew a solution was needed. Leah recognized that the core of her grandmother's wandering behavior was seeking the community and friendships that were so vital to her. Willa had always been very involved in her community and those social interactions were so important to her sense of self, her health and her overall well-being and happiness.
Finding Circle Center was a blessing. Here, Leah shared, her grandmother "found her community" again. Leah is comforted knowing that Willa is safe and secure and enjoying friendship and socialization every day. Willa loves the arts and crafts, games, and activities she participates in and Leah can go to work knowing her grandmother is cared for. Continued social isolation would have been detrimental to Willa's spirit, which we can see each day she arrives and greets us all with her signature smile!
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Volunteer Appreciation Month! |
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We say it often, but we can't ever seem to say it enough! We love our volunteers! We are so thankful for our volunteers who have stuck with us as we figured out the different modifications necessary during the pandemic, including a pause in our volunteer program overall.
We were so happy to welcome a small but mighty crew of regular volunteers back and are so happy to be able to continue to slowly ramp up our volunteer program again.
Thank you to our volunteer groups, The Master Gardeners and monthly groups from our partners at Genworth, for planning fun and engaging programs, activities, games and events for our participants. We all enjoy these special visits, festive themed days, creative arts and crafts projects, and of course, sharing joyful moments with each other.
We also couldn't do what we do everyday without our regular weekly volunteers. Thank you to Eric, Martha, Rachel, Ellen and Ella who spend one-on-one time with our participants, walking with them, listening, sharing their time, and for providing our staff with much needed back-up and support.
For more information about our current volunteer protocols, please click here to visit our volunteer page on our website.
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As we safely increase our census, we have needed to grow our available program space and team to accommodate! So we introduce you to our re-opened and re-purposed program space, new staff members and a new board member! A busy spring indeed! |
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Re-Opened Program Space - The Cozy Corner! |
We are happy to re-open more program space to accommodate our growing population! We asked staff to rename the program room we recently re-opened - so we introduce you to The Cozy Corner, affectionally referred to as The Corner. The Corner will comfortably welcome 8 participants who will enjoy the same programs, activities, and events as those in our two currently occupied program rooms.
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Welcome New Staff Members! |
As we have increased our daily census of participants we have also added to Team Circle Center!
Welcome to our newest staff members:
Katrice Carey, PCA
Celestine Turner, PCA
Tynesha Wright, CNA
Tikisha Johnson, CNA
Markheira Logan, CNA
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Circle Center's all-star nursing team, left to right: Markeira Logan, Hazel Snead, Casey Warren, Tikisha Johnson, Alicia Johnson, Katrice Carey, Larry Sheets, Mae Powell; Not featured: Celestine Turner and Tynesha Wright |
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Welcome New Board Member! |
Welcome to our newest board member, Michael Cullins. Michael first came to us as a volunteer during his time with UPS. Now with Central Virginia VA Hospital, Michael looks forward to becoming more involved with Circle Center and we are thrilled to be the recipients of his knowledge and expertise! |
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Spring has been busy for our community partners as well, and we have events and news to share! |
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Bremo Pharmacy: Healthy Living Day |
Join our friends at Bremo Pharmacy for their upcoming Healthy Living Day, Thursday May 20th, for free health screenings, informational sessions, door prizes, refreshments and more!
Click HERE for more info!
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Bremo Spotlight on Circle Center |
As part of their series highlighting members of the RVA Senior Resource Group that we are both members of, Bremo Pharmacy also recently interviewed Heather and will share information about Circle Center in an upcoming feature. Stay tuned to their Facebook page to see it!
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As a true sign of the times returning to normal, we've been able to participate in community fairs and expos again for the first time in two years!
We recently participated in Henrico County Advocate for the Aging Annual Senior and Caregiver Expo and Brain Health and You! Conference. We love an opportunity to be out in the community to spread awareness about Circle Center.
If you know of a conference or Expo that Circle Center should participate in, please contact: Jay Burkhardt, [email protected]
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Our on-site therapy partners, Genesis Rehab, shared their most recent newsletter with us with helpful information and resources. Click HERE to check it out!
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Bingo Night with Alzheimer's Association! |
We were invited to host a Bingo Night at a recent Alzheimer's Association meeting. Our own Jay Burkhardt and Lauren Glaser hosted a few rounds of Bingo for adults with early onset Alzheimer's and their caregivers. We play Bingo often and find that it offers great opportunities for our participants to engage and socialize. We were happy to share this activity with our friends at Alzheimer's Association and their attendees. |
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The Circle Center Scene:
Spring Themed Activities with The Master Gardeners
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Thank you for your support! |
Your support has allowed us to continue to serve our community, and support our participants and caregivers throughout the pandemic. Thank you. |
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