"It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving."
-Mother Theresa
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As we approach the Holiday Season, we naturally find ourselves in a place of reflection. It has been almost a year since our world was upended and the words Pandemic, Quarantine and Coronavirus entered our every day vocabulary. Instead of focusing on how much has changed, we would like to spend some time focusing on the things that haven't. The ability of our caregivers to continue caring, the ability of our community to come together, and the generosity we are so grateful for.
In celebration of the Holiday Season, we bring you the 12 Ways of Giving. They may not be 10 Lords a Leaping or 6 Geese a Laying but they are stories from the past year that have highlighted the resiliency and creativity shown by our caregivers, our supporters, our friends, our staff, our participants and YOU. You, who have figured out how to give us hope, share your generosity in new ways, and connect with us like never before.
Thank you. Thank you for your support, for your friendship, for your caregiving, for your resiliency, and for sharing the JOY with us this year. We wish you all a very happy, hopeful and most of all healthy Holiday Season.
From all of us at Circle Center.
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2020 will surely be one for the record books and one we will
ALL remember for many reasons. For us, we will remember it
as the year we all came together, the year you got creative and
the year that your support meant more than ever before!
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1.Connections go VIRTUAL!
We've been amazed by the the ability to connect and engage virtually. Our OT student, Stephanie Klovas, from longtime partner St. Catherine's University was still able to complete her 12 week field work with us even though she couldn't be physically present. She observed our participants, held one-on-one virtual sessions, and led a variety of exercise programs all from the screen! Our support groups made the virtual leap as well, and we were able to provide opportunities for connection and support. A very ZOOM year!
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2.Crafty ELVES
Students from the Geriatrics Student Interest Group from VCU collected donations and dropped off a Holiday surprise! $250 worth of craft and activity supplies that we will put to good use!
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3.Getting PERSONAL!
Making adaptations to our program wasn't always easy, but YOUR help with creating Personal Activity Kits enabled us to provide each participant with their own individual kit to safely participate in activities and programs!
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4.You granted our WISH-list!
You made our WISH list dreams come true! We were overwhelmed with the growing list of things we suddenly needed in order to make our program safe for our participants, so we created an Amazon Wish List and lo and behold...YOU came to the rescue! When deliveries arrive it truly is like Christmas morning! |
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5.COMFORT and Joy!
Every time...A Stressless chair is sold at Virginia Wayside, Circle Center receives $50! This gift has been running since November 20th and will continue through January 18th!
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6.Caring for Caregivers... |
When we made the difficult decision to not hold the Holiday Shoppe this year, we had an even better idea! This has undoubtedly been a very challenging year for caregivers of all kinds, so we wanted to make sure they felt the love. With help from our friends, including members of RVA Senior Resource Group and a very generous donation from Truist - we gathered items and created these special caregiver totes! |
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7....and warming our hearts AND our backs...
Sammie, a longtime friend from United Way heard about our project and made and stuffed 5 caregiver totes (along with a few extra items for more). She got others to join in as well. Her friend Anne Gibbons contributed to the cause and Sammie’s mother, Sue handmade FIFTY of these Country Corn heating Bags to include in our caregiver totes. We can FEEL the love!
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We've had thoughtful deliveries all month, from gifts and goodies, to donations and support. Even a surprise from the grandchildren of former participant Keith McCarty who sold their own items on Craigslist to raise funds to support us! |
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9.You Gave the
Gift of Circle Center!
Your generosity on GivingTuesday blew us away! In ONE day of giving, YOU helped us to raise $13,653 to allow us to continue to Give the Gift of Circle Center to our participants and families!
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One of our founding churches, Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, has supported us for many years with an Advent Tree. While they too had to get creative with their set-up they were still able to create a virtual tree and support us by collecting donations from our wish-list. |
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PPE is Key! Donations of masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies might not seem like they would be cause for jumping for joy, but in 2020 they sure are! We recently received a PPE Push Pack - a pallet full of of PPE from Virginia Department of Social Services! |
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12.Sister Act
Members of Sigma Delta Zeta sorority have supported us for years, and the no on-site volunteer rule hasn't stopped them! They collected snack items from our wish-list and stopped by to deliver them!
Members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority called to say they would be loading up Santa's sleigh and delivering goodie filled stockings for our participants
next week!
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Donald, our resident piano maestro, recently regaled us with a joyful performance of Christmas classic "The Christmas Song." What a beautiful way to head into the Holidays. Thank you Donald, for this moment of joy for us all to share.
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2020 Makes it Easier to Give:
Take Advantage of Special Year End Tax Benefits!
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Did you know that The CARES ACT provides tax incentives for all donors? |
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- Higher Deductions for cash gifts in 2020.
- Tax benefit without itemization.
- Bigger impact with your IRA.
Click HERE to learn more about what this means for your 2020 gift, contact your professional advisor or let us know if you have questions. |
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Thank you, for sharing in, providing us with, and celebrating so many Moments of Joy with us as we look forward to ringing in a NEW year! |
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