Ashby Village's Tenth Anniversary
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By Karin Evans
It’s an exciting moment in the history of Ashby Village--we’ve just entered our 10th year of service to our community! Though we formally turn ten in July of 2020, we’re already making preparations for celebrating that milestone. “We’re looking at the next steps for the second decade,” says Executive Director Andy Gaines. “The theme is one of maturing and developing.”
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Special programs are already in the works to mark this official tenth year, it began in June with the
Arts & Culture event with Betty Reid Soskin at Epworth United Methodist Church. At age 98, Betty is the oldest National Park Ranger serving the United States who interweaves her experience as a young black woman in segregated America in her stories. Another Arts & Culture event, featuring well-known food expert, former restaurateur, and Ashby Village member Narsai David, will follow at the end of October.
As Ashby Village gears up to celebrate its second decade, a number of additional new projects and events are also being planned--from an Art in Aging exhibition to a special 10th anniversary open house and celebration party.
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Thank You For Your Support!
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by Jan Corazza, Development Committee Chair / Board Member
A big Thank You! to the many members and friends of Ashby Village who have contributed over $150,000 to meet our goal for the fiscal year ending June 30. “We made a stretch and met our goal,” said Andy Gaines, executive director of Ashby Village. It will allow us to continue to expand our offerings to our members while maintaining membership fees steady. It also allows us to offer reduced fees to members on a limited income, through the It Takes A Village fund.
“It is so heartening to see the broad support Ashby Village receives from our community,” noted Andra Lichtenstein, president of the Board of Directors. “Every gift counts, and we have received gifts from over 230 members, volunteers and friends of Ashby Village. As we prepare for our 10th Anniversary celebrations, knowing that we have such a wellspring of support means so much.”
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Israel: a three-weeks experience (slideshow)
Friday, July 9, 3:00-4:00 pm
Ashby Village 1821 Catalina Avenue, Berkeley
This slide show is the result of spending three weeks in Israel visiting one of my granddaughters who was living in Jerusalem at the time.
My stay there included stays in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and visits to the North, the South and Petra in Jordan. While a small country, Israel is a land of historic importance, of beauty, of diversity and is very much part of the modern world.
Mona Reeva is a world traveler, a photographer, and is retired from her professional life as a social worker and psychologist. Following retirement she began to create and sell jewelry, while continuing her love of gardening and travel. She belongs to the Berkeley Camera Club, the Berkeley Garden Club and volunteers at the SF Symphony, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Freight and Salvage and the White Elephant Sale of the Oakland Museum.
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Sunday, July 28, 2:00-4:00 pm
Richmond - RSVP for location
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Invite a friend to join our Living Room Chat!
They'll have the opportunity to hear what Ashby Village offers to our members and volunteers, how it enhances their quality of life, and why it helps them develop peace of mind about the future.
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VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION EVENT
The gaiety of the 20's came "roaring" back to Ashby Village
at our recent
"So much fun"
was the motto of the day!
See photos and read all
about it!
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Upcoming Hearts N' Hands Events
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Window Washing events
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Come and join us! Light lunch provided.
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The Hearts N' Hands program provides volunteer assistance to Ashby Village Members when they need a hand
Volunteers gather for a half day to complete multiple
jobs at once.
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Hearts N' Hands
Thank You!
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Many thanks to the Hearts N' Hands team of Pat, Melissa and Gordon for doing a fabulous job on my garden. It looks wonderful!
Warmly,
Ashby Village Member, Ilse Eden
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LET’S MAKE OUR TENTH ANNIVERSARY
YEAR ONE OF 0 FALLS
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While “getting on the move” is what we have been advocating at Ashby Village, we also want to call your attention to the increasing risks of not only falling as we age, but also the increased risks of dying following a fall if you are over 75.
According to a recent study by JAMA as reported by Katie Hafner, The New York Times, 6/5/2019.: “for people over 75, the rate of mortality from falls more than doubled from 2000 to 2016.”
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While advanced age is the biggest risk for falls, you can mitigate these risks by staying active but with attention to the following:
- Keep exercising. 20 minutes a day (or at least 2 hrs. a week) of some form of aerobic and anaerobic exercise (like weightlifting for strengthening your legs) is recommended (Try our Strength Training Class on Wed PM.)
- Try Tai Chi which is increasingly recommended as an effective way to improve balance. One Study found that adults over 70 who practiced Tai Chi 2x week reduced their incidence of falls by 58% (our Tai Chi Chi class is currently full: watch for a second class to be offered in the near future)
- Review your medications. Benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax are especially bad, but Ambien, Benadryl, and Advil PM are also bad for balance. Be sure to review dosages with your doctor if you take these meds and consider alternatives.
- Have your eyes checked regularly, and be especially careful if wearing bifocals or progressive lenses which can affect your depth perception.
- Forgo high heels, slide in sandals and slippers without backs. Use shoes with a good back and good tread.
- Don’t be too proud to use a cane or walker if your doctor recommends it
- Drink plenty of water to prevent dizziness.
- Declutter: Scatter rugs, extension cords and even pets can contribute to falling.
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Our Hiking Program will be full of interesting Opportunities in July
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On Tuesday, 7/30, Shirley Jowell and Celeste Burrows will be leading another one of their Ferry outings to the Presidio in San Francisco for a walk along the Bay Ridge Trail and to some of the art structures at the Presidio. The hike will be under two hours with some turn back options.
See the calendar for specific times to meet at the Ferry terminal and to register.
New and Recommended Reading
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Mother’s Day Campaign Ashby Village held
its first annual Mother’s Day Card campaign, to recognize mothers while by supporting the essential work of the Village. Thank you to all who participated. We were able to raise over $2200!!
A number of donors elected to send cards to their children and it was a great pleasure for me, as I sent them, to witness the sentiments and the loving care people took in their notes to mothers.
In Memory:
Regina Lichtenstein – From Generation to Generation
In Honor:
Ann Brasswell, age 89 Celia Glover – To the Next Generation
The campaign was organized by Ashby Village volunteer Helen K. Hansel. Thank you, Helen!
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WANTED: Your Speaker and Performance Recommendations!
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Some of Ashby Village's most successful events have come to the us by way of member and volunteer recommendations and offers - in other words, they came from you!
Are you interested in sharing your subject matter expertise, or artistic and musical talents, or do you know someone who may be willing to share theirs?
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Plan Ahead to Submit Articles to This Newsletter
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Would you like your event or notice to appear in the Village Voices Newsletter? Use
this simple form
to submit your material.
It takes us time to prepare each issue! Remember that the DEADLINE for each newsletter is the 15th of the previous month. Late submissions are not guaranteed placement in the next newsletter.
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Would you like personal assistance from Technology & Electronics Volunteers?
Volunteers can help you with a
wide range
of devices!
Do you want to learn how to get more out of your smart phone or tablet? Call us!
Not sure how to get your TV hooked up? Call us!
Interested in finally getting your printer to work? Call us!
Are you ready to learn how to use Skype or FaceTime to have video calls with friends and family? Call us!
Have you had enough of that weird thing that keeps happening with your computer? Call us!
Click here to find technology resources on Ashby Village website.
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Neighborhood Groups &
Ongoing Activities
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Tuesday, July 16, 2:00 pm,
Elder Action at Ashby Village. Contact
ElderActionNow@gmail.com
Check out our
online calendar for the
full view of our upcoming meetings, activities and other
events.
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Reflections on Past Events
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Judith Coburn on SCAMS, HACKS and SPAM: How to avoid rip offs on the Internet and your smart phone
Story by Sigrid Duesberg
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On May 16, Ashby Village volunteer Judith Coburn talked about how to avoid problems and rip offs from internet.
Judith has been a private investigator for 13 years. Before that, she was a journalist for 40 years, covering the wars in Vietnam, Central America and the Middle East. Judith pointed out right away that she is not a “techie”, but knows how to detect problems on the internet.
Current hacks into Google, Uber and Amazon accounts prove that there is no 100% security on the internet. But there are a few things you can do in order to avoid problems
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June Pre-Happy Hour Event
: Twenty years of bringing women's history documents from archives to online
Photos by Nancy Rubin
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Through slides and playful banter,
Kitty Sklar and Tom Dublin each talked about their research and the joy they found in working together. They created three enormous databases of Women’s History that are available through many libraries.
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They are also looking for volunteers to help with research.
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Curated by volunteer Patricia Hom
by Ruth La Feria, The New York Times, 06/20/2018
by Thomas Heath, Business Insider, 06/25/2018
by Melissa Healy, Los Angles Times, 06/28/2018
by Jesse Clements, North Gate Radio, 03/14/2019
by Katherine S. Newman & Rebecca Hayes Jacobs, The Nation, 03/29/2019
by Janet Parker Martin & David Berg, SF Chronicle, 03/29/2019
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Ashby Village Board vice-president Laura Peck recommends this reading:
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An Ashby Village members tells us how much she appreciates the Healthier Aging classes
I joined Ashby Village a year ago. My husband died three years before, after ten years of Alzheimer’s with me as his primary caregiver. Shortly after, I was hit by an overlapping series of health issues that included loss of balance and strength. I immediately signed up for Tai Chi Chih with Faith Isaacs, and for Strength, Balance and Flexibility with Pamela McKernan. A year later, I still show up for both classes every week and continue to reap benefits, leading to participating more fully in an active lifestyle.
In the middle of this past year I had surgery (thanks MedPal) to correct spinal stenosis and to limit the progression of scoliosis. I am writing now to let the Village know how valuable these classes have been for me in preparation and in the aftermath. While the surgery itself was successful, my surgeon and physical therapist concurred that my rapid recovery and continued improvement in alignment, balance and gait can be credited to these classes. In fact, I was able to reduce the usual course of post-surgery physical therapy as a result of these activities. And, for the first time in years, my diminished lung capacity has also improved.
I want to share how grateful I am for these strides in experiencing a healthier, more empowering lifestyle. I am also very pleased to see others in the classes making similar gains. I sincerely appreciate being in community with others. Each session, we are happy to see each other and participate in the synergy created by the group. We all share a deep appreciation for the quality of the teachers, their knowledge, focus, compassion and respect; and for Ashby Village for having seen the value of these activities and making them available us.
Thank you, thank you, thank you,
Wendy O.
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Martin Friedman's Obituary and Memorial Service
Dear friends and family,
We are so grateful for your thoughts and support since Martin's death. We miss him terribly, but know that he will always be with us. On what would have been his 85th birthday, we wanted to share his obituary with you (
Read the Obituary
here)
. It will be published soon. You will see that we are holding
his memorial service on August 17 at 2pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley in Kensington, CA
. We look forward to remembering and celebrating him with many of you then.
If any of you would like to contribute a short remembrance of or anecdote about Martin for the "collage of voices" portion of the service, send a few sentences to
elisabethjay@gmail.com
by July 8. Please feel free to share this with anyone who might appreciate reading a summary of Martin's wonderful life.
With love, Edith, Elisabeth, & Max
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Thank you to the Ashby Village volunteers who contributed to this issue of the Village Voices newsletter.
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