Age-Friendly Workplace Video, Fun Tech Facts, Virtual Volunteering, and more!
PAFC News & Updates
March 2022
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Clearly he's grinning because he found the PERFECT Virtual Volunteer opportunity with PAFC!
Did you know you can make a difference in the lives of others by volunteering from the comfort of your home? We are looking for Virtual Volunteers who are eager to work on a team to help others.
Your team might do Zoom check-ins with community members, write letters to older adults, help put together care packages, or make phone calls - we have many opportunities to choose from.
A MAJOR perk: No need to battle traffic for this opportunity! You can volunteer from your own home at a time that works with your schedule. Walk the dog, brew some more coffee, enjoy the garden - there's no need to leave home to be helpful.
Volunteer teams are forming now, with specific Virtual Volunteer opportunities starting in May. Not able to volunteer on a particular day of the week? No problem! Once we pair you with your ideal project, you can volunteer at a time that works best for you.
Get in touch with us so we can help you find your perfect opportunity!
Get ready to do your Happy Dance! Our online Lunch & Learn events are a great opportunity to learn from home while we explore different community resources.
Did you know...you can sign up to attend a Lunch & Learn event all the way up until 11:00am the day of the event? Don't be shy about signing up - you won't want to miss all the fun!
April 1st from 12pm-1pm: Discover Hidden Resources - Larimer County's Best Kept Secrets!
We'll be joined by Cheryl Noble, Senior Access Points Program Manager at Larimer County CSU Extension and Mark Sleeter, Larimer County Aging and Disabilities Resource Center's Program Supervisor. Cheryl and Mark will share some of our county's most valuable resources, and guide us on how to find some hidden local resource gems!
April 22nd from 12pm-1pm: Health & Wellness with Yvonne Hanning
Our very own Yvonne Hanning of Willow Tree Fitness has some amazing health and wellness tips to share, along with some FUNctional fitness activities.
May 6th from 12pm-1pm: Connecting You and Northern Colorado -Transportation Tools
We'll spend the lunch hour with the award-winning North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization, as they showcase a variety of transportation resources across the county.
Now we haven't won an Oscar for Best Short Feature YET, but once you watch our video on how to Profit From Experience by building multigenerational workplaces, you'll agree an award is in order!
The message is clear: Age-diversity in the workplace benefits EVERYONE. Our team was so proud to partner with AARP Colorado to create this video sharing the many benefits of intergenerational workplaces.
With technology, that is? Getting connected and staying connected can feel like such a battle! Is your iPhone screen cracked because you've thrown it against the wall one too many times after trying to install the Zoom app? Are you so frustrated with your tablet developing a mind of its own while you search for virtual activities you can engage in that you've created some not-safe-for-work nicknames for that wretched device? Don't throw in the towel! Our Tech Buddies team is here to help you get connected and stay connected!
Let's review a few key facts:
Fact 1: Technology sometimes stinks for EVERYONE. Show me one adult who has never battled it out with technology and I'll show you a flock of lovely pigs soaring through the sky.
Fact 2: Technology is super cool, even though we scream at it all the time!
Fact 3: You're not alone! Why struggle and scream at your computer, when you can have a friend scream with you?
Seriously, we are all in this together. Don't despair - contact us so we can partner you with a Tech Buddy. Do our Tech Buddies always have all the answers? WHY YES WE DO....okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. But we WILL work together with you to overcome challenges that are keeping you from accessing the online resources you need to stay connected in this world that has so many virtual options. Interested in joining events featured in the Virtual Gateways catalog? Trying to log on to a fitness class or join a Zoom meeting with your grandkids? We can definitely help you, and we'll stick with you as we find solutions together.
While camping as an 8-year-old, in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. I refused to leave, tying myself with a bungee cord to a trash can at our campsite. Even as a child I knew that being outside in the natural word was my happy place.
Fast forward to 1982. I was 23, miserable, working at a coal-fired power plant, no direction, no passion. That winter I went to Jackson, WY to visit a friend working seasonally for the National Park Service. We skied the inner park highway to a historical cabin, right at the base of the Grand Teton. The day was cold but sunny and clear. The cold air created an illusion that the Grand Teton Mountain appeared closer than it was. We heard the whoosh of a pair of wings as a raven flew above. I was stunned by the beauty around me.
That weekend I re-discovered my life passion. I knew then I had to find a way to work in Nature, especially the Rocky Mountains, where I have always been the happiest and most content.
The next fifteen years I worked with the National Park Service, then went back to school for a Master’s in Botany. What followed next was 20+ years with the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, at Colorado State University, conducting county surveys for rare plants. I’ve been privileged to see more wild places in Colorado then most everyone! One place in the San Juan Mountains is etched in my memory. I was the only human at a cirque lake, the pikas were scurrying about, and a pair of bighorn sheep scrambled down to the lake. I sat there with so much gratitude and awe. Another memory, also in southwestern Colorado, is of one of the most unique wetlands I have ever explored. The surrounding geology of iron rich minerals, create a peat-accumulating wetland, called a fen. Due to the high mineral content of the groundwater, terraces had formed, much like one sees in Yellowstone. I sat at the edge of the wetland, listening to the cascade of the water and smelling the coniferous forest.
I have had numerous opportunities to advise undergraduate students especially about next steps in their career. I would always tell them the story about rediscovering my passion in the Grand Tetons and would encourage them to find that place or thing that grounded them the most and to follow their passion. The rest will fall into place.
For me, the importance of being in nature, of learning from nature, has been my touch stone. Over the decades, I have returned to the same campground in the Wind River and to the Grand Tetons whenever I was floundering. These are the locations that bring me back to myself, to my understanding of what I cherish.
