Sometimes you get an email that describes something that is pure joy. How else does one respond to our very own TTN Philadelphia stand-up comedian, Deb Spungen, who was the opener for our first General Membership meeting and celebration.

Here's what Deb had to say about this experience. "I had such a good time-it made me happy to see so many people laugh.  I felt powerful in a positive way, sort of "high".  It was such a down day, the day after elections, and it was raining and dreary and people were ready to laugh with me. What fun that was.  I don't know where the "funny" came from, it just burbled up!"

Read more on "The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter", and remember to hold your dear ones close and move towards the laughter.  

For our second Speaker Series program on January 9th, Caring Collaborative (CC) has selected one of our members' suggestions for a program about the benefits of essential oils.  Our speaker is Krishnamayi (Marzena Krysiak), who recently moved to Philadelphia.  She and her husband spent many years in Europe working to educate others about the physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of natural remedies and enhanced well-being.

Krishnamayi will start with a discussion of what essential oils are, why they are so effective and how to used them safely to get the most benefit.  Then she will focus on how essential oils can aid better sleep, skin care and bone health.  Samples of oils will be passed to attendees so they can sniff and dab as they listen.  After the program, Krishnamayi will be available to answer questions.  

Click here for more information and to register.  Seating is limited to 20 people, so sign up early to insure your place. You do not need to be a member of the Caring Collaborative to attend this session.

Each of our SIGs depends on the volunteerism of our members. For each SIG, a member agrees to be the SIG Lead: managing communication, meeting administration and other tasks. We are very thankful for these volunteers because without SIG Leads, there would be no SIGs!

On a yearly basis, a Think Tank is held for the TTN SIG leads.  In general, a Think Tank is a group of people who work together to produce new ideas on a particular subject.  For us, this is an opportunity for the PHL SIG Leads to get together and discuss common matters: what's working; what's not working, what they need help with, etc. We also share best practices. It's always a lively exchange of information and generates lots of good ideas.

This year, the program's focus was the review of a Job Description for SIG Leads. This is a brief guideline to help these volunteers learn what they should be doing to execute their role. It is our goal to make it easy to say yes to taking on this responsibility. Knowing what's expected is seen by all as a good first step.

Alice Milrod is also pleased to announce that Joanne Bowes has been named Vice Chair, Special Interest Groups, PHL Chapter. Joanne will work closely with Alice and will eventually take over as Chair.

In other SIG news, we will be restarting the Montgomery County Potluck, known as the Montco Munchers. If you live in Montgomery County and would like to see TTN activities closer to home, consider joining this group. Please contact the SIG lead, Carol Seelaus ([email protected]) if interested. The group meets the first Monday of the month at 6 pm, but this could be changed if the group members prefer a different day.

If you have ideas for new SIGs or have questions/ suggestions, please contact Alice Milrod.

Here is the link to the PHL SIG Webpage.