What's Happening at Whitney

Senior Friendship Circle Leader– Senior Friendship Circle volunteers are greatly needed to lead a small group by initiating a weekly phone chat! RSVP is currently organizing small groups of 3-4 individuals, in the Greater St. Cloud Area to gather via phone conference calling for weekly visits. The volunteer will schedule and initiate weekly phone visits with their group using their own phone conference calling feature (conference calling can be done through land-lines or smart phones - instructions provided). Volunteers may lead conversations related to the interest of the group, discuss current events, have a movie or book discussion, or simply check in to say hello. Seeking volunteers with an interest in meeting weekly with a small group of seniors to cultivate friendships and stimulate conversations.

The Minnesota Warmline
Need to talk? Someone is there to listen.
Open Monday-Saturday, 5 PM to 10 PM

651.288.0400

Toll Free 877.404.3190
or text “Support” to 85511

The Minnesota Warmline provides a peer-to-peer approach to mental health recovery, support and wellness. Calls are answered by our team of professionally trained Certified Peer Specialists, who have first hand experience living with a mental health condition.
The Warmline provides a safe, anonymous and confidential environment to connect with people who are here to listen…here to help.

Helping Minnesota’s Older Adults during COVID-19
Refer to MDH for COVID-19 Information in Minnesota

To protect the public's health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19, please follow the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for the state’s most up-to-date guidelines and information: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/index.html .

Call the Senior LinkAge Line Available at 1-800-333-2433
The Senior LinkAge Line will continue to be a resource for older adults and their families to call during this emergency situation. We can help people find resources and make connections with alternative services, if someone’s provider or support network has changed or temporarily stopped providing services. The Minnesota Board on Aging (MBA), Minnesota’s Area Agencies on Aging and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) are working closely together to share information and ensure that all parts of the state have the resources they need to support older Minnesotans and caregivers.

Help for Older Adults
If you are on Elderly Waiver, Alternative Care or Essential Community Supports, contact your case manager/care coordinator to discuss your needs. If you are not on one of these programs call the Senior LinkAge Line for help finding resources in your community including:

Home-delivered meals
Grocery or prescription drug delivery
Help in your home
Transportation
Caregiver consultants and respite services

At this time the Whitney Senior Center is still closed, but we are still here to help you. We do not have dates for when we are opening. Your safety is our upmost importance. We will continue to keep you updated through the weekly e-newsletter.

Please take advantage of the Senior Friendship Circles and the many opportunities to connect with us virtually. If you need assistance, please do not hesitate to call. We are staffed Monday through Friday 8am to 4:30.

We are still collecting masks. We are also distributing the masks - one per person. If you are in need of a mask, please give us a call.

If you are looking for a way to put your time and talents to good use we are looking for community members willing to make and donate cloth masks for at risk community members. In partnership with other Human Service organizations we are asking you to consider helping with this important task. The link below from the CDC indicates how masks are used and beneficial. It also shows a number of patterns for making masks. Completed masks can be dropped off at Whitney Senior Center West Door (1527 Northway Drive, St. Cloud) in the covered bin marked MASKS. The bin will be available Monday-Friday 8-4:30p.m. Please give us a call if you are willing to help with this project. We can be reached at 320-255-7245.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

Senior Dining Frozen Meal Distribution Monday-Wednesday 11:00 am -12:30pm

Wonderful frozen meals are available for curbside pick-up from 11a.m.-12:30p.m. each Monday-Wednesday from the East Wing Parking lot of Whitney Senior Center. These nutritious meals are prepared by Catholic Charities and made available each week. To register and/or reserve meals call 320-229-4584.

Gratitude at Six Feet Apart

By Antonia Albany May 25, 2020 3 Comments Share This:

If you’re feeling the raw edge of the terrifying world pandemic of COVID-19, you are not alone. And while now might seem a tough time to experience gratitude, doing just that can provide soothing comfort in these scary weeks.
Look around. If you’re healthy with a roof overhead, there’s lots to be grateful for. Are you getting food delivered? Do friends or family check in with you? Perhaps you’re finally enjoying that book you purchased months ago, or binge-watching your favorite costume drama? Have you tried new technologies to better connect with friends and family? Gratitude might be as simple as acknowledging a sunny day. Or maybe it’s rain you crave. And think of the money (and calories) you’re saving by cooking at home.
If you try looking through a different lens, you can find lots to be grateful for even in these unsettling times.

Here is a Gratitude Exercise to make note of in your Gratitude Journal any time things look bleak:

Be grateful for yourself first. Rejoice and be grateful for the breath that gives you life, for your ability to see and smell and hear. Write down three things you are grateful for about yourself. Don’t forget to note good ways you’ve dealt with keeping safe and sane during the current world events.

Second, be open. No matter how discouraging circumstances may be, you can always find at least one or two things to be grateful for right now. Look to new ways to feel the abundance of your rich life. Try standing in a ray of sunlight pouring through a window, arms open, head tilted toward the warmth. Say out loud, “I am open to what these times can show me about my life. I am open to new experiences.” Feel the gratitude of being safe in this moment.

And finally, start now. Begin today to acknowledge all the positive events and circumstances that have gotten you to the here and now. Be conscious of the role of gratitude in enhancing the good in life. If you are safe and healthy, now is the time to increase your gratitude practice.

To expand your Gratitude Exercise, try doing for others. Calling someone, sending a card or letter, and making or safely sharing something you’ve cooked, are all expressions of gratitude. You can be that thing someone else feels grateful for. Their gratitude will boomerang back to you. You don’t need to put on a mask or even leave your house to give and receive appreciation.
Let gratitude comfort and uplift you.
The gratitude work you do now will serve as the basis for identifying exactly which activities and people to add back into your life once the pandemic loosens its hold.

Tell us where you experience gratitude in your life, particularly during this difficult time. Sharing what works for you reminds others of their own abundance. Share on our Facebook Page of what you are grateful for.

Excerpted from Golden Grace:  Embracing the Richness of Our Later Years by Antonia Albany.
Antonia Albany is a gratitude expert who lives in Northern California with her three-legged cat, Kali. She is a writer and blogs at The Joy of Aging Gratefully.  In addition to Golden Grace, Antonia shares her personal experiences of aging with gratitude in The Other Side of the Hill:  Celebrating Our Later Years and In This Moment:  Making the Most of Your Senior Years. Her work has appeared in Tiny Lights, Sonoma County Update, Oprah Magazine, and Potato Soup Journal.

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Join the Whitney Readers for a Virtual Book Club

Tuesday, July 14th
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Join at this LINK

Here are the upcoming books and discussions.
First Tuesday of the Month 9:30-10:30

July 14th - This Tenderland by William Kent Krueger

August 4th - The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

September 1st - The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict

Watch the video at this Link

TED Circle Discussion -

" The Language of Being Human - Poet "

You speak far more languages than you realize, says Poet Ali. In a profound talk, he reveals how the idea of "language" goes far beyond a lexicon of words, communicating universal experiences like love, laughter and loneliness -- and serving as a portal to cultures, feelings and thoughts that unite us all.

Tuesday, July 14th
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Join at this LINK

Genealogy Series

Join us with Wendy from the Great River Regional Library as she goes through Ancestry for Libraries and it's feature.

Wednesday, July 15th
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Join at this LINK

"How our family relationships change and evolve as we age"

Your relationship with your adult children is likely to be extremely important to you. You probably want to maintain a close relationship with your adult children regardless of your child’s age and the geographical distance between the two of you.

Conversely, parents remain important to their lives as well. The myth that older people are abandoned by their adult children or seldom seen by them is, indeed, largely a myth. The parent-child relationship is one of the longest lasting social ties that human beings establish.

Join Ona from the Conflict Resolution Center for this presentation:

Thursday, July 16th
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Join at this LINK

Wellness Friday Series

Join us with Rejuv Medical each Friday

This week: IV Therapy

IV Therapy uses energizing tailored nutrients in an IV bag to boost your system. Preventative, enhancing, and restorative.
Convenient and versatile IV Therapy is turning healthcare on its head as it rolls out technologically advanced treatment options that make an ordinary trip to the doctor into “old school”.

Friday, July 17th
9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Join at this LINK

Summer Map at link

Warner Lake Park Hike

Warner Lake County Park site is a 264 acre site surrounding the 30 surface acres of Warner Lake. The initial establishment of this site occurred in 1973 when the Campfire Girls Inc. donated the 33 acres known as Camp Suima to Stearns County for public recreation purposes.

There is still room for a few hikers to join us with Sarah Weed from Stearns County. Please call the Whitney Senior Center Front Desk to register by Wednesday at 320-255-7245.

Overeaters Anonymous

Overeaters Anonymous is a community of people who support each other in order to recover from compulsive eating and food behaviors.

New Members are welcome!

Saturdays
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Join at this LINK

Connect with others through the Friendship Circle

Friendship Circles- still time to sign up!

If you or a loved one does not have the technology to stay connected, RSVP is providing a new option to stay socially connected. See the article below:

https://wjon.com/rsvp-to-launch-new-weekly-phone-conference-program/

With most volunteer organizations not able to provide the same level of services, many groups are finding creative ways to keep their volunteers engaged.

RSVP is starting up a new program to help promote new friendships among older adults.

An RSVP volunteer leader will start a phone call conversation with two other older adults and provide that social interaction. So we are hoping those friendships and relationships will develop over time for a weekly phone call.

The Senior Friendship Circle is an at home social option for individuals over age 60 that reside in Stearns, Benton and Sherburne Counties.

Friendship Circles will connect two or more times per week, depending on the interest of the group.

RSVP will is taking registration with hopes of beginning the program by late June.

To register or if you would like to become an RSVP volunteer, you're asked to call the Whitney Senior Center Aging Services office (320) 255-7245.

If you have SilverSneakers or Silver&Fit - please click on LINK for June's attendance.

This helps support the costs to provide the classes and continue them. If you would like to register with us for the SilverSneakers and Silver & Fit - please call our Front Desk at 320-255-7245.

If you are new to our WSC Fitness Classes and/or have not filled out your 2020 Fitness Waiver, please fill out at this LINK and submit.

Senior Yoga with Melissa
Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. 10 am to 10:45 am
JOIN AT THIS LINK

Gentle Pilates with Paula
Mondays and Fridays 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
JOIN AT THIS LINK

SAIL - Stay Active and Independent for Life
Tuesday, Fridays, Saturdays 11 am to 12:00 pm
JOIN AT THIS LINK

Spring Forest QI- GONG with Jerry Wellik
Mondays and Wednesdays 12:00 pm to 12:55 pm
Register in Advance at this LINK

Yoga with Sally
Tuesdays at 9:30 am - 10:30 am at this LINK
Thursdays at 11:30 am to 12:30 pm at this LINK

Register at this link

Need help with technology?
Ask our Computer Lab Volunteers

With our Computer Lab not having access and with the current events of COVID-19 and relying on technology, the volunteers have graciously offered to take questions and try to answer them for you. Send them an EMAIL

Donations Accepted

A few of you have asked, so we thought we would include. If you find value in the programs being offered and would like to make a donation during this time to help support the Whitney Senior Center, you can mail a check to: Whitney Senior Center, 1527 Northway Drive, St. Cloud, MN 56303. We miss seeing you! Thank you to the kindness of those sending cards and donations -- it is greatly appreciated by the WSC Staff!

Find our events and links on our Website.

You can also find these events on our Website Calendar.If you want to receive Calendar Reminders of Upcoming Events outside of this emailed newsletter you can subscribe to the icalendar.