RSVP Day of Service Food Drive, a great success!  
By Lalita Subrahmanyan

RSVP Senior Corps hosted a Day of Service on Friday, September 11, 2020, to collect food donations for local seniors who use the Catholic Charities Senior Food Shelf and Catholic Charities Senior Dining programs.  Volunteers greeted donors and collection bins were placed at various drop off locations including the Whitney Senior Center and grocery stores in St. Cloud, Sartell and Waite Park. What resulted at the end of the three-hour Drive was an impressive pile of food items and cash donations of over $200.

Having RSVP volunteers present to greet and talk with donors was important, adding to the impact.  For Judy Vosen, volunteer with RSVP for the last three years, it was a very special moment: her first time back volunteering in person since March when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.  “It was great to be back,” she declared, in a post-event interview. “This pandemic has been very difficult,” she said. Another volunteer, Cyn Bolsta, retired radio host at Leighton Broadcasting and volunteer with RSVP for the last 9 years, was immensely thankful for the opportunity to give back to a program that she said she and her mother had once been compelled to use.

Both volunteers were blown away by the remarkable outpouring of generosity.  “One lady opened up the trunk of her car, and it took two of us a couple of trips to empty out the many items she had brought,” said Judy. Cyn too was bowled over by the response at the Whitney Senior Center location where she was posted. “It is much easier to donate food outside a grocery store; you see the collection bins on the way in, you buy a few extra items and drop them off on the way out. I was not expecting such a turnout at the Center,” she said. Nor was she surprised to see that many of the donors were seniors themselves. “There, but for the Grace of God, go I!” she mused.
 
No one was surprised by the tremendous success of the event. RSVP has brought to volunteers the spirit of community with each other and with those whom they serve. RSVP, rave the volunteers, connects seniors to the community through innumerable opportunities and choices: one-time volunteer at gigs such as the Food Drive and regular scheduled jobs such as working at the Friends of the Library Bookstore or tutoring children through Hands Across the World. RSVP is truly the thread that laces together the diverse beads in our community.

Updates on the Virtual Fitness classes through Zoom:

 The links will remain the same and you will not need to pre-register for the class if attending virtually.

If you are attending through Zoom, only SilverSneakers at this time will reimburse for these classes.  If you have SilverSneakers please make sure to mark your attendance with the following links:

April, May, June, July, and August (just added)

Note:  Silver & Fit will only reimburse for in-person attendance.

If you do not have SilverSneakers and are attending the virtual classes, we ask you to please consider making a donation of $3.50 per class which is reflective of the cost of classes for in-person.  You can make a contribution by mailing a check or calling the front desk and putting on a credit or debit card 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.  Here is the link to the SilverSneakers Waiver.

Reminder - Members are welcome to attend the in-person classes for the same classes and times listed below.  Register on SchedulesPlus or call the WSC Front Desk.

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 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Note time changes to 1:30 starting September 4th
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

Front Desk/ Registering System/ Calendar

For future reference here are the steps to pre-register for a class and to check out calendar of other events as they get added:  

Here is a word document with screen shots of what it will look like - Click Here
Here is a video to explain the process - Click Here

Pre-registration for any in-person classes is available at https://schedulesplus.com/whitney/kiosk/. 

Resources:

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

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

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!