This month’s CRN news covers stories from intergenerational events and building new community alliances to online cooking classes for homebound adults. Creating connection is the theme in May.
CRN Projects and Events
June 1, 2023 is the 13th annual Intergenerational Day and the Castlegar CRN’s Kootenay IRIS seniors got in on a fun event of visiting a local elementary school in Castlegar. During COVID restrictions, children from the school engaged in card and gift making which were delivered to the seniors center during special holidays. With pandemic restrictions gone, it was time for the two groups to finally meet. Adults and kids connected together over art, puzzles, games and conversation. The event was originally scheduled for one day but expanded into a second day to accommodate the high number of people who signed up to participate. Adults and students beamed with happiness and many of them remarked about doing it again soon. The event was such a roaring success that it made the local news!
Mount Pleasant CRN’s Patricia Steiner, with the help of two facilitators Minoo Javadi and Judy Venables, hosted a series of online cooking classes for homebound seniors. The goals of the outreach project were to engage older adults who are homebound and may be experiencing food security issues and share support resources for maintaining independence that they might not know about. They did this by delivering cooking ingredients to each participant and then hosting an online group session where everyone participated together in cooking, enjoying a good meal and creating social connection. The sessions were recorded, creating opportunities for digital literacy components as well. Pat is the Coordinator, Outreach and Resilience for Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House and currently stepping down as a CRN Coordinator for the Mount Pleasant area.
Chilliwack CRN supported the Compassionate Neighbourhood Health Partners with their seniors luncheon earlier this year. Lunches were free to low-income older adults in the spirit of building community friendships to prevent isolation.
Hope CRN purchased and assembled 200 emergency kits to distribute to seniors in the area to assist during catastrophic events such as landslides and flooding.
Elkford CRN regularly hosts pancake breakfasts and seniors luncheons at the local Lions Club. This spring they had a presentation by a local pharmacist to address keeping track of medication dosage and pill packs, as well as handing out BC CRN information packages.
Lillooet CRN enjoys hosting meetings and activities throughout the year to make resources available for seniors. Resources include: farmers markets, Senior Connect Expo, shopping and delivery programs, and assorted activities include art sessions, dialogue sessions, chair exercises, soup days and movies.
Westshore CRN in the Victoria area, has been busy this year with a number of projects. Prep work for a Fellowship Award was completed, publicized through social media and sent to the School District to inform the 1,672 graduating high school students in the area. We are excited to hear more about this award and the lucky recipient. Two stories addressing ageism were completed and submitted throughout the West Shore CRN network through their Facebook page. And finally, the Westshore CRN has been working hard to identify and connect with 12 local organizations to be BC CRN affiliates. They continue to build and strengthen relationships with their new partners.
Welcome to New Coordinators and a New CRN
- Robson Valley – Jamie Mintz
- Quesnel – Trish Brooks
Welcome back to Clemencia Gomez as our new Coordinator who will oversee a brand new CRN in Kensington-Cedar Cottage. The new CRN will be hosted by the 411 Seniors agency.
Visit our website to learn more about BC CRN or connect with your local CRN for more information or resources.
