Recently I was putting together a report for our Senior Center’s Annual Board meeting on Oct. 3. This report is titled, “A Year in Review, an overview of what has happened at the Senior Center from July 2019-June 2020.”
Melanie Hall
All kinds of different activities, events and classes were happening in the first eight months, fun events like the ice cream social, our first comedy show, the literary luncheon, the pancake breakfast, the two card parties, the Veteran’s luncheon, Erma Burden’s 100th birthday celebration, the Holiday Craft Fair, the Holiday Tea and the food booth at the Fiddle Festival at the Citrus Fairgrounds. There were services and informational events at the Senior Center, including Disaster Preparedness, AARP Tax Services, AAA Transportation Focus Group, Creative Aging Symposium and CPR Training.
Friday, March 13, 2020, we decided to suspend all classes, presentations and events due to the coronavirus; other Sonoma County Senior Centers were doing the same thing in hopes of protecting our seniors from exposure. Here is the list of new classes, presentations and events that were canceled which we plan to reschedule once it is safe to do so:
Beginning Rock Painting Class, Community Creative Garden Presentation, Healthcare for All Discussion, Guitars for Vets, Lunch provided by the Windsor Healdsburg Mortuary and Presentation and “Alive Inside” Movie Showing and Discussion.
Spring Craft Fair, Beginning Rock Painting classes, Basic Ballroom Dancing class with Al Myer, Rock Painting Event, and Volunteer Appreciation Event.
Since March 13, the Cloverdale Senior Multipurpose Center’s focus has been on the health and well-being of the seniors in our community and all who live in the community of Cloverdale. Right off the bat, when we asked for volunteers to help our seniors, over 50 community members stepped up to the plate and volunteered to run errands or help in any way. We have several Senior Center volunteers making calls to our seniors through our Connect Program, making sure they are getting their needs met socially, emotionally and physically.
Next came the problem of food insecurity, and the multipurpose in our name became vital as we looked at how we could help those who were in need of food. Since mid-April, we have distributed 5,850 fresh meals to our Cloverdale community. These distributions have been possible thanks to Sonoma Family Meals and one through Vine Ridge Senior Living. We have also had nine food distributions through the Redwood Empire Food Bank and Catholic Charites of Santa Rosa. Partnering with Farmers to Families, we distributed 17,280 pounds of produce, and the good news is that many more are planned. Council on Aging continues to provide frozen meals for pickup here at the Senior Center as well as the delivery of Meals on Wheels to those who are 60+ in town.
My dad, who was part of the Greatest Generation, always said, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” His other favorite line was, “The first rule of this house is to help each other.”
This is what we do here in Cloverdale, and in Sonoma County. We help each other and we are resilient. Over this past weekend, the Lions Club began the first part of our front yard improvement project, they got going, and they are helping us here at the Senior Center; thank you!
I am so proud to be part of Cloverdale’s small town, a community that steps up to help others when there is a need, no matter what it is. We have city employees, city council members, Chamber of Commerce employees, service groups like the Kiwanis, Lions Club and Rotary, and other people who just quietly and sometimes anonymously pitch in to help others because it is the right thing to do. I would be remiss if I did not mention that many people throughout Sonoma County have also been instrumental in helping Cloverdale’s people throughout this challenging period in our lives. Today, I am grateful not just for where I live but also grateful for all the people who live here in one of the best small towns in this country.
The Cloverdale Senior Multipurpose Center is closed to the public, but the staff is available as a resource Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Creative Notions is open on Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for curbside pickup. A Sidewalk Sale table is also available every Wednesday. Donations are accepted for Creative Notions at the Senior Center; please call first.
Melanie Hall is the program coordinator for the Cloverdale Senior Multipurpose Center.
