Join the fun at the 18-80 Club

By Carla Wahl - Director, 18-80 Club

May 01, 2008 10:08 am

— April showers will bring May Flowers? With as much rain as we’ve had we’ll most likely all have botanical gardens. We look forward to the nice weather to come and we will start the month off with May baskets at our May Day party today at 11:30 a.m. The menu for today is chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, scalloped corn, watermelon and muffins.
Thursday, May 8, we will have our monthly birthday party with co-op and bingo at 5 p.m. Bring in your favorite covered dish with your table service and come have a wonderful meal. We really have some good cooks in our group. We will play bingo after our meal.

Our Mother’s Day luncheon will be held on Friday, May 9, at 11:30 a.m. The menu for the day is pork loin roast, sweet potatoes, steamed cabbage, hot wheat rolls and apple pie alamode.
As always the suggested contribution is only $3 per person 60 years of age and older. For those under 60 years of age, the price is $5.04 per person. Please call and make reservations as soon as possible. It is much easier to know how many to cook for if we have early reservations. All of us at the meal site and the 18-80 Club wish all our mothers a wonderful Mother’s Day!
Wednesday the 14th the Appanoose County Public Health Nurses will be in taking blood pressures and visiting with the seniors about “Allergy Awareness.” They will be in at 10:30 a.m. to take blood pressures and then speak at 11:15.

Please plan to bring your papers to keep a monthly record.
Thursday, May 15, will be our meeting for the Mackinac Island trip at 3 p.m. We will be meeting and getting the necessary papers for the trip so please plan to come. If you will be unable to attend please let me know as soon as possible.

May 21 we will have our Chef Charles Program. Gail Smith will be in as usual, giving the monthly program. The program will start at 10:30 a.m. Lunch will follow at 11:30.

The meal site will be closed on Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day. We hope that you can have a wonderful time with your family.

May 28 we will have Patty Timmens in with Hospice, talking with the seniors about the program and how it works when a family is in need of these services. She will be speaking at 11:15 so please plan to come early.

Thursday, May 29, at 5 p.m. we will have a combination Mother’s Day-Father’s Day dinner and dance at the Manhattan. Ned Francis will be doing the entertainment. Please come in and sign up and make all payments at the club and we will cut one check to pay for everyone. The cost of the evening including the buffet and music is $8 per person. Many of you have heard Ned in the past. However, if you haven’t had the opportunity you must try to come. You will be truly impressed.

Friday the 30th we will have our Terrible’s Casino trip. The total cost of the trip is $8 per person which includes a buffet lunch, $20 free gaming and transportation on the 10-15 transits. Only 60 will be able to go so please sign up as soon as possible.

Older Americans Month
The United States is nearing the start of a tremendous demographic shift. Beginning in 2011, the first of 78 million baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) will start transitioning into retirement, kicking off an expansion in the number of elderly people that will continue for decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one out of every nine baby boomers will live to be at least age 90.

Our nation will benefit in many ways from a larger population of older adults, a group that constitutes one of our greatest resources. Older adults support our society by providing millions of hours of volunteer, community and civic service and enhance our communities by sharing and transferring their knowledge of cultures, values and life experiences among generations. Older citizens of today and tomorrow promise to be among the most active and engaged older adult populations in our nation’s history.
The expansion of older adult population also spotlights our responsibility to ensure the well-being of older citizens. Thousands of professionals, caregivers and volunteers make up the National Aging Services Network and have been collaborating for decades to fulfill the mission of the Older Americans Act.
May is Older Americans Month, a great time to bring attention to the issues that affect older adults. This year’s theme is “Working Together for Strong, Healthy and Supportive Communities,” which speaks to the opportunities we have to create better care and reinforce healthier societies for all ages. Working together, our communities can improve older adults’ overall quality of life by helping them.
The Centerville Congregate Meal Site can do just this for you, too. Come in and see what we offer.