November 28, 2005

Have a safe happy holiday season from all of us at SHASS

We at SHASS wish you a joyous and safe holiday season.

If you want to know all the holiday happenings taking place at SHASS check out our website at www.shass.org

To help others in need of food, SHASS is sponsoring a food pantry during the month of December. SHASS will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Covert Senior LifeLine opening in Feb. of 2006. You can bring your donations to the SHASS office, 220 Broadway, South Haven. For more information, call SHASS at 637-3607.

On Friday, Dec. 9, SHASS is hosting its annual Holiday Potluck to start at noon. The fun event complete with turkey, dressing and beverage includes a special appearance from Santa Claus and The Happy Notes. Call 637-3607 to sign up. Bring a dish to pass.

For holiday fun, SHASS is sponsoring two workshops: Ornament Making, Dec. 7, 12:30-4 p.m.,at the Warren Senior Center, 540 Williams St. Call 637-3607 for more information. And on Dec. 15, an Art Workshop from 5-8 p.m. at the Warren Senior Center. Call to sign up for both of these workshops.

To lose those unwanted pounds, SHASS has treadmills available Monday -Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Warren Senior Center, and Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Simpson United Methodist Church in Bangor. Indoor walking is available at Hope Reformed Church, Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Call SHASS at 637-3607 for more information about its fitness club that includes the Lighter Club and Lighthouse Steppers. Non-seniors can also enroll.

Fun trips for 2006 are in the works for the Tally Ho Travelers, or any senior who would like to join them. Feb. 4-11 is the Mexican Riviera aboard the Sapphire Princes Cruise; April 22 is the Phantom of the Opera matinee at 2 p.m. at Miller Auditorium, Kalamazoo; June 4-11 Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills of South Dakota; and Nov. 2-12 enjoy the Hawaiian Islands aboard the Pride of America Cruise Ship. For more information, call SHASS at 637-3607.

Cheers to the New Year and we'll be on board with many more great activities and services in the New Year.

Posted by Sandra at 04:19 PM | Comments (0)

November 09, 2005

SHASS celebrates 10 years of service

November is a celebratory month for SHASS - complete with a new partnership.

Not only are we celebrating 10 years of service to area seniors but successful fundraisers as well.

To thank our donors and celebrate 10 years of serving seniors, we have planned a Senior Services Breakfast Extravaganza for the public from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Warren Senior Center, 540 Williams Street.

Popular chef Chris Spencer is preparing most of this sumptuous meal which will include waffles, fresh fruit, a variety of egg dishes, bacon, bagels. It makes my mouth water just writing about it!

As part of our 10-year anniversary, Senior Services initiated its first annual "Give from the Heart" campaign with a goal of $10,000. We exceeded our goal thanks to our donors.

Please join us for a delicious celebration and eat hearty. Then head downtown for the "Holiday in the Village" events in South Haven.

In other fundraising news, our Pasties Fundraiser succeeded last year's sales. We netted about $3,000. New this year was our receiving a matching grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans towards the fundraiser. We had 1300 orders. This meant lots more peeling, chopping and filling of crusts. The pasties were made from a genuine U.P. recipe which a genuine "Yupper" gave to our director.

We now have a new partner Covert Senior Lifeline. The organization recently lost its state senior center funding due to State of Michigan budget cuts. Over the past several months, SHASS and Covert Senior Lifeline have been working together to develop alternative funding so that Covert Senior Lifeline services can continue. Recently, Covert Township officials voted to provide interim funding to help sustain these critical senior services. We have developed a "Save Covert Senior Lifeline" fund campaign, and have developed several grant proposals to a variety of foundations and civic groups. The Covert Community Foundation granted $6,000 to the cause. For more information about the Covert Fund Campaign, call Jennifer Carver, our director, at 637-3607.

Continuing on the topic of funding - SHASS will be asking township and city officials and our voters to renew the current senior services millage in August of 2006. Covert Township will also join us to bring a new senior services millage to the Covert Township area. Covert Township officials voted in September to place the Covert senior services millage on the August 2006 ballot. SHASS is in the initial planning stages of developing the renewal and new millage campaign activities. Volunteers and supporters are needed in many areas of the campaign and we will keep you updated as the millage campaign plans progress. Without your support of these senior millages, SHASS would not be able to provide critical services for our seniors.

This month we are hosting a Lessons for Living Well Seminar - a free seminar for the public about life for adults in southwest Michigan. Topics include wills, living wills and power of attorney. John Kessler will be the keynote speaker. Representatives from SHASS, Hospice at Home - South Haven Area Hospice, South Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Community will provide overviews on how they help seniors.

This informative event starts at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Warren Senior Center, 540 Williams St. If you wish to eat before the seminar begins, a continental breakfast will be available at 8 a.m. at the center. For more information, call SHASS at 637-3607.

Remember to check out our informative website updated every week by our capable webmaster Ted Martin. Locate our site at www.shass.org

Have a happpy Thanksgiving holiday!

Posted by Sandra at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)