June 22, 2006
Senior Services takes innovative new direction with newsletter
This is a great time of year when summer beckons us outdoors to enjoy picnics, walks on the beach, the radiant sunsets and the crickety sounds of crickets on a summer evening. Enjoy! Happy Summer to everyone!
Summer also ushers in big changes to our Senior Sentinel newsletter.
Recently, SHASS decided to expand the Sentinel by partnering with the South Haven Tribune. Starting in August, the monthly Senior Sentinel will be delivered to homes as a pull out insert in the South Haven Tribune. SHASS staff members are excited about this opportunity to expand the newsletter's readerships, as many seniors, middle aged caregivers of seniors, and seniors raising grandchildren need to learn about the increasing number of services SHASS offers.
The mission of SHASS is to connect people of all ages with its outreach programs and educational opportuniteis that promote independence thorugh volunteers and community support.
The purpose of the Senior Sentinel has never been to make a profit, but to expand the mission of SHASS. Barb Houlberg, the first director of SHASS, started mailing the Sentinel to seniors in 1995 when SHASS was incorporated as a non-profit organization. "Any time any of us wanted something in the newsletter, we would type it up and put it in a special 'In Box' on Barb's desk," said Ray Llorens, who joined the SHASS staff in 1996. Houlberg had the fun task of laying out the scraps on the floor and "sorting them by categories," according to Llorens, who took charge of the activity calendars and nutrition menus.
In 2000, the scraps on the office floor disappeared as new staff started computer generated Senior Sentinels. The original Sentinel categories remain in tact such as the calendars, announcements, senior activities and services, and "Home on the Range" a senior cooking column started by Llorens. SHASS staff has added Senior Trips, announcements of Caregiver Support meetings, Alzheimer Caregiver support metings, Visually Impaired Support meetings, Movie Day, Community Connections involving SHASS volunteers, and more news about senior activities and services in outlying areas.
SHASS serves not only the City of South Haven but the city of Bangor and the townships of Arlington, Bangor, Casco, Covert, Columbia, Geneva and South Haven.
The SHASS Board of Directors and staff are seeking monthly sponsors to underwrite the new circulation costs, and so far the response has been positive. Seniors now subscribing to the newsletter are also helping to defray production costs.
SHASS, located at 220 Broadway, welcomes any donations that will help increase the effectiveness of the Senior Sentinel. SHASS will recognize donors or sponsors in upcoming issues.
Be sure to watch for the Senior Sentinel in the South Haven Tribune coming out the first week in August. SHASS staff is grateful to our webmaster Ted Martin for putting the newsletter together and coordinating the printing with the Tribune.
Anyone who wants to make a donation, or needs further information, may call Georgia at 637-3607, weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, check out our website at www.shass.org for more information.
Posted by Sandra at 03:19 PM | Comments (0)