November/December 2022 Friendly Finch Friendship Center’s Bi-Monthly Newsletter

November/December 2022 Issue

Administration

Letter from Heidi

Save the Date! Festival of Hearts

Mary Oakley Respite Stipend

Program

Holiday Fun: Halloween and

Veteran’s Day

We are Hiring!

Gratitude Corner

Dear Families & Friends,

During the holiday season our families and friends often ask how they can show their appreciation for the care, compassion and commitment of our exceptional staff.

Since our staff cannot take contributions directly, we have established a holiday fund which gives you an opportunity to thank the staff by making a monetary contribution.

We accept voluntary contributions all year long, yet most people think of giving during the holiday season. If you would like to contribute, please send a check with a note on the memo line: “Friendship Center Holiday Fund.” Contributions by check, or by cash, can be dropped off at the center or mailed to us by December 31st. Your gift is distributed in the New Year with recognition of all families and friends who have contributed.

We wish you a very Happy Holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year!

With Gratitude,

Mary Oakley Respite Stipends Available through Friendship Center

Friendship Center is home to the Mary Oakley Stipend Program.

These stipends help caregivers focus on self-care, take a break, or just get away for a weekend.

If you provide care to a person with dementia, are a long-term resident

of the Tri Counties, and the care recipient has or is in the process of applying for Medi-Cal, then you may qualify for this grant opportunity. The person must also be considered to have low resources and/or be able to demonstrate challenges or barriers to receiving care.

If you would like further information please contact the Friendship Center

at 805-969-0859.

You can also contact:

Rachel Graef – programmanager@friendshipcentersb.org

Amy West – amy@friendshipcentersb.org

This has been made possible by funds generously provided by the

Mary Oakley Foundation.

Halloween Fun!

We had a BLAST showing off our costumes and dancing this past Halloween! We celebrated with a Halloween Runway Show, candy (of course!), a Halloween photo booth, magic show, and concert with the Snapshot Band. Friendship Center even had a dinosaur back from extinction!

Friendship Center Honors Members at Veteran’s Day Celebration

Friendship Center was proud to honor the veterans we serve with another wonderful celebration on Thursday, November 10th, from 12-1:30pm. Fabulous weather, delicious food and drink, a great emcee, and live singing all added to the joyful occasion. “At Friendship Center we celebrate and honor our Veterans who sacrificed so much for us and our Country.” said Heidi Holly, Friendship Center’s Executive Director, “We are proud to currently serve 17 Veterans at Friendship Center, most of which receive support to attend through the Veterans Administration.”

Wendy Motta, Senior District Representative from Congressman Salud Carbajal’s office, welcomes veteran families while Carol Metcalf-Roth reads their individual biographies.

Heidi posing with veteran Tom, Army Private First Class. The veterans represented every branch of the military and fought in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Bay of Pigs and during the Cold War.

The focus of the event was the reading of each veteran’s biography – which was very moving, and detailed their branch/rank/title, years of service, interesting stories, and lessons learned. The framed biographies were gifted to each veteran along with festive potted purple violets as a symbol of appreciation. “This was such a beautiful way to acknowledge and honor such an important part of our members’ life stories, and we all learn something so valuable from each one.” Sophia Davis, Development Director shared as she smiled with pride.

Thank you to all of our friends, families, and staff for honoring our Veterans each and every day!

Gratitude Corner

Thank You,

Rotary Club of Montecito!

Thank you for supporting our Friendship Center veterans and sponsoring our November 10th event!

Friendship Center Staff Sophia Davis and Kim Larsen pose with Tony Morris and Bruce Mcroy at the Rotary Club luncheon.

Thank You,

Cold Springs School!

The choral group at Cold Springs School gave our Friendship Center members the first performance of their holiday concert! It was truly wonderful and enchanting, and we thank the students, staff, and parents for volunteering their time!

Link Friendship Center to Your Ralphs Community Rewards Program, and they will donate a percentage of your purchases to Friendship Center. The more supporters that shop, the higher the amount that is donated each year!

Make Friendship Center Your Amazon Charity and Donate While You Shop! Amazon will donate .05% of your purchase to Friendship Center at no extra cost to you.

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