We’re 80% of the way to reaching our Spring Campaign goal of $25,000! We just need a few more donors to push us to (or past) our goal; will you help us close the gap and continue providing low-cost, high quality to our beloved senior friends?
SANTA BARBARA — Friendship Center successfully hosted its 25th Annual Festival of Hearts. This year’s seaside-elegance themed, Silver Jubilee celebration took place on Saturday, February 3rd, 2024 at the stunning Rosewood Miramar Beach, located across the street from Friendship Center at 1759 S Jameson Lane, Montecito.
Dr. Cynder Sinclair, Board President & David Moorman, emcee.
Special honorees included member “Sir Robert” who was featured in a video about his 6 years of coming to Friendship Center and how it improves his quality of life. Shianne Motter spoke passionately about her family and father with dementia and how Friendship Center was a lifesaver for her as a younger caregiver.
The Festival of Hearts, Friendship Center’s premier annual fundraiser now in its 25th year, celebrates caregivers and raises funds for low-income seniors living with dementia to enjoy our specialized programs that uniquely provide social, physical and cognitive engagement.
Since the first Festival of Hearts in 2000, the heart and soul of the event has been the heart-art sold at silent auction, and created by local artists and celebrities, including Jeff Bridges, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Askew and Rod Lathim. Provided with a blank three-dimensional papier-mâché heart, the imaginative “heart-ists” paint, sculpt, and decorate in various ways to create their unique works.
The 25th Festival of Hearts, slated for Saturday, February 3, 2024 from 12:00 to 2:30 p.m at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort will include musical entertainment, a silent auction, a live auction,
Save the Date for
Friendship Center’s 12th Annual
Wine Down
……with a wicked twist….!
Sip,
Savor,
Dance,
and
?Dress to Thrill-
All for a Night of Everlasting Goodwill!
SANTA BARBARA —
Friendship Center is Pleased to Announce Katheryn Westland as its New Executive Director. She brings extensive experience, focused passion and innovative vision to her work in the senior care space.
Kathryn previously served as the Friendship Center’s Program manager and is excited to join the organization in the capacity of Executive Director.
This message goes out to our staff, our Board members, members of our Center, caregivers, volunteers, patrons, grantors, donors, artists and community partners: It takes a village to care for our cherished elders and their caregivers, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have served our community!
Thank you everyone for being such an important part of my 38 FABULOUS YEARS serving seniors at Friendship Center!
With much love and gratitude,
Heidi Holly
Executive Director
Dear Friends,
Thank you for considering donating to Friendship Center and making a positive difference in seniors’ quality of life in a meaningful way.
Please stay tuned for Giving Tuesday tomorrow!
With gratitude,
Administration
Letter from Heidi
Mary Oakley Respite Stipend
Program
Veteran’s Pinning Ceremony
Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon
Holidays and Happenings
Gratitude Corner
“When it comes to dementia care, boredom is the enemy.”
David Troxel~ An expert in Alzheimer’s disease and memory care, Trainer and coauthor (with Virginia Bell) of books, (notably, The Best Friends™ Approach to Dementia Care and memory care and the past CEO of the Santa Barbara Alzheimer’s Association.
Our Executive Director, Heidi Holly was interviewed (Feb. 28), as well as Caregiver Marlene, discussing the positive impact Friendship Center has made for her husband and member, John, as well as herself. Our members were filmed as they enjoyed singing with Carol Ann (our Vitality partner from SBCC), and while doing outdoor activities with our wonderful staff members.
Visit our website Make a Donation (Click Image to JOIN on MONDAY) ? Join Us! Monday, January 24, 2022 ? ? For our 23rd Annual Festival of Hearts Virtual Fundraiser! Please click the image above to join us at: www.friendshipcentersb.org/FOH22/…
We invite YOU to join our 23rd Annual
Festival of Hearts Virtual Fundraiser!
Please join us at:
www.friendshipcentersb.org/FOH22
Monday, January 24 to Saturday, February 5
Your purchases and donations will raise money for our HEART program (Helping Elders At Risk Today), making it possible for low income seniors with dementia and other age related challenges to participate in our day program.
Friendship Center is looking forward to our 10th Annual Wine Down to be held Thursday, September 8th, 2022, from 4 to 7pm outdoors at our Montecito Center’s courtyard. This delicious and delightful event brings us together to enjoy an evening of great local wines and beer, along with hearty hors d’oeuvres and live music, all for a good cause!
This year, Unity Shoppe, Inc. will continue its proud 25-year tradition of working with Friendship Center to ensure that our members always have a wonderful Christmas/Winter Holiday season.
Unity Shoppe provides special hand-picked gifts for our members based on questionnaires each fills out. Each Friendship Center member receives a present especially chosen and wrapped for them to enjoy during our Annual Holiday Celebration.
These pictures from years past show us the true meaning of friendship and the enjoyment received by our members as they open up their special gifts!
Thank you Unity Shoppe! We appreciate everything you do for us!
As a nonprofit, Friendship Center depends on the generosity of our friends and our community to continue the tradition of being a place where our members come to be surrounded by their peers, who share common threads in their life stories, and warm, loving staff who take an interest in each unique person, and finding what sparks JOY for them.
Please join us in this effort as we embrace the greater demands of providing safe, loving care to our community of members in the wake of the pandemic. Your financial gift goes a long way in making a difference for elders in our community experiencing dementia and other cognitive and physical challenges, and we thank you for contributing to their quality of life in this meaningful way.
As the season gently changes from summer to fall, and we begin to notice the crisp evening air, it is a natural time to reflect upon the year we’ve had. This past year has been full of new awareness, regular adaptations, and a profound recognition of our collective wellbeing. In response to this, we have all taken measures to care for ourselves and others, and manage our new reality. “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” and “Focus on what matters most,” and “Humor is the best medicine” seem to be popular saving graces we have all put to use as we go about our days.
After fifteen very long months, Friendship Center opened to on-site services August 2. During that time we focused on one thing: Continuing to serve our members, families and the community, even in the most challenging moments.
Now, as we settle in and apply our lessons learned, we’re focused on continuing to provide the most relevant on-site services to our membership.
For many organizations, the pandemic was a wake-up-call, challenging the way we do business and testing our ability to weather incredible uncertainty. Even though the pandemic is not totally behind us, one thing is certain: We could not have gotten through these stormy months without the support of our board of directors, staff, and our community. This stalwart support has helped us to safeguard our programs and ensure that—without a beat—Friendship Center would pivot, become stronger, and continue to flourish.
Friendship Center Senior Day Care Program will open at its Montecito facility for in-person programming Monday, August 2nd. As an intermediate step toward fully reopening, programs will be offered on a part-time basis, Monday to Thursday. Members will enroll in a morning group (9-12:30 p.m.) or afternoon group (1:30-5 p.m.), during which Friendship Center staff will lead safe, socially distanced, engaging activities designed to exercise the physical, emotional, cognitive and social aspects of the body and brain.
Friendship Center staff will prepare and serve a hearty snack, with fruit or vegetable and a protein. Water will be available to all members at all times.
Friendship Center staff hustled and bustled with excitement last Thursday in preparation for their public performance in the Virtual Solstice Parade. Advancement & Project Manager Sophia Davis choreographed, planned and coordinated with filming partner Jinny Ahn from Summer Solstice Celebration, Inc. to pull off a performance worthy of the big screen!
Contents
Reopening Plan Is Approved
Facility Caregiver of Year
Rachel Graef, MSW
Take Care Totes Wrap Up
Friendship Center, with the help of our fabulous CARE partners, is preparing to distribute its 10th round of Take Care Totes to isolated seniors in Santa Barbara County.
Many of our senior friends are living with a dementia diagnosis and other health conditions and have had little to no contact with the outside world for 12 months. The Take Care Totes, providing healthy snacks and drinks, personal care items, activities, games and more, have become a lifeline for our senior friends as well as their family caregivers.
Thank you ?
to our Donors & Sponsors
for participating in
Dine & Donate,
we appreciate your support!
LIMITED SUPPLY – Please reserve yours now
$upport Friendship Center with a delicious dinner! Thanks to our partners Santa Barbara Association of Realtors (SBAOR)
***Please note, entrée selections are chosen at the end of the checkout process, with your choice of enchiladas, taco bar or chicken fajitas, with options available. Generous portions with all the fixings are large enough for two or more people and include two margaritas.
One Year in Quarantine:
Caregivers Share Trials & Triumphs
Amazon Smile Program
Take Care Totes April 15
Friendship Center Office Humor
Virtual Connections Tech Help
Our First Ever Virtual Event
Nearly 200 visitors to our first virtual event!
Over $30K for HEART (Helping Elders At Risk Today)
Join fellow artists, neighbors, family and friends as we bid on a fantastic selection of items to raise funds for Friendship Center’s HEART (Help Elders At Risk Today) Program.
HEART is a keystone program that allows Friendship Center to offer services and care to hundreds of adults and seniors, particularly those living with a dementia diagnosis or other cognitively/ physically impairing conditions. In our first ever virtual fundraiser, you can show support by:
Purchasing valentine’s baskets
Collecting a one of a kind piece of heart-art
Bidding on unique experience packages
Sponsoring membership fees for low income seniors to enjoy our programs!
We invite you and your
golf enthusiasts
to join in this popular, fun event!
Friendship Center is this year’s charity recipient for the ever-popular SBAOR (Santa Barbara Association of Realtors) Golf Tournament! This event takes place on Friday, September 10. Spots are filling fast, so please sign up now!
Please See the registration form below for details.
SPONSORSHIP APPLICATIONS DUE: FRIDAY, JULY 16TH
Thanksgiving Culinary Donations:
Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel- Chef Massimo & Isabel Pfander
Renaud’s Patisserie- Renaud Gonthier & Nancy Vasquez
Anna’s Bakery- Lisa Boelter & Deborah Weber
McDonald’s -Fairview Ave.- Cici Doctolero, Manager
Sprouts- Rod Rufo & Terry Cribbs
“We are very thankful for the caring wonderful people that work at Friendship Center who have brought many great moments to my life. Your Staff are always willing to go beyond what is expected and that is what Makes Friendship Center!”
*
“We want to thank all the staff and everyone that worked so hard to put together and deliver such a wonderful lunch. There was enough food to serve not only Jon and myself but also for my frail 86 year old mom and my step-dad Jay, who is on hospice at home. Jay loved the lunch and was able to eat all of his. For Jay, the pecan pie brought back happy memories of his mom who had a pecan tree in the front yard and made delicious pecan pies. It was a story we never heard before and it made him happy to share it with us.
Friendship Center staff are helping to distribute hygiene kits, put together by the Elk’s Lodge, to Santa Barbara area Veterans.
Please consider making a donation to Friendship Center so that we may continue to support Veterans in our community
Giving Thanks can make you Happier
by Sophia Davis, Advancement & Project Manager
November kicks of the holiday season with high expectations for a cozy and festive time of year. However, for many this time of year is tinged with sadness, anxiety, or depression. Research suggests that one aspect of the Thanksgiving season can actually lift the spirits, and it’s built right into the holiday — expressing gratitude.
Back on March 16, when we had to close our physical doors in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Friendship Center staff immediately began finding ways to reach out and support our community from a distance. Considering ourselves warriors against isolation within our group of senior friends, staff have worked hard on creating unique forms of engagement and inclusion for our members. These activities include our robust schedule of ten daily Zoom classes, weekly tele check-ins, letter writing and supply delivery, Take Care Totes, Drive-In activity hours, porch visits, resource referrals and more.
2020 will forever be known as the year of one of the most impactful and furthest reaching public health events in history. We have had to pull together, and stand apart. With no stone unturned, we have had to re-think many of our routine habits through a new pandemic lens. In doing so, we have become even more aware of the importance of our health, our families, and the need for companionship. And conversely, recognize that isolation and depression are very real factors during this time.
Special thanks to our Angel Care Partners
who contributed to our
Take Care Totes for members!
Here’s some more great feedback from our
members about the totes:
“Last Wednesday when we returned from the Dr. visit, the Take Care Tote from Friendship Center was awaiting us on the front porch. Inside was a delightful heart scarf ? with tassels, a Fiesta Mexican fan with lace, and a small bag with Fiesta decorations to decorate for Fiesta (including fun maracas)! Thank you for the lovely Fiesta Spirit, and all of those special treats in our totes! The snacks and drinks that are included in every tote are just terrific!”
?Love, Joe & Judith Ewing
Friendship Center, with the help of our fabulous partners, has delivered over four hundred Take Care Totes to isolated seniors in South Santa Barbara County during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of our senior friends are living with a dementia diagnosis and/ or other health conditions and have had little to no contact with the outside world for four months. The Take Care Totes, providing snacks, personal care items, activities and more, have become a lifeline for our senior friends as well as their caregivers.
Please consider making a gift to help support our activities and alternative care practices for members during this Covid-19 event.
Thank you!
Here at Friendship Center, we foster and encourage strong partnerships with our family caregivers to assist our members in getting connected online, so that they can continue participating with their friends in virtual social settings – we call this our virtual community. We are ready to help make this possible, so please contact us and let’s embrace something new together!
During Friendship Center’s closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are challenged to find creative ways to serve and support our senior community. The FC team is up for that challenge, but we need your help! In addition to hygiene and home activity supplies for our Take Care Totes, we are accepting monetary donations to fund virtual support for our sweet seniors and their families. Thank you to all for any amount of support, be well and stay safe
Special Call to Action Coming to our members tomorrow… Make a Donation Here’s some feedback from our members from the last delivery: “I went through it all with my parents & they were really happy. We are running low on…
Friendship Center’s Montecito and Goleta sites are home away from home for many seniors with dementia in our local community. As soon as it became evident we would need to close both locations due to COVID-19 and our high-risk demographic, we knew we had to do all we could to support our elderly members by alternate means. We took immediate action to implement remote services—check-in calls to our members and their families, virtual activities online, and remote ZOOM caregiver support groups, which are so popular they have increased from monthly to weekly meetings!
MARCH 2020 Make a Donation Visit our Website Spring is in the air! Sponsorship Form Auction Donation Form And lucky for us, Friendship Center is the proud and grateful recipient of this year’s SBAOR (Santa Barbara Association of Realtors) Golf…
FEBRUARY 2020 Make a Donation Visit our Website Click the image above for more information and to purchase tickets! The Importance of Caregiver Care By Naomi Edwards Program Specialist, Friendship Center Montecito One of the most rewarding, yet challenging, jobs…
Purchase your tickets for Festival of Hearts here: Buy Tickets Friendship Center | 805-969-0859
Click here for the entire e-newsletter About Us Programs For Caregivers Calendar of Activities Events Donate Contact Us Train Your Brain! CONNECTIONS NOW Mondays & Wednesdays in Montecito as well as Mondays & Thursdays in Goleta: GOLETA 805-845-7442 Persons…
Click here for the entire e-newsletter About Us Programs For Caregivers Calendar of Activities Events Donate Contact Us Train Your Brain! CONNECTIONS NOW Mondays & Wednesdays in Montecito as well as Mondays & Thursdays in Goleta: GOLETA 805-845-7442 Persons…
Great Wines for a Good Cause! Friendship Center’s 9th Annual Wine Down & Big Heart Awards Thursday, September 5th, 2019 4:00 – 7:00 pm Join us for a relaxing yet festive gathering in the courtyard of our Montecito Center with…
Click here for the entire e-newsletter We Love Volunteers! Celebrating National Volunteer Month Today’s blog post, celebrating National Volunteer Month, comes from Montecito Program Manager, Kathryn Cherkas, MIPH. People often ask me about volunteer opportunities at Friendship…
Click here for the entire e-newsletter Click here to purchase tickets And here’s a sneak peek at our auction packages: Emerald City trip–Change of plan! Instead of being limited to the Emerald City of Seattle, chart your…
Click here for the entire e-newsletter For some, the holidays bring that warm, fuzzy feeling, while for others they are more challenging. Many have high expectations that are difficult to meet, no matter your family circumstances. However, when adult…
Click here for the entire e-newsletter MONTECITO — Friendship Center is putting on its 8th Annual Wine Down & Big Heart Awards on Thursday, September 13th from 4:00 – 7:00 pm. Featuring wine and beer tastings from 12 local businesses, this…
Click here for the entire media release SANTA BARBARA — Friendship Center is pleased to welcome Hank Postma, Kathy Marden, and Sue Adams to its Board of Directors. ”I am incredibly impressed with the skills and strengths of our Board,”…
MONTECITO — Veterans have sacrificed so much for our country that it is with great pleasure and humility that Friendship Center announces that its services and programs are recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs and that qualified veterans can…
MONTECITO —Friendship Center is hosting its 20th Annual Festival of Hearts on Saturday, February 9th from 11:30am–2:30pm at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. This festive pre-Valentine’s Day event features an elegant sit-down lunch and local wines, with live music…
SANTA BARBARA — Saturday, February 9, 2019, 11:30am to 2:30pm at Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, 633 E Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara. Join Friendship Center for our 20th Annual Festival of Hearts… emerald is the 20th anniversary gem, so the…
