The FriendShip Newsletter - August 2017Office InformationContact Info: 803-602-6434 or contact@thefriendship.org Regular Hours: The office is open Monday - Friday from 9 a.m - 1 p.m. Eleanor's Hours: Eleanor staffs the office on Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays. (Call or stop by to chat!) Join Us for Anniversary Celebrations for the Village Movement & The FriendShipTo celebrate its 15th anniversary and the Village movement it inspired, Beacon Hill Village in Boston has invited Villages around the country to participate “virtually” in an event on September 25 with Dr. Atul Gawande, renowned surgeon and author of the seminal book Being Mortal. The conversation, entitled “Being Mortal’s Villages: The Value of Community and Choice as We Grow Older,” will feature a discussion on aging, living life with purpose, and how we can transform the possibilities for the later chapters of everyone’s lives. The event was originally set to be live-streamed to Villages across the country on February 13, but was postponed due to inclement weather in Boston. Now that it has been rescheduled for late September, it coincides closely with another anniversary: The FriendShip officially opened its doors on October 1, 2015! So, we’ll be gathering to mark several very special occasions at once. Please save the date and invite friends who are interested in learning more about The FriendShip and the Village concept! Below are the details you need to save the date. More information and reminders will be sent out in the coming weeks.
* To learn more about Dr. Gawande's work, consider reading Being Mortal and check out information about him online via this link: http://atulgawande.com/about/. If you have a copy of the book you'd be willing to loan FriendShip members or volunteers, please let the office know. Special Thanks for the Fun Fireflies FundraiserLast month, The FriendShip participated in a fundraiser made possible by the Central Carolina Community Foundation and the Columbia Fireflies. Thanks to all of you who helped make this effort a success! The FriendShip sold over 100 tickets. It was a fun evening at the ballpark, and the Fireflies won the game too! The photos below give a little flavor of the event. Check out The FriendShip's cheering section at the game and our wonderful member, Joyce Mann, pictured with the adorable Fireflies mascot statue. Update on Lunch Outings: Trying Something New!Dutch treat lunch outings have been taking place on the first Wednesday of each month over the course of this past year. Now that we are looking ahead to the fall, we are trying something new! Lunch outings will continue to take place during the first week of the month, but the day of the week will rotate. That way, people who have a regular conflict on Wednesdays may be able to join. The September lunch outing is scheduled as follows:
We hope you will go ahead and mark your calendar now for all the fall lunch dates:
The Program Committee welcomes your feedback on what works well for events and lunch outings. (Thanks to those members who shared the need to try another day of the week!) Message to Volunteers: Help Update our Files!Here's a special request for all of our wonderful volunteer drivers: please send a copy of your most recent insurance card for The FriendShip's files. You can bring the card by during business hours (Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) to photocopy it. Or, you can take a photo with your phone and email it to contact@thefriendship.org. The FriendShip will need a copy of this information each time you get a new insurance card; we are implementing a new system to ensure that you are contacted regularly in the future when this information is due. A Few Notes from the Services CoordinatorSummer is winding down, but there's still so much going on in Columbia! The next time you are interested in trying a new walking trail, checking out a free concert on campus, or visiting that local landmark you've always meant to learn more about, consider taking The FriendShip along! Let us know what interesting thing you are up to or want to try, and we can organize a small group to go together! The FriendShip is always looking for ways to expand our membership and volunteer base, and we need your help! What we've learned from Villages in other parts of the country is that word of mouth is one of the best ways to advertise The FriendShip. So, if you have a friend or neighbor who would enjoy joining the FriendShip, I would be glad to chat with them or send information about what we do. And, if you know of a group (e.g., your book group or civic organization) that might like to hear a presentation about The FriendShip, please connect us and help us increase our reach! Finally, I wanted to share that National Falls Prevention Day is always held on the first day of autumn (September 22 this year) so in the coming month I'll be sharing information about ways to assess and reduce your risk of a fall. Please let me know if you are interested in having someone from The FriendShip help you do a falls risk self-assessment. - Eleanor Organ Recital at St. John'sAs you all know, St. John's Episcopal Church donates office space (and so much more!) to The FriendShip. We are very grateful for this partnership and wanted to spread the word about a special performance that the church is hosting next month. On Monday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m., there will be an organ recital given by Monty Bennett. He recently represented the United States in an organ festival in Israel and will show slides of his trip. Mr. Bennett is a member of Temple Israel (an orthodox synagogue) in Charlotte and is the Director of Music at Park Road Baptist Church in Charlotte. The recital is sponsored by the Columbia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. This is a free event; contact St. John's at 803-799-4767 for more details. |