Visit our website: http://pnavillage.org
Winter 2015, Issue #11
Preventing Falls: A Matter of Balance
By Amanda Walker
What is A Matter of Balance?
Why does it take eight weeks
to complete? What happens in
those two-hour sessions?
controllable. Participants will
Session 1 classes will be
also learn to set realistic goals
presented on Tuesdays, March
3, 10, 17, 24, 31 and April 7, 14,
to increase activity, to change
their environment to reduce
21 from 12:15pm to 2:15pm,
located at the PNA Center.
fall risk factors, and to exercise
Session 2 classes will be
to increase their strength
and balance. Each two-hour
presented Thursdays May 7,
14, 21, 28 and June 4, 11, 18,
session covers a different
topic about falls and includes
25 from 10:30am to 12:30pm,
located at the Greenwood
group discussion activities,
Senior Center.
information and resource
sharing, and facilitator-lead
PNA Village members will
be given priority when signing
exercises. Some weeks may
even feature a special guest like up; non-village members will
a healthcare professional. All
be placed on a waiting list. For
A Matter of Balance (MoB)
questions or to sign up, call the
in all, MoB is a comprehensive
is a course designed to help
participants identify risk factors course aimed to increase health Village (206.789.1217) or email
for falls, manage concerns about and safety in the lives of adults. ([email protected]).
falls, and learn how to prevent
falls. MoB is an Evidence-Based Fall 2014 Potluck and Sing-a-long
Program, which means that
By Liz Bjorkman
across from our tables. In a
it is based on research and
A lovely fall day, a good day
very short time, Carol Beach
has been proven to provide
to warm up for Thanksgiving,
walked to the center of the
health benefits to participants.
just around the corner. We
room, introduced the pianist,
Because this is an evidencearrived at the Phinney Center,
Mary Cowger, Rolling Crones
based course, participants
cradling dishes to share in our
official accompanist, and then
are required to attend at least
arms and made our way up to
announced that we would be
80% of the classes to benefit
the designated room where
singing for our supper. Oh my,
from the material. Course
the Villagers were gathering,
what fun that was! We were a
participants will learn that
including our new AmeriCorps
little nervous and creaky at first,
falls and fear of falling are
Volunteer Coordinator, Amanda but Carol led us through a whole
Please send your ideas, comments,
Walker. The street view out
medley of songs from “back in
and suggestions to:
to Phinney was inviting, the
the day” and we warbled with
Janice Dilworth, PNA Village
crowd chatter was cheerful,
great cheer. The music was a
[email protected]
206.789.1217
and we scarcely noticed
great stimulant to our appetites
Visit our blog: http://pnavillage.org the electronic piano set up
and we had a wonderful meal.
Member Services Support Team Is Here to Help
By Alyssa McFarland
When you call the PNA
Village, if it’s not Janice or our
AmeriCorps team member who
answers the phone, you are
probably talking to an “MSST”
– a member of the Member
Services Support Team.
We MSSTs are volunteers
who typically put in about
two hours per week at the
Greenwood Senior Center office
to help provide support for
PNA Village member requests
for services and referrals. We
answer the phone and your
emails, and we document all
requests in a database called
SalesForce. We coordinate and
schedule Handy Helper, Driver,
and Friendly Visitor requests,
as well as assess requests for
vendors and make appropriate
referrals. In addition, we make
quarterly contact with members
to find out how they are doing.
We could always use a little
more help, so if these sorts
of tasks sound like something
you’d enjoy, and you have
MSST Kevin Shea
a couple hours a week to
volunteer, please contact us at
the PNA Village office and ask
about joining our Team.
My Green Lake Story
By Ann Rodgers
How do I love the Village? Let
me count the ways. I just may
be a Village cheerleader.
I have a Green Lake walk
with my friend Laurel, also a
Village member. We go early on
Monday morning with our two
small dogs. I love early morning
at the lake. Laurel and I both
have hearing loss so we use this
Writing Group to Start
By Carol Beach
Join us for an invigorating
writing group starting February,
2015. Write about your life or
others in memoir form, poetry,
short stories, or books. Test
out those tantalizing phrases
with us in a comfortable, nonjudgmental setting. We will
meet monthly at the Couth
Buzzard, Greenwood Ave,
on an agreed upon day. If
interested, email Carol Beach
([email protected]).
time in a more meditative way.
Or so we hope and try.
Our dogs can get silly. My dog
is a bit more vocal than her dog
can stand. Ever see one dog give
another dog an “Oh shut up!”
look?
I always feel some new
brightness in my day after
this trek. And that feeling is
common after a Village event or
adventure.
I do hope we all continue to
spread the word about Village
membership. It can bring real
zest to our lives as we age-inplace. And certainly, it can add
new experiences we cherish.
PNA Village Vetted Vendor Message
By Rick Fitzgibbon
The PNA Village Business
Referral Committee has
been continuously working
to develop and maintain a
listing of vetted vendors. The
committee has created a vetting
process to obtain relevant
vendor information and work
references. Upon verification
of vendor information, a
background check is done prior
to vendor approval. Village
volunteers periodically follow-
up on vendor referrals with
members to get feedback
on satisfaction of the vendor
performance.
The current list has 81
approved vendors, and they are
divided into the following three
categories:
Senior Services – Elder Care
Lawyer, Case Managers, Home
Care Aide, Personal Assistants,
De-Cluttering Assistance, and
Family Support Services.
continued next page
Piano Benefit Concert
By Kelly Maddox
Don and Gloria Swisher gave
the gift of an evening with
beautiful music and delicious
food while raising money to
support the PNA Village.
The event was held in
October at the PNA, catered
by FareStart, a non-profit that
the Swishers also support, and
the music was performed by
Monica Chiyoung Yoon, a pianist
and doctoral student at the UW
School of Music.
Gloria Swisher is a pianist
and a former UW music theory
teacher, and Don plays the flute.
They met Monica through a UW
colleague, and she has since
performed twice in support of
the PNA Village.
Monica says
she wanted to
share the beautiful
pieces she loves.
She performed
Chopin, Schumann,
and Mendelssohn
with great feeling.
She started playing
piano at age 4,
attended the Korean
National University
for Arts for her
undergraduate
degree, attended
NYU for a master’s degree in
piano performance, and then
came to the UW to study with
Dr. Robin McCabe, her mentor.
Thank you to Don and Gloria
Pianist Monica Chiyoung Yoon
with Gloria and Don Swisher
for their generosity in sharing
their passion for music and
supporting the PNA Village!
Home for Christmas: At the GSC!
By Marguerite Langlois
I was a little hesitant when
I arrived at the Greenwood
Senior Center (GSC) about
12:30 pm on Christmas Day. I’ve
always enjoyed activities there
– but this was the first time
I found myself with no other
place to go on Christmas. Who
would be there? What would it
be like? How would it feel?
Then the warmth of the
Vetted Vendor continued
Home Maintenance -- Aging
in Place Design, Carpentry,
General & Electrical Contractor,
Gutter Cleaning, Drainage,
Plumbing, Painting, Handyman,
Heating/Cooling, Landscaping,
welcome met me as soon as
I opened the door. The front
room was already full of people,
friendly chatter, and tasty hors
d’oeuvres. As we entered the
large main room, I noticed a
couple of other “Villagers,”
so I asked to join their table.
Conversation got going, I looked
around the room and saw many
familiar faces from GSC, I ate
some of the chocolate already
on the table – and relaxed.
The food was delicious, the
carol singing and the gift raffle
were fun, the conversation was
friendly. And I could see: we
weren’t people with “no place
to go on Christmas.” We were
people with a true community
to celebrate with.
Do you know about all the
events, classes, and gatherings
that GSC has to offer? Our
Village membership gives us
Tree Services, Pest Control, and access to all GSC programs; we
are part of the GSC community.
Window Cleaning/Installation.
General Services – Bookkeeping, Learn more at www.
Computer/Technology Services, phinneycenter.org/gsc, or in the
PNA Quarterly Review paper, or
House Cleaning, Appliance
visit GSC.
Repair, Junk Removal, and Pet
Services.
Phinney Neighborhood Association
6532 Phinney Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98103
Newsletter Survey Results
By Alyssa McFarland
Over the summer and fall, we
conducted a survey of members
to learn how they feel about
the PNA Village Connections
newsletter and the PNA Village
blog (http://pnavillage.org).
Thirty-seven people filled out
the survey, and we learned a lot
about what’s working for you,
our readers, and what’s not. We
found out that most of you are
reading the newsletter either in
the printed version, or via email.
We learned that some readers
could benefit from additional
information on how to use the
blog (http://pnavillage.org),
and we hope to address these
difficulties in the coming year,
possibly with a blog-focused
computer class, so stay tuned.
We got a number of
wonderful suggestions for
future article topics and
will discuss this at our next
meeting. If all goes well, you
can look forward to more
articles highlighting members
and volunteers in the future,
especially since a number of
you indicated you’d be happy
to have an article written about
you!
It’s not too late to share your
feedback. Though the survey
is closed, we would be happy
to hear your thoughts. Just
call the office (206.789.1217)
or send us an email (village@
phinneycenter.org).
Non-profit Org.
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Seattle WA
Permit #12699
Quarterly Statistics
Member Requests
October: 71
November: 46
December: 66
PNA Village has:
91 Members
94 Trained Volunteers
8,864 Total Volunteer Hours
Do you have a friend or
family member you think
would be interested in our
news, might be interested
in joining, or would like to
volunteer? Please pass this
newsletter on to them!