Volunteer of the Month
Archives

April 2021
Leisa Alexander

Photo of Leisa Alexander

This month we’d like to shine the light on someone few of you may have seen, but may have benefited from her volunteering. Lesia (pronounced Lisa) Alexander has been helping us out since 2020. During that time she has helped serve meals for Thanksgiving, Operation Senior Claus, and most recently, the Grab-n-Go dinners Monday thru Friday she can be helping out her sister, Mae Lucero, getting the dinners from the local restaurants, then helping to distribute them to seniors at the center. However, Leisa doesn’t just come here help to serve food. All that work can wear a person out, so when she’s not volunteering, she enjoys coming to the center’s Aerobics Program to boost her cardio. Originally from Meridian, MS, she and her two siblings came out Calif., to live with, and be raised by their big sister Mae, when their mom passed away. After she grew up she went to work for the Dept. of Corrections where she worked for 27 years before retiring. During that time she raised a son, who in turn, gave her a grandchild. Thanks Leisa for helping to ensure that our senior don’t go hungry.

Featured Class

Spanish
Date: April 23, 2020
Time: 1:30 - 2:30 pm
Length: 8 weeks
Cost: $8 members
      $8 non-members
Instructor: TBA
Location: Game Room
Description: This class is designed to teach students conversational Spanish. The class will enable you to carry on limited conversation at first just to get you started. Then as you progress, so will the levels. As for what to bring, just bring a writing instrument and paper. Books might come later. We hope to see you there, or as you will soon be saying, Esperamos verte ahí.

Featured Activity

Knitting
Time: Fridays 10am - 12pm
Cost: Free members
      Free non-members
Location: Parlor
Description: Knitting has been has been around (depending on who you ask) for between 2000 to 600 years. The oldest real knitting (formed on two sticks by pulling loops through loops) object that have been discovered are the \'Coptic socks\' from Egypt, dating to around the year 1000 AD. The term 'to knit,' according to the Oxford Unabridged English Dictionary, wasn't added to the English language until the 1400s. Our knitting group is headed by Keiko Holcombe. When Keiko joined the center ten years ago, she almost immediately began teaching others to knit. She has been knitting since she was six years old, and has been teaching here in the states for over 39 years. That's not counting the years she taught in Japan. The students all work on individual projects, ranging from items as small as booties to items as large as afghans. Keiko helps each student on their projects and teaches skills to class when they are having a problem. The class is small, with about 12-15 students, so 1 on 1 time is guaranteed. If this art form sounds like something you might be interested in, the group meets on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
East Valley Water District Donated Truck to the Center
By: Mike Sylva
Christmas is over, but we still are getting presents. Last month the Highland Senior Center received a Ford F150 truck from the East Valley Water District. The district had seven surplus vehicles that they decided to donate vehicles to eligible non-profit organizations exempt from federal income tax under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. We just happen to be a 501(c)(3) organization, so we applied for one.

The applications were reviewed on a first come, first serve basis with priority given to organizations on the basis of how likely the donation of surplus property would benefit the community. We certainly benefit the community, so we fit the bill. John Mura, the General Manager himself dropped off the truck to a very happy Penny Lilburn. We would like to give the EVWD more thanks than we can say for this great gift.