Volunteer of the Month
Archives

November 2019
Linda Sowell

Photo of Linda Sowell

This month we’d like to shine the light on a new, yet not new volunteer. If you read last month’s newsletter, specifically the Activity Spotlite, you would have read a bit about Linda Sowell. Well this month we’d like to shine an even larger spotlight on her as our Volunteer of the Month. Linda is the new Gadabouts Trip Coordinator. She had been working in the Thrift Store and was asked to be a relief in the Trip office. When a vacancy occurred she was asked to take over, which she was more than happy to do. Since then she has been busy scheduling new trips, chaperoning trips on occasion, and generally managing our hustling and bustling trip office. Linda also serves on our Board of Directors. If needed she also helps out at our special events. Originally from Chicago, IL, she moved out to California with her husband who was in the Navy. Once out here she was not content to stay at home raising her two kids (who themselves provided her with five grandkids), but worked in numerous types of jobs. Her main career was in Food Service. She started out at McDonalds as a cashier, and worked her way up to manager. Then she transferred to the school system where she became the Director of Children’s Nutrition for the Bear Valley School District before retiring. Thanks Linda for helping to take our members on trips of a lifetime.

Featured Class

Fall Class Registration
Date: September 20, 2019
Time: 9:00 to 11:00 am
Length: 8 weeks
Cost: $8.00 members
      $8.00 non-members
Instructor: varies
Location: Game Room
Description: Time to register for the Fall session of Highland Senior Center University classes. Be sure to show-up on registration day as a late fee ($4) applies if you do not register on September 30th. Classes run for 8 weeks and cost $8.

Featured Activity

Friendly Visitor and Phone Pal
Time: Dailys
Cost: members
       non-members
Location:
Description: This month we'd like to shine the light on two programs that not only help out those who participate, but the people they help out as well: The Friendly Visitor, and Phone Pal programs. The Friendly Visitor Program is a free program designed for those who have trouble getting out of the house on their own, to make friends and maintain social interaction. We have volunteers who go and visit people in their own homes and let them know that someone does care about them. Sometimes the two will simply talk or play a game of cards. Other times they will go out to lunch or a movie. The level of interaction depends on them. Our Phone Pal Program is similar to the Friendly Visitor Program, but is more designed for those who don't want or need someone to come over to their house. They are happy with a simple phone call. Some enjoy long conversations, while others just want someone to check in on them once a week. This program has come in handy several times when a senior could not be contacted by phone. The Phone Pal volunteer either went over to the house or contacted us with their concern and we went over. On a few occasions we discover that the person had fallen and injured themselves, and had this program not been in place, might have died. If you would like to be a part in volunteering in these programs, or if you could benefit from any of these programs, or if you know of someone who could, please feel free to contact us at (909)862-8104 and ask for the Outreach Office.
Health fair 2016
By: Mike Sylva
With the last gasp of summer producing temps in the low 90\'s, it was hard to think of the Flu Season. Yet in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We had nearly 200 people show up for the cure. Some others even got the cure from other places, but came for all the other information and goodies our other vendors brought with them.

With shots being offered back in September just about anywhere, our crowds aren’t what they used to be, but for those who did not like waiting in line for 45 minutes, it was a smooth flowing line. People got to ask questions at the various booths, get lots of freebies, all at a leisurely pace.

We would like to acknowledge that the success of our health fair would not have been possible without all the vendors who came out to provide information and services to all. Additional thanks go out to the Highland Police Department’s Citizen’s Patrol for their excellent traffic control and parking assistance. Mostly we would like to thank our event sponsors, the Physicians of Beaver Medical Group and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.