News & Announcements

Director’s Message

October plans to be a super month at the senior center, with multiple events going on along with new classes and workshops. We hope you will take advantage of them, staying active as we move into the next season.
For those who enjoy reading, you can find wonderful articles regarding Healthy Aging on the following websites: the National Institute on Aging, the National Council on Aging, and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Continue to engage your mind, your body, and your spirit to better manage the aging process.
You may notice that classrooms not in use have locked doors and lights off. As our weather changes and less sunlight is upon us, this will be very noticeable. Our reason is that our landlord is facing remarkably high utilities during this school year and have increased all renters’ utility charges for the first time in our tenure at this location. This added charge ranged into the thousands of dollars but after meeting with school representatives, they graciously eliminated this recent charge for one academic year. We do have a rent increase of an additional $400/month and all vendors have raised their prices 15-30%, depending on the service provided. Our best practice is to review all competitive prices/packages and choose the vendor that best serves our needs. We are facing financial challenges in post COVID times.
We frequently hear from our membership, that they believe the senior center is financed 100% by either Sound Generations or the City of Shoreline. Neither is accurate! We are an independent non-profit, with staff raising over $600,000/year, through various means. We are deeply grateful to our cities for the financial assistance they provide each year, accounting for 1/6 of our total costs. As for Sound Generations, we partner with them to provide us a financial credit line throughout the year (we pay off in December), and we contract with them for back-office services, such as IT, Human Resources, and grant tracking. They bill us for these services as any business would.
The Annual Community Breakfast is a terrific way to show your support to the center. All members are invited and encouraged to bring business owners in the community, as we believe the program will provide great insights into the latest marketing strategies for 2023. If you are unable to attend, you may donate on our webpage at www.shorelinelfpseniorcenter.org or use the envelope inserted in this newsletter. Thank you for your support for the work that we do, the programs and the services provided. Help us to continue bringing quality programs, outstanding instructors, and informative events to our community.
Holiday Bazaar! Holiday Bazaar! It’s almost here and this year, 50% of our vendors are new, bringing unique handcrafts to delight all. Mark your calendars for October 21st and 22nd to begin your seasonal shopping spree. Our Silent Auction is gearing up to be even more spectacular than last year!
For anyone wishing to join the senior center at this time, our membership fee will be $17 through to December. This is a super deal as it provides discounts on classes and services.
We have volunteer opportunities on our Events Committee as well as other areas of the center. Please let us know if you are interested in learning more.

Take care and I’ll see you at the center!

Theresa

Letter from the Director: September 2022

Director’s Message September, 2022 –

SAVE THE DATE – OCTOBER 13TH, 2022. Each year, we host a fund-raising Community Breakfast to raise funds to support the Senior Center. This is the biggest fund raiser of the year and in the past, we have invited local politicians, business owners and civic group leaders from the cities of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park. This year, we will be holding the event at Shoreline Community College and opening invitations to our membership.
There are two means in which we raise funds at this event: one being the cost of the admission ticket, which will be $50/person and the second will be through donations either at your table or online on our website. The event consists of a delicious breakfast and this year’s program will be an outstanding presentation on marketing and branding, by Roger Starkweather, founder of NewReach A Digital Design Agency!
Roger and his team of marketing/branding agents have provided marketing services to major corporations such as Columbia Tower, WA Federal Bank, Nordstrom, Pacific Place, and the Hershey Company, to name a few. You may wonder why we have invited this team to present at our event; we have several reasons that not only affect the Senior Center but all businesses:

 The need to attract individuals and businesses, to engage in-person, in business transactions and not only shop or receive services online post COVID
 This is a time of re-imagining one’s presence in the marketplace as we fully re-open, creating enticing images that attract not only past customers/participants but bring/draw new attendees or businesses
 The steep rise in vendor costs in 2022-2023, is straining every small business/non-profit, requiring us to increase the number of participants/shoppers, a new DRAW is required not only in the programs/services we offer but in attracting a broader sector of the population

We encourage you to attend this event. You do not have to own a business to attend as your ticket purchase will be a support of the Senior Center. Should you have family or friends that own businesses in WA State, please share our upcoming flyers and information to them. Support of the Senior Center is not restricted to the cities of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park but support of senior programming through the aging process is the responsibil-ity of everyone, regardless of where they live.

Stay tuned for additional information on our website and throughout the Senior Center. Tickets for the event will be available at our front desk and online through Eventbrite.

SAVE THE DATE – OCTOBER 21st and 22nd, it’s our ANNUAL HOLIDAY BAZAAR!
This year, we have increased the number of vendors, with 15 new vendors joining us.
Mark your calendars for a day of shopping, food, and entertainment. You won’t want to miss out.

Thank you for your continued support and I’ll see you at Senior Center!

Theresa

Director’s Message August, 2022 

Hello everyone!

Summer has finally arrived, bringing an abundance of sunshine and summer events. We hope that you will take this opportunity to step out of your homes, and enjoy time with family, friends, and your    community. With that said, the staff held a Safety Meeting, to review the current state of the new    Coronavirus variants, what we are learning from participants at the Senior Center and our own          concerns.  Our staff’s unanimous decision was to continue with the following policies through the month of August.

We will review September policies as the month approaches.

• The front door will remain with the doorbell in place
• Proof of Vaccination will continue to be required
• We are enforcing new Footcare guidelines, due to the exposure our beloved Echo is exposed to while servicing hundreds of guests each month
• The week of your appointment, we will call you to remind you of your appointment, one day prior to your appointment; at that time, we will ask you if you have traveled in the last 5 days; if you have, your appointment will be moved to a later date. Why? Because there is a 5-day period after any travel, in which you remain a viable candidate for having been exposed; even if you have a negative test that day, the virus can be in your system and surface the following day
• We will also ask if you have been exposed to anyone in the last 5 days; if you have, we will move your appointment to another date

We do understand that this is an inconvenience for a few but the safety of the ‘whole’ takes precedence over any individual’s preference. Should 1-2 staff members test positive, we will have to close the center until all staff have passed the quarantine period, and this is a risk we are not willing to take.      Thank you to the hundreds of participants that have supported and understood the greater cause; we applaud you.

Annual Membership Meeting: The Shoreline Lake Forest Park Senior Activity Center Board of Directors will hold the Annual Membership meeting for all current members on August 17, 2022, at 12:30pm in the bridge room.

Removal of items from Senior Center:  we continue to see that equipment and articles are  being removed from the senior center, most importantly, fitness equipment. January 2022, we had      24 exercise bands, weights, balls, etc. in the Wellness Studio. Today, we have one stretch band.           If you borrowed them to exercise at home, even if you are following Toshiko’s class on Zoom, please return them. This creates a continued cost to the center, without funding to support the replacement    of this equipment. The equipment is for in-house class use only. We have not provided anyone         permission to remove our equipment and would like it all returned. Thank you.

We have been designated as an official YOUTH VACCINATION CLINIC with 3 dates scheduled:  July 22^nd, August 29^th, and October 14^th. Please spread the word. These clinics require registration in advance through QR codes or online. We have posted flyers on the bulletin boards with the QR codes.

We wish each of you safe travel as you venture out this summer after 2 long years of isolation.

May you create great memories with family and friends and seek new adventures. 

Theresa    

Director’s Message July, 2022 – Nominate Shoreline-LFP Senior Center!

So far to date, we have strived to not impose financial donations on our membership and community, however, we are mid-year and at this time, are operating approximately $35,000 in the red, as of May. While we currently operate 61 programs/month, most weekly, we have lost revenue in specific areas, such as rentals. In 2019, we generated just   over $90,000 with rentals, which we have not recouped in 2022. We do rent for Celebration of Life services, meetings, trainings, etc. but will not return to the large wedding/birthday/baptism parties until Fall 2022. So how can you help us find alternative revenue sources? Here is a great one, through BECU Banking. Please read the instructions below and encourage family members, friends and organizations that bank with BECU, to apply on our behalf.  The deadline is quickly approaching, June 30^th so please prioritize this information and spread the word. You will find at the bottom of the page, our stats for the work we did in 2020 and 2021, and where we are at currently with servicing our community. When completing the application, please use EIN #91-0823767.   Thank you for taking a moment to apply to BECU!

Theresa LaCroix

Nominate your favorite nonprofit

Friends and neighbors of Shoreline-LFP Senior Center if you are a member of BECU Banking.

BECU members and employees can nominate local nonprofits to receive a People Helping People Award of up to $50,000. Each winner will receive thousands of dollars in grant funds. We count on members to help us recognize and support the important work of local nonprofits, so please take a moment to fill out a nomination form. It is a fast and effortless way to do good—and feel good.

We are excited to hear about your favorite nonprofit. Submit your nomination now to: https://www.becu.org/members-matter/community-involvement/people-helping-people       There is a nominate button part way down the page.

The BECU People Helping People Awards are granted in the following amounts:

Member Volunteer of the Year Award: (1) $50,000
Selected by a panel of judges, the award is granted to a nonprofit organization on behalf of an outstanding member volunteer.

People’s Choice Award: (1) $40,000
Selected by popular vote from the community, the award is granted to one nonprofit organization.

Employees’ Choice Award: (1) $30,000
Selected by popular vote from BECU employees, the award is granted to one nonprofit organization.

Past PHPA Recipients’ Choice: (1) $30,000
Selected by popular vote from past PHPA recipient nonprofits, the award is granted to one nonprofit organization.

Community Benefit Award: (14) $15,000 or more
Selected by a panel of judges, the awards are granted to fourteen nonprofit finalists that have been nominated by members.     

 In addition to the above listed award amounts, all PHPA recipients will receive a glide path grant of $2,500 for the two years following their initial award (glide path funding does not apply to BCDP grant recipients).           
https://becu-phpa.versaic.com/