‘Adopt A Senior’ campaign announced

Posted

By Rose Chavez | PREVIEW Columnist

To round out our year-end fundraising efforts, Archuleta Seniors Inc. (ASI) and the Pagosa Senior Center are announcing our “Adopt A Senior” campaign. 

As food costs continue to rise and the cost of living grows in our beloved Pagosa Country, we are hoping the community will stand in solidarity with our Pagosa Springs seniors and help pay for wholesome and nutritious meals, medical monitoring and social activities for our community in need. 

We have a variety of price points that can fit anyone’s budget: $10 equals one senior meal, $50 equals five senior meals, $250 equals 25 senior meals $650 feeds a senior for three months, $1,300 feeds a senior for six months and $2,600 feeds a senior for one year. You are welcome to make your donation via snail mail, online on our website at www.psseniors.org, or feel free to walk in during our office hours and drop off your donation. 

COVID-19 booster
vaccine clinic

Please join us for a drop-in clinic performed by San Juan Basin Public Health on Friday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Senior Center located in the Ross Aragon Community Center. Please call us at (970) 264-2167 to sign up for the booster so we know how many to plan for on the day of the event.

COVID-19 test
kits available 

Stop by the Senior Center to pick up a pack of five free COVID-19 tests kits for your personal use. These kits are available to anyone in the public that needs affordable access for health promotion and disease prevention. 

Holiday Arts and
Crafts Fair

ASI will be hosting our inaugural Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair featuring local vendors in the Senior Center dining hall on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

If you would like to participate as a vendor, please contact us at (505) 331-0448. 

Festive holiday snacks will be available for purchase. 

Holiday ornament craft 

Do you want to learn how to make a beautiful and easy gift box for the holiday? The best part is that it is made from last year’s Christmas cards. 

Join us on Monday, Dec. 5, at 1:15 p.m. in the Senior Center dining hall to learn how to make this wonderful gift box. No art skills are needed, no experience is required, and all materials are provided for you. We will be cutting circles that have been traced on the cards and gluing them together in a special way. 

Our teacher will be Denise Fisk, who is a former elementary school art teacher. Come join us for some holiday fun.

Text reservations

Text us at (970) 264-2167. The Community Cafe is now accepting text messaging for meal reservations, cancellations and/or communication of any kind. When texting, please include your name, phone number and the days you want a meal. If you are calling to cancel a reservation, please include your name, phone number and the days you want to cancel. 

Texting services are available for dining-in meal reservations, Grab-n-Go meals and Meals on Wheels recipients.

Mobile food pantry service available for seniors

The Senior Center would like to remind the community about our mobile food pantry services we provide in partnership with Archuleta County MET to seniors age 60 and older throughout most areas of Archuleta County. 

In order to participate in this program, community members must visit with Barbara Noriega at the Senior Center, located in the Community Center, to fill out an application to qualify for hot meal delivery service and/or the mobile pantry service. 

The application, called the dining assessment form, is also available on our website at the bottom of the Community Cafe page: http://www.psseniors.org/community-cafeacute.html. For more information, contact us at (970) 264-2167.

Mahjong

Mahjong is a 19th century Chinese tile-based game that is commonly played with four players. Each player receives 13 tiles with a goal to make matching sets and pairs (like poker). To win, a player must form four sets and one pair. Come to the Senior Center to learn or play every Tuesday at 1:15 p.m.

Medicare call by
appointment 

For anyone who needs help enrolling and navigating Medicare plans, we help with parts A, B and D. We can also help you with fraud concerns and troubleshooting any billing issues you may be having. By appointment only. Please call our Medicare line at (970) 264-0501, ext 4. 

Bridge 

The longest-played bridge game in Archuleta County takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. Bridge is a four-player card game with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. It is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. Come alone or bring a partner.

Hand and foot card game

Hand and foot card game to start up again at the Senior Center. Whether you are new to hand and foot or interested in learning, please join us most Thursdays at 1:15 p.m. at the Senior Center. This card game involves four rounds of playing until the final round is reached — some two to three hours later. Plan to stay and meet some new friends or catch up with those you have missed over the last couple of years. No experience is necessary so come willing to learn.

Share your pictures 

Engaging pictures are needed from seniors and their families who live, work and play their best lives in Archuleta County. We are looking for pictures that convey people’s active lifestyles, families, culture and more. We would like to use these pictures in our grant applications, on social media and our website. Please email all pictures to rosa@psseniors.org.

Wingspan and new
programming 

ASI is looking to expand our programming options. Wingspan, a game for bird lovers, was donated to the Senior Center and is looking for a champion to help facilitate this engaging board game. Come learn more about this fun game or suggest other ideas to help us find some new and meaningful opportunities to connect over and have fun. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to volunteer or for more information.

Volunteers needed

The Community Cafe at the Senior Center is requesting volunteers to help with kitchen tasks and substitutes for our Meals on Wheels drivers. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to volunteer or for more information.

Board vacancies

The ASI Board of Directors has multiple vacant positions open. The terms are three years with an option to renew for an additional term. Potential candidates should be at least 55 years of age or older and must have a passion for adult and aging services.

Community Cafe menu

Thursday, Dec. 1 — Chicken crepes, broccoli, focaccia bread, salad, fruit and carrot cake.

Friday, Dec. 2 — Cottage pie, wilted spinach, salad and fruit.

Monday, Dec. 5 — Pumpkin ravioli with marinara, vegetable medley, garlic bread, salad and fruit.

Tuesday, Dec. 6 — Ginger lime shrimp with grits, caribbean beans, salad and fortune cookies.

Wednesday, Dec. 7 — Bacon cheeseburger with bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and potato chips, salad and fruit.

Thursday, Dec. 8 — Pork kielbasa, German potato salad, sauteed cabbage, salad and fruit.

Friday, Dec. 9 – Chicken tortilla soup with garnishes including tortillas and avocados, salad and fruit.

Grab-N-Go meals

Grab-N-Go meals reservations and cancellations are required. Please call or text by 9 a.m. the morning of the day you want to pick up a meal. A suggested donation of $5 helps to sustain our program. No one will be turned away for their inability to donate. For ages 59 and younger, the cost is $10.50. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to make a reservation.

Meals on Wheels

We deliver fresh Meals on Wheels five days a week (and provide frozen Meals on Wheels for weekends) to homebound Archuleta County residents. Call or text us at (970) 264-2167.

Requesting donations

ASI has an immediate monetary need to support ongoing operations and programming that provide critical services to some of the most vulnerable in Archuleta County. Please consider donating to ASI. 

You may mail your donation to P.O. Box 3444, Pagosa Springs CO 81147 or please visit our website: http://www.psseniors.org/. Donation checks can be written to: Archuleta Seniors Inc. We are located at 451 Hot Springs Blvd. 

For more information about ASI, please visit http://www.psseniors.org/.