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‘Spend My Money’ Senior Supporter Says
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Friday, October 13, 2017
 

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Wood River Valley do-gooders throw plenty of parties benefitting the kids.

Wednesday night it was all about the seniors.

More than 200 people crowded into Gail Severn Gallery to take part in the second annual Cocktails for a Cause. And when the evening was over, The Senor Connection was $100,000 richer, raising twice what it did last year.

“Spend my money!” St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation Treasurer Buddy Wilton challenged the crowd, as he offered to match donations by 10 percent. He owed The Connection $10,000 after all the pledges of  $2,500, $1,000 and smaller amounts had been added up.

Nearly 3,500 seniors live in Blaine County, and that number is expected to double in the next eight to 10 years. The Senior Connection is now in its 46th year of engaging them in ways seniors in Twin Falls and Boise can only dream of.

And Wednesday’s crowd—a veritable who’s who of the community’s movers and shakers—appeared bent on making sure the Connection’s many programs continue.

Tim and Leslie Silva provided Old Fashioned cocktails featuring bourbon and bitters topped with an orange slice and cherry.

And The Senior Connection’s Chef Eric Olson concocted an array of hors d’oeuvres that included one featuring pork tenderloin on toasted vita-grain bread with honey mascarpone cheese and roasted cinnamon pear bruschetta, as well as one featuring trout rillettes on toasted baguette with lemon zest and green onion.

Erin Buell hosted Cocktails for a Cause, along with Marie Gallo, Charlotta Harris, Kathy Jones, Deb Rosen, Leslie Silva, Teri Szombathy, Penny Weiss and Trish Wilson.

“I’ve always been a big fan of the Senior Connection,” said Mary Rau, of Bellevue. “I love that seniors have a place to dress up and go to every day.”

The conversations were lively. Dennis Hanggi talked about the pedal steel guitar convention he was headed to, and BCRD Director Jim Keating described how workers have finished remedying two-thirds of flood damage on the Harriman Trail as ski season approaches.

Bill Brand talked about his recent trip whale watching in Alaska’s Inside Passage, while Diana Landis described how she walked four miles five times a week on her 5- and 8-year-old knees to get 10,000 steps in.

“Bill doesn’t walk so I have him drop me off at Fifth and Myrtle and I walk to the Senior Connection for lunch,” she said.

Betty Grant, Margaret “Kiki” Devan, Flo Igarashi, and Leslie Mincks—all faithful attendees at the Senior Connection—giggled like school girls as they teased Grant about her new brown hair color. And the giggling only intensified when Kiki won the door prize—a Sun Valley ski pass drawn by the resort’s general manager Tim Silva.

Devan moved here four years ago from New York to be near her son who works in St. Luke’s emergency room.

“It’s a big change from New York!” she said. “The people here are wonderful, friendly, helpful. They make time for you. They hold the door open for you. They thank you. You don’t get that in New York. I became extroverted because the people here are so warm.”

Board member Trish Wilson told the crowd how caretakers employed by The Senior Connection worked for six months to get a woman to shower and bathe again.

“She turned a huge corner in not being afraid to do something she’d done all her life,” Wilson said.

She gestured towards Mincks, who taught at Hemingway School for 10 years. Mincks now has ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. She uses a wheel chair to get around and writes in beautiful cursive with her fingernail on a tablet to share her thoughts.

“I’ve known Leslie since 1968,” Wilson said. “She’s a remarkable person. And the Connection has given her a whole new lease on life. It’s given her a place to go.”

Board member Mike Beck noted that last year The Connection’s No. 1 goal was attaining financial stability.

“I’m pleased to announce we’ve turned that corner,” he said.

Meals on Wheels is now going to Carey, he added. The Connection has doubled the number of field trips it offers, in addition to helping seniors get to medical appointments in Boise and Twin Falls. A certified trainer now offers a fitness program. And The Connection is preparing to send its new executive assistant to the National Caregiving Conference in Chicago.

“For a person living with crippling arthritis, we cut up their food into little bites. For the person who cannot see, we go to their house and read their mail. For the person who can’t remember names, we give them permission to call us a ‘friend.’ For the person who hasn’t picked up a paintbrush in years, we offer them paint classes with Ralph Harris,” said Teresa Beahen Lipman, The Connection’s executive director.

“We see grit and determination, wisdom and experience. We don’t see customers. We see family,” she added.

Eight of 10 Senior Connection members live alone, and one of every two need some sort of assistance, Lipman noted.

The services The Connection offers saves money for taxpayers and the seniors. A $1 investment in Meals on Wheels, for instance, results in a $50 return on Medicaid savings, according to the Center for Effective Government.

Lipman said the money raised at Cocktails for a Cause will be earmarked for such projects as a $25,000 ADA Accessible/Family Changing restroom.

“When you come back next year, you’re going to see the difference you made,” she said. “We can spend this money really fast!”

THE SENIOR CONNECTION’S WISH LIST:

Lunch greeters are needed to welcome guests from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Volunteers are also needed for the Adopt-a-Senior program, the property and facility committee and to perform music with the Adult Day Care.

$500 will provide window blinds for a staff office and meeting room.

$500 will underwrite special holiday luncheons, such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Volunteer Appreciation Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.

$200 will supply books for the Military Book Club.

$90 will provide three hours of house cleaning services for a homebound client.

$750 will pay for one month of Connection Club services for a person with Alzheimer’s

$1,000 will provide a year’s worth of Meals on Wheels to a homebound senior.

$1,000 will underwrite lunch for 200 veterans on Veterans Day.

$20 will provide a senior with a pedicure from a foot care specialist.

$100 will buy 10 haircuts.

$1,500 will provide a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course for a staff caregiver.

UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE SENIOR CONNECTION:

Alzheimer’s Presentation, 6 p.m. Oct. 26

Veterans Day Luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 11

Fashions and Wine, 6 p.m. Dec. 12.

Holiday Bazaar, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 11

Holiday Luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 22

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