SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010 www.mapleridgenews.com www.mapleridgenews.com H o l i d a y E x t r a Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows since 1978 Flo Thompson of the Ridge Meadows Seniors’ Society’s CAMEO group unwraps her Christmas present Thursday afternoon at the Ridge Meadows Senior’s Activity Centre. Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS Reaching out to seniors at Christmas F or most, Christmas is a time of togetherness, a time to enjoy the simple pleasure of being in the company of our family and loved ones. But for many seniors who live alone, Christmas can be a diffi- cult time of year, as they struggle with loneliness and isolation. “For people who are widowed and don’t have any family, it is hard,” says Betty Levens, presi- dent of the Ridge Meadows Se- niors’ Society. And while losing a loved one is hard enough, the holiday s can bring up a flood of emotions, es- pecially for someone isolated by health issues. In many ways, you have to re- learn how to live your life. “When you lose your husband or wife, it affects people differ- ently,” Levens says, herself a widow. “If you’ve never done things outside your family, it’s a huge change to do them alone. “It’s a whole different world and some people have a really difficult time coping.” Numerous studies have shown that a lack of social interaction can lead to poor health and a re- duced life span. Thankfully there are a number of agencies offering a variety ofservices and programs to help ensure seniors aren’t forgotten over the holidays. Bob Foster is the co-chair ofRidge Meadows Seniors’ Con- nect Group, which works to en- gage and bring together seniors in Maple Ridge and Pitt Mead- ows who live alone. “We try to target seniors, be- cause this can be a hard time ofyear for them,” he says. The group offers a number ofservices to help keep seniors socially active, including a tele- phone buddy system, and a transportation program to pro- vide rides around town. Meals on Wheels, which is operated by Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Community Services, also helps reach out to shut-in seniors during the holiday sea- son. In addition to delivering food to the homes of seniors, volunteer drivers also provide human contact, often the only regular human contact many se- niors have. “Often [the drivers] are the only people they see that day,” says Foster. “It’s very touching. They will engage them in con- versation and they won’t want them to go. The most difficult thing they have to do is leave.” The Friends in Need Food Bank has also prepared special Christ- mas cheer sacks for the 165 se- niors who rely on their services, full of Christmas-type food, as well as donated knitted goods. The Ridge Meadows Seniors’ Activity Centre hosts the CAM- EO group every Thursday, which encourages seniors to get out ofthe house and socialize. Christmas 2010 by Robert Mangelsdorf staff reporter See Seniors, p3 OPEN Mon. - Fri. 9-9, Sat. 9-5:30, Sun. 10-5 604-463-4663 11768 - 223rd St., Maple Ridge Free Giftwhen you purchase any of these Black & Decker Items BLO W OU T 4.5 Angle Grinder 5” Random Orbit Sander 4.5 Amp Hammer Drill Variable Speed Jigsaw Mouse Detail Sander 12V Cordless Drill BLACK & DECKER All reg 59.99 39 3999 99Your choicesaleea ea
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010
www.mapleridgenews.comwww.mapleridgenews.comHo l ida y E x t ra
Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows since 1978
Flo Thompson of the
Ridge Meadows Seniors’
Society’s CAMEO group
unwraps her Christmas
present Thursday
afternoon at the Ridge
Meadows Senior’s
Activity Centre.
Colleen Flanagan/
THE NEWS
Reaching out to seniors at Christmas
For most, Christmas is a timeof togetherness, a time toenjoy the simple pleasure
of being in the company of ourfamily and loved ones.
But for many seniors who livealone, Christmas can be a diffi-cult time of year, as they strugglewith loneliness and isolation.
“For people who are widowedand don’t have any family, it ishard,” says Betty Levens, presi-dent of the Ridge Meadows Se-
niors’ Society.And while losing a loved one
is hard enough, the holidays canbring up a flood of emotions, es-pecially for someone isolated byhealth issues.
In many ways, you have to re-learn how to live your life.
“When you lose your husbandor wife, it affects people differ-ently,” Levens says, herself awidow. “If you’ve never donethings outside your family, it’s ahuge change to do them alone.
“It’s a whole different worldand some people have a reallydifficult time coping.”
Numerous studies have shownthat a lack of social interactioncan lead to poor health and a re-duced life span.
Thankfully there are a numberof agencies offering a variety of services and programs to helpensure seniors aren’t forgottenover the holidays.
Bob Foster is the co-chair of Ridge Meadows Seniors’ Con-nect Group, which works to en-
gage and bring together seniorsin Maple Ridge and Pitt Mead-ows who live alone.
“We try to target seniors, be-cause this can be a hard time of year for them,” he says.
The group offers a number of services to help keep seniorssocially active, including a tele-phone buddy system, and atransportation program to pro-vide rides around town.
Meals on Wheels, which is
operated by Maple Ridge-PittMeadows Community Services,also helps reach out to shut-inseniors during the holiday sea-son. In addition to deliveringfood to the homes of seniors,volunteer drivers also providehuman contact, often the only
regular human contact many se-niors have.
“Often [the drivers] are theonly people they see that day,”says Foster. “It’s very touching.They will engage them in con-versation and they won’t wantthem to go. The most difficultthing they have to do is leave.”
The Friends in Need Food Bankhas also prepared special Christ-mas cheer sacks for the 165 se-niors who rely on their services,
full of Christmas-type food, aswell as donated knitted goods.
The Ridge Meadows Seniors’Activity Centre hosts the CAM-EO group every Thursday, whichencourages seniors to get out of the house and socialize.
Christmas 2010by R o b e r t M a n g e l s d o r f
staff reporter
See Seniors, p3
OPEN
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604-463-466311768 - 223rd St., Maple Ridge
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www.mapleridgenews.com - THE NEWS - Sunday, December 19, 2010 – 3
Christmas 2010
On the list of things that areawesome, new socks rank high.
There’s nothing quite like put-ting on a fresh pair of tubes – es-pecially brand new.
T.J. Reavley gets a beamingsmile every time he hands outa pair.
“When it’s raining and you’rehomeless, your feet get soaked.They start to rot,” said Reavley.
“They usually only have onepair of socks.”
He and Matthew Stoddart,who are staying at the Salva-tion Army’s Caring Place, knowsocks are a cherished commod-ity on the streets.
It’s why the pair started a sockdrive and have so far collected925 pairs. They hope to collect2,200.
“I feel, if I am here, I will dowhat I can,” says Reavely. “Imay not be able to financiallysupport people, but you don’thave to do that to help peopleout.”
• Donate to the sock drive bydropping off socks at the Sal-vation Army’s Caring Place onLougheed Highway or call T.J.at 778-839-3392.
Sock drive hopes to warm feet and hearts
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Matthew Stoddart, left, and T.J. Reavley have collected 925 pairs of socks to hand out to needy people at the Salva-tion Army.
hut-in seniors forgottenduring holiday season
The group, which stands forme And Meet Every One, isared specifically at seniors who
ay live alone, have health prob-ms, or are widowed, and so don’tt out much anymore.They are close-knitnch,” says Foster.hey don’t do too
uch, but they keepch other company.”
Gail Radke beganlunteering with theoup in 2003, whene started accompany-g her 86-year-old mother to theoup’s weekly meetings.
Although her mother passeday last year at the age of 93,dke has continued on as one of
e group’s organizers.It was a great way to get hert with people her own age,” she
d.he credits stimulating socialvironment with helping her
other stay sharp and live as longshe did.It’s for all the people who areting at home with nothing to
do,” Radke says. “It’s a greatgroup, they really look out foreach other.”
She says her mother looked for-
ward to the weekly get-togethers,where members swap storiesabout the good olddays.
The 20 members inthe group will oftentreat themselves to amonthly luncheon withthe proceeds of thegroup’s coffee fund.
The group celebratedChristmas together
Thursday afternoon by unwrap-ping gifts donated by the Christ-mas Hamper Society and HomeInstead Senior Care.
But the most important gift,says Radke, is the company theyshare.
“They are just a super lot,” she
says.• For more information about the
CAMEO group, call Gail Radke at604-463-0539. To learn more aboutthe Ridge Meadows Seniors’ Soci-ety and the programs they offer,call 604-467-4993.
CAMEO groupFor more informa-tion, call Gail Radke at604-463-0539
iors from Front
xperience Bethlehemome and experience Bethlehem at St.eorge’s Church, 23500 Dewdney Trunk Road
beginning at 6 p.m.Enjoy the stable, see the Children’s Pageant,sing Christmas carols and enjoy refreshmentat the Inn.
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Christmas 2010
t’s been a tough year forZoe Cross and her threekids.
Her family emigrated fromgland three years ago, bute broke up with her hus-nd earlier this year, forc-g her to go back to school
study full-time to get asiness diploma. Her chil-
en – Jake, 16, Phoebe, 14,d Molly, 11 – not only hadmove, but change schoolsd go without an allowance,o.With no means to provideesents for her kids thisristmas for the first time,oss registered with theaple Ridge-Pitt Meadowsristmas Hamper Society.ast Saturday, she took her
ds to the society’s ware-use, handing them over toe volunteers. Her childrend been upset at not beinge to give her something.e volunteers took the trioay for each of them to pick
out a gift for their mom.When they emerged from
the other end to greet theirmother, they were beaming.That’s when the year’s emo-tions caught up to Cross.
“I burst into tears, to behonest,” she said.
It’s a scene that’s just asemotional for the volunteers.
“It’s magic,” society orga-nizer Lorraine Bates said of those rewarding momentsevery year.
Saturday, the Crosses,along with more than 600other families, were to re-ceive their hampers. That’sup from the 568 that got themlast year and the 470 in 2008.
“I was just blown away,”said Cross. “We’re not usedto asking for help.”
Cross is amazed at how thecommunity comes togetherhere compared to England.
“People seem to care forone another,” she said.
Bates isn’t sure why theneed for the society’s ser-vices grows every year. Likeit had to in 2009, the societyhad to dip into its surplus
funds to make sure everyonewas taken care of.
And she’s concerned forthe future because while theclientele is growing, dona-tions from individuals aredropping.
Subway helpsMaple Ridge Subway res-
taurants bolstered the ham-pers by contributing cou-pons for 500 six-inch subs.About 100 went to volun-teers while the rest are be-ing distributed to teenagersin the registered families.
With the majority of thetoys donated are for young-er children, sometimes theteenagers get overlooked,said Subway owner HarjSekhon.
• Students with ThomasHaney secondary’s Eco Ac-tion Group donated $600 tothe Maple Ridge-Pitt Mead-ows Christmas HamperSociety. They raised themoney through a four-weekclothing drive that also net-ted 200 bags of clothing.
Record year for Xmas hamperG r a n t G r a n g e rtributor
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
gle mother Zoë Cross sits with her daughters Phoebe, 14, left, and Molly, 11. Her three children,luding her teenage son Jake, 16, for the first time were able to pick out presents for her at theistmas Hamper.
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Christmas 2010
Communications classes atestview secondary had a goodason for raising money to helpttle Cystic Fibrosis.
A Grade 11 student at thehool, Ryan Morisette, has theease, so his communicationsss put on Westview’s first-ev-winter carnival on Dec. 9 and
raised $1,500.The students in classes taught
by Josh Carriss started theircampaign in October. They wentaround to nearby elementaryschools to promote the carnivaland put up posters around westMaple Ridge. They also askedlocal businesses to contribute
products to be used as prizes.Then they used their skills andtrades taught in the class – suchas photography, videography,face painting, poster creationand writing.
The students plan to continuetheir efforts to help the commu-nity.
Westview carnival helps battle CF
Contributed
e painting was part of the winter carnival put on by Westview secondary communications students Dec. 9
Silver Ridge lighting upChristmas nights
The first annual PortraitHomes Christmas Lights Con-test is taking place this month inthe award-winning communityof Silver Ridge.
Portrait Homes has openedthis contest to all of its regis-
tered homeowners in the SilverRidge community.“[We are looking] forward to
some wonderful exterior Christ-mas lights and displays beingshown by many of the homeown-ers here in this special locationwithin Maple Ridge,” said a Por-trait Homes spokesperson.
Judging of the various displaysand the selection of the lucky ho-meowner display will be done onthe evening of Dec. 22, by mem-bers of the Portrait Homes staff,as well as Maple Ridge MayorErnie Daykin.
Portrait Homes welcomes theresidents of Maple Ridge, PittMeadows and surrounding ar-eas to visit the Silver Ridge
community to view the varioushomes and displays decoratedfor Christmas.
The community is located atthe cross-streets of 232nd Streetand Gilbert Drive and ForemanDrive in Maple Ridge.
• Please visit www.por-traithomes.ca for more details.
With only a week left in their an-nual Christmas kettle campaign,the Maple Ridge Salvation Armyis only halfway to its goal of col-
lecting $73,000.Having collected just $36,000 sofar this season has Caring Placeexecutive director Darrell Pilgrimworried.
The problem, he said, hasn’tbeen people willing to throw
money in the pot, it’s been findingsomeone to man all the organizedlocations around town.
“It’s been tough this year to get
volunteers,” said Pilgrim. “Weknow if we can fill the spots, wecan raise the funds.”
Pilgrim said all the money staysin the community with the pro-grams serving up to 10,000 mealsevery month.
Sally Ann kettle campaigndesperate for volunteers
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