Winter Edition
January 2012
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H o w I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :
H &S tip
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Southern Professional Day
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Book Review
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Editors Notes
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Physical
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Emotional
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Mental
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Social
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Spiritual
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Funnies
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C O O R D I O F A L B
N A T O E R T A
i m p o r t a n t
Winter is a tough season, short dark days and illness can drag even the best staff member through the mud and leave everyone feeling unloved and blue. My theory is attack, Attack, ATTACK!!! Start with killing everyone with kindness, the smallest act can inspire someone to be kind to another. Next put the things you
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Contact your local celebrities and create
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appreciate about each staff and volunteer on paper. This gives them solid proof to refer to every day that someone noticed. Last, be silly and get everyone involved. Whether it is a hula party at lunch or fun team games played in a staff meeting do something that is light and full of laughter. Continue these three
T r e a s u r e r ’ s Fundraising is always in the back of our Coordinating brain so here are some fun ideas to inspire you this year…
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steps until the sun comes out and you can kick them all outside to soak in some Vitamin D. Remember through it all take your vitamins, eat right, drink lots of water and laugh. You are the example that can lead your team out of the darkness. Don’t let negativity seep in. You are stronger than that. HB
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a “Jail & Bail”; Pick your favourite era and throw a stunning afternoon “Fashion Show” Be the first business in the area to host an annual Pancake Race for Strove Tuesday. Work
with the big companies near you and get them to match what you raise and then make whatever you choose an annual event so that the hype can grow.
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H e a l t h Many times the roll of Health & Safety Officer is given to the Activity Coordinator of the Lodge or Home and it requires a shift in thinking. Focusing on staff and residents rather than just residents. Although legislature has not been sent out about the following it may be a
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good practice to follow. The traditional eye wash station has an eye cup that is placed on the eye in order to be effective. When the cup is placed on the eye it comes in contact with body fluids that could carry or transfer to another person if exact and timely cleaning pro-
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cedures are not followed. Newer models are sealed units that are not placed on the eye and only used once. Although this model may be a little more expensive as you are not supposed to refill or reuse it, it may just save an eye injury from turning into more complications.
Opening the front window to let the New Year in...
L AC A A S o u t h e r n Ac t i v i t y C o o r d i n a t o r s P r o f e s s i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t D ay D r u m h e l l e r , A B R e f l e c t i n g
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Date , cost and location will be sent out as soon as it is confirmed. C a p t u r i n g
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Day At A Glance: 9:00 am to 4:00pm Photography program sessions
Photo Card Making Activity
Multiple Therapy presentation
Program Sharing
Photo Booth Fun
‌.Social @ Marcel’s
Lunch Outing and Dinosaur Climb
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B l u e s
Have you ever questioned why am I here? What am I doing? The passion and excitement for our job can sometimes slip away and turn into exhaustion and frustration. In moments like these find this book “Fish!” by Stephen C. Lundin, Ph.D., Harry Paul and John Christensen. This quick read can refocus your energy and help you start 2013 on a high note. Page 11—Loving What You Do It is fashionable today to believe that we should not settle for anything less than doing what we love. Write poetry, travel the world on a sailboat, paint—do whatever you love, and the money will follow. We tell ourselves that life is too short to spend our working hours doing anything less than the ideal, and we continue our search for the perfect work place. The danger is that if our quest for ideal work focuses us on the future, we will miss the amazingly wonderful life that is available today, in this moment. “When we choose The fact is that in the real world there are conditions which prevent us from chasing the perfect, ideal job. Many of us have significant responsibilities to family members or to a way of life. For others, a true calling hasn’t made itself visible yet. Some of us are under so much stress in our personal lives there is literally no time or energy to seek a new line of work. Fish! Is a parable, an invented story about finding the deep source of energy, creativity and passion that exists inside each of us by learning to love what we do, even if at the moment we may not be doing exactly what we love.
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To the amazing people that do my job all over Alberta, I salute you. Thank you for getting up each morning to bring a healthy lifestyle choice through love and laughter to the
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seniors that made this province what it is today. In the cold, slush and muck of the first three months of this year you pull off beautiful teas, exciting new games, a million hugs
and so much more. In case it has been awhile since you’ve received one, this one is from me. “Atta boy!” Keep going and we will see you in April!
to love the work we do, we can catch our limit of happiness, meaning and fulfillment every day.”
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L A C A A
P h y s i c a l S U M M E R
A L B E R T A 5 5 + G A M E S
G A M E S
Barrhead and Westlock to jointly host 2013 Summer Games July 25—28 Events that can be participated in are
Alberta 55 + Games provide a venue for Albertans 55 and over to pursue greater levels of physical, social, intellectual and creative achievement through friendly competition and participation. The Games also enhance a sense of community spirit by bringing together Albertans ages 55 and over. Learn more on www.albertagames.com
Athletics Bocce Cribbage Cycling Floor Curling Golf Horseshoes 8 ball Pool Slo-Pitch Swimming
Built in 1889 for the World’s Fair Participate in the Summer Games and bring home your own monument for 2013
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Calgary to host 2013 Winter Games February 13-16
Snooker
Events that can be participated in are:
The Canada 55 + Games are coming to Sherwood Park in 2014. The only way to qualify is to participate in the 2013 Winter or Summer Alberta 55 + Games.
Alpine Skiing Badminton 5 pin Bowling Bridge—Duplicate Cross Country Skiing Curling Darts Scrabble
Registration to the summer event is not done yet, if you start now your Lodge could be representing Alberta in the Canada Senior Games.
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E m o t i o n a l
Valentine’s Day is a comin’ here are some ideas for inspiration… Sparkling Sorbet Float 500ml tub of fruity sorbet 1 bottle of pink sparkling wine (Cava)
Method Pop 8 wide rimmed champagne glasses in freezer for 15 minutes to chill. Sit the sorbet at room temperature until it is soft enough to scoop. Take two small scoops of sorbet and drop into each chilled glass. Slowly pour the pink “Cava” into the glasses around the sorbet, being careful it doesn’t bubble over. Serve straight away with white chocolate dipped strawberries, mmmmm.
Your breakfast club may enjoy something a little different French Toast with Cinnamon Bananas 2 eggs, 6 tbsp. of milk or alternate, 2 tsp of margarine or alternate, 2 thick sliced bread (your choice), 4 tsp sugar, 1 banana sliced, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 heart shaped cookie cutter.
Method Beat milk and eggs together in shallow bowl. Cut hearts out of bread slices. Heat margarine in non-stick pan and dip both sides of bread in egg mixture. Add the soaked bread to the heated pan and cook until golden brown, flip and brown again. Add the bananas to the pan and sprinkle with cinnamon, cook for a couple of minutes, turning as needed. Serve on top of the toasted bread, sprinkled with sugar.
Whether you choose to create a huge extravaganza like I do, or pick your favourite feel good movie with yummy snacks and comfy clothes to snuggle in and watch Valentine’s Day should be fun for our seniors, not a sad day to remember all those that they have lost. Help them get into the celebration and enjoy the resulting conversations and new memories.
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m e n ta l “You are the way you are because that’s the way you want to be. If you really wanted to be any different, you would be in the process of changing right now.” - Fred Smith: Founder , Federal Express. Manifesting for Non Gurus by Robert MacPhee One day LACAA will grow big enough to be able to support speakers like this gentleman, in the mean time, I will take you through an introduction to what the title means. If you are interested further info can be found at www.manifestingfornongurus.com. Manifesting according to Robert is quickly and easily intentionally attracting the lasting results you desire from nothing. Robert’s approach is intended to be implemented with a journal, sample pages can be found on his website. The process of writing forces mind the slow down to wait for the hand to catch up. Second, the process gets your thoughts out of your head and on paper, establishing a baseline which you will be able to refer to later in order to see how far you’ve come. Robert’s approach includes setting goals and taking action, and it adds three critical steps. These steps may seem to be more difficult and time consuming than getting right to work but we are encouraged to consider that “when we take the hard approach to begin with, and are willing to do the important work up front, things tend to get much easier for us later on.” The five steps are 1.
Who am I?
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What am I intending to attract?
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How will I FEEL?
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Letting go of attachments
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Inspired action.
I am currently at the beginning of this journey, I will share the results in April of what I discovered. HB
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For those of you that missed the amazing day in Edmonton that the lovely GEF ladies put on I am going to share a snap shot of Michelle Spring’s focus on Fundraising. Fundraising is as easy as 1, 2, 3. 1. Have a specific item that you are fundraising for 2. Create awareness towards your fundraising effort through building relationships (some may use mass media and write an article, others may use their Facebook or Twitter abilities) 3. Engage the community and get the support of your staff. Allowing them to feel like they are involved will increase their desire to contribute where needed. This may seem too simplified, but it comes from doing due diligence in the planning stages. Set your goals. Implement a multi-faceted fund raising plan and when all else fails TRY, TRY again. Some dos and don’ts to consider Do: Start slow, stay committed Start local Follow through with your promises Be generous with your thank yous Don’t: Be afraid to ask Judge on level of giving Overwork yourself When soliciting gifts or funds ensure that you are clear and concise. Answer the 5 W’s. Choose conversational over grammatical prose (be yourself) and make sure that you are communicating how the partnership benefits them. If any of this has sparked inspiration and you need further clarification or assistance please contact Michelle Spring in the following way…GEF Senior’s Housing mspring@gef.org.
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L A C A A
S p i r i t u a l
It’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years. ~ Abraham Lincoln
When God’s word is not the main source of reference in our lives we set ourselves up for deception, stress and failure. Like Pig Pen from those Peanut comics, life attempted on our own leaves a swirling cloud of chaos following us around.
Here are ten starter points to tell if you’ve stepped off the narrow path. 1. You get lost a lot 2. You waste time 3. You waste resources 4. You make bad decisions 5. You feel hopeless 6. You live and experience nothing but stress 7. You rely solely on yourself, your ability, etc. 8. You drift through life as a church junkie, but never embrace truth. 9. You chance shipwreck daily 10. You experience chaos in every area of your life
Don’t waste another day. God is always ready to grab us by the hand and run forward. Matthew 6:33 – Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous and all these things will be added. God’s got your back. There’s no reason NOT to do it his way. Post inspired by a sermon titled “Your Fixed Point of Reference” By Pastor Francis Armstrong (Third Day Worship Centre)
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WE’RE ON THE WEB WWW.LACAA.COM
LACAA MISSION STATEMENT P U R POS E OF L AC A A To promote recreation services as essential services within the lodge foundation system in that the meaningful activities and social interaction are vital to maintaining the overall well being and contentment of foundation residents. -by increasing the quality of life for the residents. -by acting as a support group and resource bank to its members. -by acting as a communication network to Lodge Activity Coordinators of Alberta. -by sponsoring an annual convention. -by enhancing the education of Lodge Activity Coordinators
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