Friendship News
GUEST COLUMN: Senior Friendship Centers tackle loneliness in Southwest Florida’s pandemic
For older adults, loneliness and despair are side effects of COVID-19. Carol Tapp of Sarasota lives alone and suffers from COPD, arthritis and fibromyalgia. As the pandemic raged on through the summer, Carol watched the food in her pantry slowly disappear, until she...
Senior Friendship Centers is reaching out to seniors who need meals
Senior Friendship Centers is working to identify seniors aged 60+ in Sarasota, DeSoto, Charlotte and Lee Counties who may be interested in receiving home-delivered meals. Nutrition is a year-round program at Senior Friendship Centers that consists of home-delivered...
Just What the Doctor Ordered
by Sandy Chase, SFC Volunteer Senior Friendship Centers is indebted to the medical and dental volunteers at the SFC Rubin Center for Healthy Aging (Sarasota) and Pat Buster Health Clinic (Venice). Supported by nurses, dental hygienists, pharmacists, administrative...
NOTICE: The health and well-being of our patients, members, clients and staff are our top priorities. In an effort to stop transmission of COVID-19, Senior Friendship centers is suspending programs, activities and services that bring people into our centers through March 31.
Over the past few weeks, it's become clear that we are facing an unprecedented challenge. Like you, we are deeply concerned and want to do what we can to help keep our communities and our families safe and healthy. We have spent the last week watching the news,...
Be Good to Your Heart in 2020 – Your Life Depends On It
Commit to a heart healthy lifestyle in 2020 and then own the lifestyle. Good health habits will open the door to an active, productive and fulfilling life in our senior years. Many of us need appropriate and regular healthcare, surgical operations, prescription...
5 Ways To Support a Friend Dealing With The Loss of a Loved One
by Nat Juchems Losing a loved one is something most of us will experience at some point in our lives. For those who have experienced it, you’ll know the anguish and heartache it brings. For those who haven’t, you can no doubt imagine the level of pain it would cause....
Senior Friendship Centers “Blooming Friendships” Signature Event Benefits Local Seniors in Need
On Thursday, January 30 at 5:30 p.m. Senior Friendship Centers (SFC) will present “Blooming Friendships,” a festive dinner to celebrate SFC’s mission: to promote health, dignity and quality of life throughout the journey of aging. The signature event will be held at...
Color Outside the Lines
A Collaborative Program with The Ringling The Ringling Museum is pleased to announce Outside the Lines, a new monthly collaboration with the Senior Friendship Centers of Sarasota. Beginning January 2020, Ringling museum educators will bring an open-ended art making...
Home Sharing: Is It Right For You?
Home share is a simple concept: it brings together people with space in their homes and working individuals who are happy to chat in return for affordable, sociable accommodation. Together, home providers and homesharers share a home life, time, skills and experience....
Lights of Friendship
The holiday season brightens our lives. Christmas lights adorn trees and our community, glowing candles in a Hanukkah menorah brighten our homes, and the seven candles in a kinara (candle holder) celebrate Kwanzaa: African heritage, unity, and culture. Senior...
The Effect of Loneliness on Seniors
Forward: In October, the funeral of veteran Edward Pearson at Sarasota National Cemetery received national attention when the funeral home printed that he had no immediate family to attend his funeral. More than 4,000 people showed up at the memorial service,...
Life Creativity: Practical Tools for Living Long and Aging Well
Practical tools for people who are looking for creative energy in everything they do. ‘Life Creativity’ is the third in a series of six annual Reinvention Convention sessions directed by a partnership between The Senior Friendship Centers, The Osher Lifelong Learning...
New Horizons – Putting a Man on the Moon
Photo Caption: The LLTV vehicle that Alan Kronenwetter worked on is displayed in the lobby of Building 2 at the NASA Johnson Space Center in HoustonIn the early 1960s, NASA’s Apollo program dedicated itself to putting Americans safely on the moon. The systems,...
THE “AGING REBELS” – Discussing the Aging Process
Michael Karp never considered himself a rebel. A former attorney, Michael was used to going by the book – literally. But after he retired, he realized that there were ways he could use his knowledge to give back to the community. ...
Pet Therapy – Not Just for the Dogs
Taffy’s ears perk up as soon as the music starts in the Activity Center. As a therapy dog, Taffy has been temperament tested for the pet therapy program and exposed to different noises, walkers, wheelchairs, canes, hats, children and more. But she has not yet heard a...
Robotic Pets – The Next Big Thing in Dementia Care
“Love” has wide black eyes, white furry paws, and meows and purrs gently while she is held. The orange tabby brings comfort to older adults with Alzheimer’s or dementia related diseases at The Caregiving Place at Friendship Centers. But “Love” is not a cat, and her...
“My Journey” designated a Program of Excellence
In June, Friendship Centers’ “My Journey” program was designated a Program of Excellence by the National Council on Aging’s National Institute of Senior Centers. This award is designed to honor and promote outstanding efforts made by senior centers throughout the...
DESTINATION AGING: The Health Benefits of Travel
Retirement is a wonderful time to finally visit all of the places you’ve been dreaming about. Your golden years can be some of the best of your life, especially if you’ve worked and waited your whole life to travel. It has been said that traveling is the only thing we...
HULA FOR HEALTH: Hawaiian Dancing for Fitness
At most dance for fitness classes, loud, upbeat music rocks the room as the dancers perform high energy moves. But at Friendship Centers, the gentle island melodies of hula are motivating older adults to exercise and get healthy. “Hula is an interpretive form of...
May is Older Americans Month
County Commission Chairman Charles D. Hines read a proclamation to recognize May as Older Americans Month. Attending the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners meeting were Friendship Centers board members Vicki Dworski, Paul Caragiulo, and Chairman Frank Fleischer,...
Run for the Roses
Heading to the Kentucky Derby Marilyn Belvoix is a fan of the longshot. In 2005, she put $50 on a horse at the Kentucky Derby with 50-1 odds…and won big. Belvoix, who is assistant manager of the Friendship Centers Activity Center in Sarasota, has attended the Derby...
Advance Care Planning: A gift for me and my loved ones
Do you and your loved ones know what you want in the event of a sudden illness or injury that leaves you unable to communicate?
A health crisis can hit any of us, anytime, at any age. Be in control of your health care wishes by completing your advance care plan. It is the greatest gift you can give yourself and your loved ones.
Time to Give Back – Finding New Purpose as a Volunteer
From the minute she walked through the door at Friendship Centers in 2016, Teddy Picard knew she was in the right place. Recently retired and bored, she was feeling useless and down in the dumps, and was looking for more out of life. Picard had worked in advertising...
Guide to Medicare in 2019
We are now well into 2019, and new changes to Medicare this year feel more concrete. Approved changes to Medicare came by-way of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and have already taken effect to inside the national healthcare system that millions of seniors rely on....