West Medford Community Center Quarterly Newsletter
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Transcript of West Medford Community Center Quarterly Newsletter
West Medford Community Center Quarterly News
There’s more going on at the Center than ever these days! Over the past few years we’ve
hosted everything from a 100th birthday celebration for our dear departed Alice Isaacs to the
inaugural performance of the Senior Belly Dance Troupe “Neimah”. We’ve featured a
classic film festival in honor of Black History Month, a funky, fresh fashion show, Harvest
Tea celebrations, city-wide Zumba and “Crunch-and-Punch” classes, a fabulous NAACP
wine-tasting event, several “Ville Reunion” activities and a dance concert with the Back
Pocket Dance troupe.
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042
During the week, our active
Seniors have a low-cost, nutritious
lunch provided by Mystic Valley
Elder Services (MVES). They also
keep very busy with weekly Yoga
sessions, a knitting club, the
“Sisters-in-Sweat” exercise group,
computer classes, monthly movies,
games, and periodic bus trips to
such great destinations as Atlantic
City and Cape Cod. The “Sisters-
in-Sweat” Exercise Group meets
three times a week to walk it out at WMCC. A low impact, but stimulating video work-
out keeps these active ladies heart healthy and happy. You can join them here on
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday at 9:30 am.
Happy New Year!
January 2013
We’ve got a dedicated and loyal group of
volunteers that come to us from the Hallmark
Health System, MVES and Cataldo
Ambulance to help with our lunches, as well
as our own folks who never get tired of
pitching in. Monthly blood pressure clinics
and social services advice are provided by the
Greater Medford VNA and Hallmark Health.
We’ve also benefited from great educational
sessions and regular discussions on numerous
health-related topics from diabetes prevention
to stress relief.
WMCC Senior Knitting Club members
Norma Thompson, Millicent Hamilton,
Kettly Tucker, Dorothy Elizabeth
Tucker, Dorothy Walker, enjoy a light
moment as Evelyn Tyner looks on.
Long-time WMCC supporter and
musician Fred Zielke plays weekly for the
Senior Lunch Bunch. From jazz standards
to Broadway show tunes, Fred’s repertoire
is extensive and well-enjoyed whenever
he stops by
Mystic Valley Elder Service’s rep Ariane
Taylor shares a story with Rachel Tanner
during a weekly lunch gather of WMCC
seniors. You can always find a fun and
familiar group meeting and eating here
during the noon hour!
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042
As of this fall, we’ve also offered rental
space to a French educational and
cultural collaborative called EFGB and
now house a pre-school for about 15
children being immersed in French
culture and language prior to being
mainstreamed to English-only classrooms
for kindergarten and beyond. The
partnership had added a lot of life (and
some serious volume) to our mornings
here at the Center. P’Tits Bouts (“small
bits”), as the school is called, joins Rising
Star of Medford, our excellent tutoring
and academic success program (fee-
based, sliding scale) on the second floor
of this great facility. There’s also a new
men’s Tai Chi class in the evening, so
we’re branching out in new directions at
every turn.
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042
WMCC is also the current home of the littlest Girl Scouts in Medford. Two different Daisy
Troops, 65264 and 68137, meet here a few times each month. And we also house Boys
Scout Troop 421. They’ve all been generous with their time and resources, as they continue
to use the Center for home base. If you’re interested in knowing more about any scouting
troop, we can connect you with their leadership via phone or email.
The long list of community rentals continues to grow as well. We’ve been a
convenient local venue for folks from West Medford and beyond to hold their
baby and bridal showers, birthday parties, family dinners, and small gatherings
of all sorts. Rates and availability are available from WMCC Board Member
Starry Poe at 781-648-1414.
We invite you to get in on the fun…start or renew your individual, senior or
family WMCC membership and come down to see what’s going on! We’ve got
a bunch of new things planned for 2013 and beyond.
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042
WMCC Senior Club Executive Committee
members listen in as President Florence
King conducts the group’s business. The
Senior Club general membership meets on
the third Wednesday of each month here at
the Center and is open to all.
Volunteer Computer Guru Joe Jones instructs
Rev. Florence King on the finer points of
Windows and the internet. Joe specializes in
teaching older users who may require a bit
more “patience” and his classes run twice a
week at 10:30 am.
The Board of Directors is excited to announce it has approved four (4)
proposals to provide new services at the WMCC to increase community
involvement:
• An Adult Tai Chi class has already begun at the Center, meeting twice a week. This class
is headed by David Johnson and Kenneth Gibson, both instructors are experienced in
Hwa Yu T’ai-Chi since 1973 and are long time community members.
• A Spanish Class for kids 3 – 7 years old will begin in January. Taught by Laura Pallares
and Cristina Martinez, both Spanish teachers in the area.
• A Media Makers Video production club aimed at teenagers who demonstrate an interest
in understanding media and want to gain hands-on experience in video production. This
group will be lead by Calvin Lindsay and Grant Casassa.
• A West Medford Girls Group is a youth outreach program aimed at building self-esteem
in girls and young ladies of our community. The group encourages girls to make a
commitment to excel in academics, physical fitness, as well as in civic and social
involvement in our community.
Feel free to come join any of our groups or propose your own vision for
Community Outreach!
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042
:
Tai Chi Class: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Spanish Class: Wednesdays 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Media Makers Video Production Club: 2 Saturdays/month 9:00am-12:00pm
Girls Group: Schedule to be determined
Belly Dance Troupe Neimah: Based on an idea posed by Cathi Phillips, group of senior women formed a belly dance troupe for fun and physical fitness.
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042
This past has been a year of growth and stabilization for the Center. We have addressed many issues and met with members of the community over the past year to listen to your concerns, and have acted on all fronts. There is more to do, and you can expect more from us over this new year, and we expect more from you. Among our 2013 goals, we seek volunteers and parents to help organize teen events like the homework club, dance groups, parties and the like. What goals would you like the Center to strive for in 2013? Ultimately we, the board, are beholden to you and your ideas for what this Center is and aspires to be. Please plan to attend our Yearly Board Meeting on February 17, 2013 at 2 pm where we will provide an open forum to discuss these and other goals, so come and get involved! I look forward to hearing from you, Brian Collins, President West Medford Community Center Board of Directors
They rehearsed for a number of months and then performed for the seniors group at an afternoon celebration. The group, called ”Neimah”, featured Cathi Phillips, Rachel Tanner, Dorothy Elizabeth Tucker, Shirley Miller and Norma Thompson
Volunteer Focus
Operating without a full-time staff, the West Medford
Community Center relies heavily on its loyal and active
volunteers. In each newsletter we publish, we’ll focus on
one or more of these great helpers and give you a peek
into why they do what they do here at 111 Arlington
Street.
First up, Norma M. Thompson
Norma is a long-time resident of West Medford, having moved here in 1976. She is an
R.N. (registered nurse) by profession now enjoying a well-earned retirement. Norma has
three children, two of which still live in the city and one who has relocated to Florida. She
likes this because it always gives her someplace sunny and warm to visit.
After retiring in 2009, Norma wanted to learn and do more in the community. She joined
the Senior Women’s Walking Group at the WMCC and after coming a few times, decided
to volunteer with the Senior Lunch program, joining a growing number of volunteers to
Mystic Valley Elder Services array of programs in and around the Tri-city area. She’s
instrumental in setting up and serving lunches at the center three times a week and can
usually be found at her post in the Founder’s Room or in the kitchen.
Norma also enjoys Yoga at the Center once a week, as well as her Walking and Exercise
group in the early mornings. She also helps lead the weekly Knitting Club and loves
teaching other seniors to knit and crochet.
Norma is actively involved with the WMCC Senior Club, a group of fun and enthusiastic
center supporters who are constantly looking for new ways to socially engage and promote
this special community resource. Norma says that the people she comes into contact with
here are “awesome” and that WMCC is “a beautiful place.” The only thing she doesn’t
like is that there’s not more room. She says “There’s just not enough storage space.”
Volunteers like Norma fill the space that we do have with laughter, a welcoming spirit and
a heart to serve…Thanks Norma for all you do at WMCC!
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042
Les P’Tit Bouts Pre-school Takes up Residence at WMCC
In the fall of this year WMCC entered into an agreement with Education Française de
Greater Boston (EFGB) to house a special pre-school on the second floor of our Arlington
Street home. The school is called Les P’tits Bouts, which loosely translated means “the little
bits or little ones”. Their aim is to offer francophone families easier access to a francophone
education. Through total immersion, P’tit Bouts seeks to create solid language foundations
for children who will later be able to benefit fully from EFGB’s afterschool programs and,
or be mainstreamed into English-speaking school environments. Their priority is to provide
francophone families with new options in their child’s French education.
EFGB is a non-profit association created in September 2008 by a group of Francophone and
Francophile parents and teachers living in the Boston area. EFGB is attached to the French
culture and language, and wishes to share the language with their children, giving them
affordable, effective educational options.
The West Medford Community Center welcomes the families of Les P’tit Bouts School to
our home and celebrates the diversity and vitality they add to our everyday operations.
P’Tit Bouts is fee-based. If you know of a family that might be interested in their
educational options, please contact EFGB by phone: 1-339-970-9596 or email:
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042
P’Tit Bouts pre-schoolers pose for a picture all dressed up in their Halloween finest. They
paraded in costume to the delight of the Senior Lunch Bunch and got treats for their troubles.
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042
A little more than a year has gone by since beloved
WMCC Senior Alice Isaacs passed. She was
remembered fondly by the Knitting Club with this
tribute (poem by T.E. Carter).
Medford City Councilor Rick Caraviello stopped
by in December and presented 12 beautiful
holiday turkeys to the Elder Services program.
Here’s Rick with several of the seniors who
were at the center when he visited.
Every Tuesdy at 11:00 a.m. Instructor Rosa
Brown leads a group of Senior women in a
relaxing, low-impact Yoga routine. Using
chairs and mats alternately, Rosa’s popular
class gets rave reviews for reducing stress
and alleviating bodily fatigue. Come on out
and find your Qi with this ancient form of
physical and spiritual exercise Neil Osborne Mystic Valley NAACP Branch
President presents Rev. Florence King with her
life membership plaque
The Mystic Valley Branch of the N.A.A.C.P.
and
The Medford Human Rights & Disability Commissions
invite you to join them to commemorate and celebrate the life of
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
MONDAY, JANUARY 21ST, 2013 AT 12:00 PM
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street, Medford, MA 02155
Join us for Inauguration viewing, light refreshments, and discussion.
Please feel free to bring a dish to share.
RSVP by January 16th: [email protected] or
West Medford Community Center 111 Arlington Street West Medford MA 02155 781-483-3042