Upcoming Events
See what's happening this
month.
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Would you like your event or notice to appear in the next Village Voices Newsletter? Use
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Please submit by the 15th of the previous month. Late submissions are not guaranteed placement in the next newsletter.
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Ashby Village Board of Directors
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Come Help Shape the Future of Ashby Village
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The Board of Ashby Village accomplishes much of its work through committees and three of those committees—
Planning
,
Finance
and
Development
- are seeking new members.
Come join us and share your gifts, talents and time!
Please review the full descriptions, requirements, and how to get started
here
.
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In honor of this Tenth Anniversary Ashby Village presents a special “10 for 10” programming series: ten events that celebrate who we are as an organization, a community,
and a Village.
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100th Birthday Celebration & 90's High Tea
In honor of Ashby Village's
first
centenarian, Floramay Moser!
A 90's tea is an annual tradition at Ashby Village but this year will be a special affair. On March 13th the Claremont Hotel & Spa is sponsoring and hosting a high tea for our 90 and older members. We are thrilled that these vibrant members will get to enjoy an afternoon of celebration.
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Creative Aging Initiative Begins Next Month
When: April 17th 1-4 PM
Where: Ashby Village
Who: Ashby Village members
What
:
Come participate in group discussions about engaging in creative pursuits, discuss creating ongoing interest groups around various art domains, and engage in an interactive creating exercise. Learn more
here about the Creative Aging initiative!
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*Save the Date* - 10th Anniversary Gala
When: May 15th 2020, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Where: Claremont Hotel and Spa, 41 Tunnel Road, Berkeley
What: Help us celebrate our 10th anniversary at Ashby Village's first gala!
Program will include:
- 3-course luncheon
- Premiere of Ashby Village film
- Special guest speaker: Marc Freedman, President, CEO and Founder of Encore
Ticket sales will open March 15th - please keep an eye out for our follow-up email!
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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Recycling
When: Friday, March 6, 3:00-4:00pm
Where: Ashby Village
Berkeley residents and businesses have shown a deep commitment to recycling. The continued increase in recycling of all materials, the community-wide support for our organics recycling program, and the Berkeley Single Use Foodware and Litter Reduction Ordinance are bringing us closer to the City’s goal of zero waste by 2020.
This event is very "hands-on".
You are encouraged to bring items that you are not sure how/where to recycle
. Shayla Elliott will explain everything including the latest regulations of the City of Berkeley.
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Living Room Chat
Invite a friend to join our Living Room Chat.
They'll have the opportunity to hear what Ashby Village offers to our members and volunteers, how it enhances their quality of life, and why it helps them develop peace of mind about the future.
Sunday, March 15, 2:00-4:00 pm
EL CERRITO -
RSVP for location
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Embracing Change Series: Who Will Care for Me?
When: Friday, March 20, 2:00 - 4:00 PM
Where: Ashby Village
Seventy percent of those over 65 will need some period of long-term care, ranging from a few months to up to five years. Donna Schempp, previous Program Director at Family Caregiver Alliance, will address the issues that family caregivers face on a daily basis as well as the resources that are (and are not) available to support them.
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Your Kids Don't Want Your Stuff: Downsizing Made Easy
When
: Thursday, March 26, 10:30 AM - 12 PM
Where
: Ashby Village
Have you been saving things to pass on to your children or other family members; but now realize that they do not want them? This seminar will give you the tools and resources you need to begin to go through these things and to clear them out.
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Special "Highlights" Tour of the Oakland Museum
Claudette Sigg, Docent at the Oakland Museum and Ashby Village member, is offering special tours for Ashby Village members, beginning
Thursday, March 26, 1-2:30pm
. Her ‘adventurous’ tour, sub-titled, “A 13,000 Year Old Cold Case Mystery with an ancient corpse and What It Has To Do With the 6th Extinction!" covers the three galleries. This tour would be free of charge for a group of up to 12 Ashby Village members if arranged directly with her. Read full details
here
.
If you are interested in accepting Claudette's generous invitation, just email Shirley Jowell <
sjowell@sbcglobal.net
> or call 510-525-7012
. Please indicate if you have a membership in OMCA or another that has reciprocal privileges, and whether you need or could help with a car pool. See you at the Oakland Museum!
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Renaissance: Music and Its History
When
: April 3, 3:00-4:00pm
Where
: Ashby Village
Our April pre-social hour event will feature music from the Renaissance performed by the Redwood Renaissance Group: Jeff Mertens (AV Member) on Tenor Sackbut (which is an early Trombone), Ron Cohen on Cornetto, Bruce Von Kugelgen on Alto Sackbut and Nicholas Jones on Recorder.
Nicholas Jones, PhD, will also give an overview of the Renaissance with an emphasis on the music of this time period. He is Professor Emeritus at Oberlin College, where he taught English literature and its connections with music and the arts for over forty years. He writes music reviews for San Francisco Classical Voice and gives pre-concert talks for Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.
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A Time Trump Would Love: The United States of 1917-1920
*Arts & Culture Series*
When
: April 5, 2:00-4:00pm
Where
: Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins Street, Berkeley
The First World War reshaped the world for the worse in every conceivable way, leading directly to the rise of Nazism, the Holocaust, and a new world war. However, we pay far less attention to its consequences inside the United States.
Adam Hochschild writes frequently about human rights issues and teaches at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. Read more
here
.
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This program is co-sponsored with Epworth United Methodist Church
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Come build Tiny Houses!
Youth Spirit Artworks
(
YSA
)
is building another round of tiny houses dedicated to serving homeless youth.
Ashby Village volunteers will help them build...join us!
Saturday, March 14, 9:00-5:00pm
RSVP
Saturday, March 28, 9:00-5:00pm
RSVP
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Upcoming
Hearts N' Hands
Window Washing Caravan
Wednesday March 25,
Come and join us!
Light lunch will be provided
The
Hearts N' Hands
program provides volunteer assistance to Ashby Village Members when they need a hand. Volunteers gather for a half day to complete multiple jobs at once.
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Time Spent in Nature is Time Well Spent!
By a nemophilist (a haunter of the woods; one who loves the forest and its beauty) Audre Newman, AV Member & Volunteer
The value of spending time in nature has been recognized all over the world for centuries, maybe more. Today, some immerse their 5 senses in the woods on gentle walks in Japanese Forests (Shinrin-Yoku/ Forest Bathing), while Nordic Well-being is encouraged and practiced in Scandinavian companies and schools to create happier and healthier populations. Here in the U.S.A, some individuals enjoy the benefits of time spent in nature by joining Ashby Village Nature Walks in the priceless green spaces of our public parks and nature reserves.
What IS the value of spending time in nature? What is this mood-enhancing, peace of mind feeling and rejuvenation that some people feel after walking 40 minutes or more in a green, natural place? Find out
here!
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Another Opportunity to Get Out in Nature: Garden Walks (First Thursdays) *NEW*
Starting Thursday, March 5th, 1-3pm, and every first Thursday of the month thereafter, Ashby Village member and volunteer Shirley Jowell will be leading a monthly walk to the beautiful Blake Garden in Kensington. There are many easy paths throughout the gardens with glorious flower beds, redwood trees, ponds, and places to sit and enjoy. The Garden has nearly 1500 plant species, over 50 bird species, as well as spectacular views of the Bay. We’ll watch the changes each month brings as spring and summer progress.
Blake Garden is partially wheelchair accessible. It is an 11-acre Italianate design garden located at 70 Rincon Road in Kensington. A laboratory for the UC landscape and architecture department at UC Berkeley, it is open to the public Monday through Friday.
We will meet in the car park area. AC transit 7 bus runs every half hour and stops at the El Cerrito Library opposite Rincon road, a less than 10 minute walk to the garden. For information contact Shirley Jowell at
sjowell@sbcglobal.net or
510-525-7012. Rain cancels.
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UC Berkeley Retirement Center's
Engage with Age
Event Open to Ashby Village Members
What:
Stereotypes about age, both younger and older, are deeply entrenched in our society and impact all of our daily lives. This event will bring together retirees, faculty, staff, and students for interactive activities and facilitated conversations about age so we can share perspectives and plan collective action to improve our campus and community culture around aging. In the afternoon, there will be a volunteer fair packed with organizations making a difference in the community with intergenerational volunteers.
When:
Tuesday, April 21 9 am - 2 pm; Volunteer Fair 2 - 4 pm
Who:
Ashby Village Members
Where:
UC Berkeley Campus, MLK Jr Student Union, Pauley Ballroom; 2495 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
Cost:
$25 (boxed lunch included)
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Member Survey Launched 2/17
We hope that all of our members have received the first part of the member survey - either emailed through SurveyMonkey or by mail - and are working to complete it. The information gathered from this survey will allow Ashby Village to continue to grow and support our members' needs.
The second part of the survey will be launched in about a month and will focus on your experience in the Village, communication, and technology issues.
If you have any questions or concerns, would like a hard copy of the survey mailed to you, or would like to complete the survey by telephone, please email
survey@ashbyvillage.org. Thank you for your time and effort!
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Technology workshop April 23 10am-12pm
Ashby Village and the U.C. Berkeley Retirement Center are co-sponsoring a workshop on
Streaming Media
at
Ashby Village
on
Thursday April 23 10am-12pm.
The workshop will provide information on:
- what "streaming is"
- internet requirements for streaming
- free and paid subscriptions for streaming video
- how to stream to your TV
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Would you like personal assistance from Technology & Electronics Volunteers?
Volunteers can help you with a
wide range
of devices!
- Want to learn more about your smart phone or tablet?
- Not sure how to get your TV hooked up?
- Interested in finally getting your printer to work?
- Ready to learn how to use Skype or FaceTime to have video calls with friends and family?
- Have you had enough of that weird thing that keeps happening with your computer?
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Neighborhood Groups &
Ongoing Activities
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Wednesday, March 4, 11:00am-12:00 pm,
Meditation at Epworth United Methodist Church.
Check out our
online calendar for the
full view of our upcoming meetings, activities and other
events.
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Reflections on Past Events
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Time Travel: When Documenting Our History Brings it Back to Life
By Rochelle Lefkowitz
Our youth, while we still feel it so vividly, is already ancient history. When I was a pre-teen, my parents’ friends began turning into two-dimensional names on stained-glass synagogue windows. In college, I saw donors’ names engraved on campus buildings. Both left me cold. To the young, immortality can feel so lifeless, dry and remote. So, how do we share the vivid lessons we learned by living through them with Gen Y, before they vanish in the mists of time?
Ask acclaimed Bay Area documentarian Frances Reid. For over 30 years Reid produced, directed and shot documentary films.
Reid, who addressed Ashby Village’s winter Arts & Culture event on Sunday, January 26, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short for “Straight from the Heart”, which explored relationships between straight parents and their gay children...
...Said Reid, “This film was made to show the unity of that moment”, a moment in American history “filled with innocence and exuberance”.
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To read the full recap and watch a video of the event click
here
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Pre-Social Hour Event: A Visit to Mongolia
On February 7th
, we had a room full of members and volunteers who attended our pre-social hour event with Roger Newman. The audience was transfixed by the amazing slideshow presentation as we journeyed through Mongolia.
Roger and Audre are long-time members of Ashby Village who have traveled widely and enjoy sharing their experiences with others via slide shows and videos. Roger is a retired instructor of Anthropology and History; Audre is a retired biological illustrator. They have lived in Berkeley since the 1970s.
We are looking forward to being a part of the Newmans' next adventure!
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Curated by volunteer Patricia Hom
by John Rampton, Inc., 08/21/2017
by Arielle Tschinkel, Business Insider, 05/09/2019
by Susan Sanders, The Guardian, 05/26/2019
by Morey Stettner, MarketWatch, 08/04/2019
by Judith Viorst, Glamour, 05/28/2019
National Council of Aging
Recommended by Board Member Steve Lustig:
by Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News, 1/16/20
by John Parker, the Economist
Sightlines Project Special Report
by Frances Dinkelspiel, Berkeleyside, 2/5/20
Recommended by Peter Sussman
by Jessie B. Ramey, 3/20/19
Recommended by Board Member Laura Peck
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Tax Preparer Recommendations Needed!
Tax season is coming and w
e are in need of good recommendations for tax preparers for our community. If you have a tax preparer that you like and trust please send their information our way:
info@ashbyvillage.org
. Thank you!
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Member Seeking House Leads for Son
A member's son and his family are looking for a 4-bedroom furnished house in Albany for the coming school year, beginning in July or August. Both grandchildren will be attending Albany high school. If you have any leads or want more information, please contact Dorothy at
dorothy.kaufmann@gmail.com.
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Senior Health Care Forum
When:
Saturday, March 7, 2020, 2-4 pm
Where:
2095 Rose St., Ste. 100 Berkeley 94709
What:
This forum is being hosted by Logene Butler, a Senior Real Estate Specialist, to share information with the community. Read full flyer
here
.
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We are sad to share that Faith Isaacs, Epworth’s wonderful T’ai Chi Chih instructor, passed away on February 19th.
Faith hailed from Brooklyn, NY. She got a graduate degree in social work from NYU and worked as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist for 30 years before moving to California. After moving to California she set an intention to create new friendships. One thing that helped was learning about Ashby Village and beginning to volunteer. Faith brought members of the Ashby Village and Epworth communities together at her popular weekly T’ai Chi Chih classes.
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The last group picture of Faith's T'ai Chi Chih class
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From Susan Jardin, Epworth's
Director of Children and Family Ministries and Older Adult Ministries, "leading [the] Tai Chi Chih group was one of the highlights of the last few years for [Faith], and she valued the friendship, love, and support of all of [the group]."
Faith will be greatly missed, and there will be a memorial gathering for her sometime in April. We will share that information as we learn it.
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Thank you to the Ashby Village volunteers who contributed to this issue of the Village Voices newsletter.
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