Director’s Corner October 2022

A few of you have noticed the use of our new logo. Our new logo welcomes people of all ages to join activities held at the Center. The name of our building has changed several times since the beginning, but the formal name has and will always stay the same: La Pine Senior Citizens, Inc. This logo makes it clear that all can participate and help support our seniors; we are not changing who we are, who we serve or what our focus is. Our focus is and will always be the good of our Senior Citizens!
This new logo is not about changing who we are. It’s about welcoming more support and assistance for those that we serve. Our building has always welcomed anyone of any age, but the public didn’t know that and as our community grows, so do our needs. As our needs grow we need a larger group for support. The support comes in various ways. We need more involvement in events, we need more volunteers, we need our community just like our community needs us. Please know we will always focus on our Senior Citizens and we will always be La Pine Senior Citizens, Inc. We are just being more visible to the entire community.
That said, I would like to let you know about something that happened in late September at the Center. I arrived on a Monday morning to find a man waiting for me in the lobby. He had driven to La Pine that morning because he had heard we had a bereavement class held at the Center. He had recently lost his wife, and was just wanting someone to listen to him. I sat with him and learned that had decided that he wanted to leave this earth; he was lonely, afraid and felt useless.
After we spoke, I immediately called Heart N’ Home Hospice here in La Pine. Within 30 minutes, they had someone from Bend here at the Center talking to this gentleman, and by the time they emerged from one of our conference rooms, he was smiling! They had counseled him and given him some resources to help with his situation.
This kind of thing happens at our La Pine Activity Center more often than most people realize. Someone needs help of some kind, and they feel that our Center can assist them. We refer those in need to the appropriate community resources, and this service is just one of those that truly reflect what we do as an organization: we feed people, we refer them to local resources, we provide free classes and clinics, and we listen to people’s stories.
Keep on coming to the Center, we’re here for you!