THE CONNECTION
Bruce Peninsula Seniors Connect Inc. Newsletter
Issue 7 - February 2006
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Additional Grants for
Bruce Peninsula Seniors Connect!
Seniors Connect has been fortunate enough to receive two grants!
Service Canada (formerly Human Resources) has given Seniors Connect a grant to develop a volunteer base in order to implement our services. In addition to establishing our base; the new Community Outreach Officer will network with other community agencies to help them expand their volunteer network. Kristyne McBean is now on board to accomplish this task. Kristyne comes to us with a great deal of experience and has a very good understanding of the needs of seniors. She is a geriatric nurse and has worked at Gateway Haven for a period of time. Please give a warm welcome Kristyne and feel free to call her at any time.
Also, Bill Murdoch attended our Christmas luncheon in December to make a presentation on behalf of the Provincial government and The Trillium Foundation to Seniors Connect. The grant that they are providing will help us develop strategies for our long term sustainability. This will allow us to continue to offer services to seniors on a long term basis.
With the help and support of Service Canada, the Provincial government and the Trillium Foundation, Seniors Connect hopes to anchor its roots permanently in the community!
The types of services we provide or are working towards providing are:
| Seniors meeting seniors through our coffee connection. |
Groups of seniors going out for lunch. |
| Helping seniors meet friends through our friendly visiting program. |
Helping other community organizations. |
| Information seminars. |
Brochures, pamphlets and information packages from community agencies located in our office. |
| Computer classes. |
Small home maintenance at reasonable rates. |
| Excursions to see things in the community. |
Student volunteer program. |
If you have a relative, friend or know someone that would be interested in volunteering for any community organizations including any of the above volunteer opportunities for Seniors Connect, please call our office and Kristyne will help guide you to the community service that would be most fulfilling and fits your interest. If there are any other services that you would like us to provide, please give our office a call.
Bill Murdoch making a presentation on behalf of the Provincial government and The Trillium Foundation.
Left to right: Bill Murdoch, Tom Boyle, Lorraine White, George Bladon,
Hazel Sarnovsky, Patricia Greig, Mary Morgan
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Heart Disease Makes No Distinction!
 February is National Heart month
It’s time for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada to lead its awareness campaign, that reaches out to young as well as old, in an effort to prevent heart diseases. Information is also a big part of the campaign. Many women think wrongly that heart disease is more common among men. The reality is completely different since heart disease doesn’t discriminate, and attacks women as well as men. However, the symptoms and warning signs are very different. While the risk of heart disease increases for men in their early forties, women have a certain protection for seven to ten years. On the other hand, women with a close relative who developed a heart disease, before the age of 55 for a man and 65 for a woman, will have a considerably higher risk of heart disease, at an even younger age. The same risks apply to a woman who suffers from diabetes or hypertension has a high level of cholesterol, or who smokes. For men, the signs of a heart attack are an acute pain in the chest, and difficulty breathing. In women, the symptoms are more of an aching pain that spreads from the neck, into the jaw or the back. Men also complain of sweating, while a woman can have a feeling of nausea. For both men and women, it’s important to recognize the first symptoms of a cardiac problem and seek help immediately at a hospital.
Health Risk Classification According to Body Mass Index (BMI)
| Classification |
BMI Category (kg/m2) |
Risk of developing health problems |
| Underweight |
< 18.5 |
Increased |
| Normal Weight |
18.5 - 24.9 |
Least |
| Overweight |
25.0 - 29.9 |
Increased |
| Obese class I |
30.0 - 34.9 |
High |
| Obese class II |
35.0 - 39.9 |
Very high |
| Obese class III |
>= 40.0 |
Extremely high |
February is Heart & Stroke Month – www.heartandstroke.ca
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Well, here it is February already. I was beginning to wonder what kind of winter we were going to have when it seemed to start steadily snowing in the middle of November and only stopped long enough to have our Christmas luncheon on Dec. 16th and then started snowing again for a few more days! My husband and I had no where to pile the snow around the house anymore! Thank goodness we got milder weather in January to allow the snow to melt. Hopefully we are over the hump now! We had 3 seniors in our coffee group that celebrated their 90th birthday in 2005. Life must be very good on the Peninsula! The Peninsula Happy Hands are meeting on Mondays from 9:30 – 1:00 at the Seniors Connect office. They have decided to make Mondays a craft day to do quilting, knitting, rug hooking. All are welcome. If you have any craft that you would like to work on and would enjoy the socialization, please drop in.
Kristyne Mc Bean
Bruce Peninsula Seniors Connect
90 Main Street
Lions Head, Ontario
N0H 1W0
519-793-3781
519-793-4761
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