Senior Connections Upcoming Trips Planned

October is here and has brought Fall with it. We do love having some lower humidity, milder temperatures, and we did get some good rain, for which we are thankful for. The gratitude season is upon us, with the sweet scent of pumpkin spice and cinnamon lingers in the air.

We have something to crow about, besides the fact that we had over 45 members in attendance this past Wednesday, but we want you all to know something special about Senior Connections. We did post this news on our Facebook page, but we want everyone to see this and know that this small, rural nonprofit organization is working hard to meet the highest standards of transparency with Guide Star, for our organization.

Acquiring a Silver Seal of Transparency, and upgrading into the Gold and Platinum levels adds tremendously to our credibility as a responsible organization that will use your contributions wisely and with a board of directors that provides governance on all decisions. We attach the Seal of Transparency to grants we submit so our funders will also know how seriously we take this accreditation. Here is a copy of what was posted: “Senior Connections has been in operation since 2015 and has evolved into quite a robust organization. The trials and challenges we have dealt with over the years have brought a certain maturation of our board members and they are poised to perform.”

Board Members are the ultimate decision-makers and they provide oversight for the organization. Board Members set policy for Senior Connections, as well. Our policy manuals were updated this year, as part of our 2023 Strategic Planning documents, and our Board led the way.

In 2022, Guide Star rated Senior Connections at the Silver Seal level of transparency, which adds significantly to our credibility, integrity, and makes us extremely donor worthy. We are in the process of updating our Guide Star profile, and will soon announce our Gold Seal of Transparency, and perhaps even the Platinum Seal, to our community.

This lets you know, when you donate, exactly where your generous contribution is going and that the organization is governed by a local board of directors who take their fiduciary responsibilities seriously, to the highest degree.

We are proud of the accomplishments we have achieved over the years and we want to celebrate them with the communities where our members live. The services provided by Senior Connections will continue with the same passion and fervor that has gotten us here. Thank you, to everyone who has contributed to help make this program a success.

As we are getting geared up for our first Gala-level event, our 2023 New Year’s Eve Heritage Ball, we are so proud to have the communities we serve support us, at all levels. There are businesses that have already stepped up to be Table Sponsors, and others who have contributed generosously to the Live Auction, and to themed gift baskets as well. We are still in search of Champion Level Sponsors, so please contact Amanda Kridel, our Marketing & Development Director via email, at amanda@srconnections. org, so she can speak to you and answer any questions you may have.

Our Executive Director, Cindy Villarreal, is excited to be invited by local civic clubs, libraries, and any group that is looking for a guest speaker at their next meeting. You may contact her by phone at (979) 743-3227 or by email, at cindy@ srconnections.org so she can contact your group.

Please check out our 2023 monthly Calendars and Newsletters on our website: www. srconnections.org, for dates and times of the different activities.

We have an outing to tour the Stanzel Foundation Museum on Tuesday, Oct. 24, followed by a full lunch at Senior Connections afterwards. Then the Bunco group will meet that same afternoon, after lunch, to play Bunco, with Kathy Carpenter at the Center, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

This is a little different for us, but with the next Schuber Outing scheduled for the last Tuesday of the month, on Tuesday, Oct. 31, we have run out of days. That outing, on Oct. 31, to the Brookwood Community in Brookshire is now full. If there is enough interest, we may plan another trip in early December.

We are now announcing our Lake Charles charter bus overnight outing on Nov. 9-10 to the public. The first part of October was reserved solely for our regular attendees so that they had first dibs on bus seats and that has occurred. Now we are throwing this opportunity to many of you who have been asking if we were planning to resume the longer, overnight trips like we had before.

Come by Senior Connections to reserve your seat on the bus. A $200 fee for transportation there and back, will also include lunch on the bus each day. So, you would secure your room at the Golden Nugget with your credit card and then use it for the activities you want to be engaged in, plus your dinner and breakfast.

If you know of an elder person who is sitting at home, alone and lonely, entice them to come to a place where they will be welcomed and before long, they will feel like a regular.