Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Locals push age-friendly environment
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
The declaration of Sisters
as an age-friendly commu-
nity came about through the
efforts of a dedicated group
of local citizens who picked
up on one guest column in
The Nugget penned by local
resident Joan Power who
voiced concerns regard-
ing service gaps in Sisters
for the growing population
of seniors. She suggested a
community-wide meeting be
held to discuss the concerns.
Through the organiz-
ing of public events by
Citizens4Community to
encourage discussion and
provide education, a group
called the Senior Alliance
formed to create momen-
tum for addressing the con-
cerns raised. More educa-
tion/discussion events were
held, including efforts by
St. Charles Health System
Community Foundation and
the Council on Aging of
Central Oregon.
A core group of volun-
teers agreed to rebrand the
Senior Alliance and expand
its scope for inclusivity by
forming Age-Friendly Sisters
Country, following the World
Health Organization9s guide-
lines (see related story on
page 1) in order to imple-
ment action items and seek
funding for projects.
AFSC was identified as a
partner in the Sisters Country
Horizons Vision Project,
which identified a number
of strategies and action items
related to issues for aging
citizens and those who find
themselves on the margins of
society for whatever reason.
AFSC believes that everyone
is somewhere on the path
toward aging, and those com-
munities that serve the needs
of older adults benefit every-
one in the long run.
A Board of Directors was
formed, bylaws were writ-
ten, articles of incorporation
were filed, and in March
2019 they were granted their
501(c)(3) non-profit sta-
tus. AFSC will continue to
administer the age-friendly
status for the City, by acting
as an umbrella organization
providing networking, orga-
nizational expertise, profes-
sional accounting, and the
non-profit status for organi-
zation, groups, and individu-
als who want to work toward
solving area issues related to
housing, transportation, edu-
cation, health services, social
inclusion, volunteerism/
employment, or buildings
and public spaces for com-
munity congregations.
They seek to create,
encourage, and sustain part-
nerships with those in the
community whose focus,
services, and activities are
consistent with their mission
and goals. Their mission is
<to create, encourage, and
sustain partnerships that fos-
ter active, inclusive living for
people of all ages and abili-
ties in Sisters Country.=
Board
member
Toni Landis explained,
<Individuals with a great idea
and the motivation to act are
often stymied in their work
because they don9t have a
way to apply for grants or
receive funds that might be
available. In partnership
with AFSC, they have status
to apply for grants and can
receive grant funds.=
<The concept is that this
will free those groups and
individuals that want to
translate vision into action to
do so without the 8overhead9
of needing to go through the
hoops of becoming incorpo-
rated, getting 501(c)(3) rec-
ognition, or setting up bank-
ing and reporting protocols,=
according to board member
John Griffith.
Robyn Holdman of
Citizens4Community said,
<Since the beginning of the
initiative, every effort has
been made to ensure that
all aspects of the work have
been profoundly inclusive.
The local service provid-
ers for senior citizens have
all been invited to par-
ticipate 3 SPRD, the Fire
District and its Fire Corps,
the City, Council on Aging,
the churches, etc. Through
numerous articles in the local
newspaper, promotion during
senior citizen activities and
events, and C4C-sponsored
community meetings and
events, people of all ages and
abilities have been invited
to provide input and to get
involved.=
The AFSC board members
and their areas of respon-
sibility include: Rendal
Broomhead, president, health
services, urgent care, St.
Charles; Toni Landis, pres-
ident-elect, transportation,
WHO, Council on Aging;
Dixie Eckford, secretary,
Sisters Country Horizons
Vision, age-friendly global
network, outdoor spaces,
and Council on Aging; John
Griffith, treasurer, commu-
nications and volunteerism;
Beverly Halcon, community
support and health services,
Sisters Fire Corps; Diane
Goble, housing and Housing
Policy Board; and Chris
Laing, C4C liaison, social
participation and social
inclusion.
AFSC has a Facebook
page, Age Friendly Sisters
Country, and an email
address, agefriendlysisters
@gmail.com. Watch for
their website soon at
www.agefriendlysisters.com.
27
Raffle for veterans...
PHOTO PROVIDED
Sisters veterans organizations are holding a raffle for a Marlin
.30-30 lever action rifle to raise funds for the local VFW and
American Legion organizations. Veterans will sell tickets at
Ray’s Food Place on July 6 and again on July 20 with other dates
to follow in August. The drawing will be held on September 2.
Pictured are Lance Trowbridge and Jeff Mackey.
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