Happy New Year to Everyone! I want to say thank you for being so welcoming and kind during my first six months on the job. It’s hard to believe it’s been six months already. I’d like to take this opportunity and share some highlights from our first six months together.

This is it, the last four weeks before we turn the calendar. Hard to believe 2023, is almost over. And, if you are like most people, the holidays don’t always come with joy and cheer. It seems like they are often filled with dread, busyness, rushing, and often a lack of kindness. This is the best time to turn inward and find a bit of space for yourself each day. It’s also the perfect time to set up your self-support and inner resources to stay steady and calm during the holidays.

Support the Senior Center you love. Join your Los Alamos Senior Activity Centers this month in celebrating Year End Giving. We know there are so many charities deserving your support at this time of year.

We’re deep in the holiday season and with the holidays we often fall back on traditions and rituals. I am slowly learning about the traditions within our senior activity centers. We celebrated Thanksgiving with our tradition of a Thanksgiving meal and will do the same on December 15th to celebrate the December holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza.

One way to help others this holiday season is to give blood.

On Friday, December 8th from 9am - 3pm, the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center will be hosting a blood drive in cooperation with Vitalant.

For more information contact Susan Gallegos at lava@losalamosseniorcenter.com

Outdoor equity is the belief that all individuals regardless of age or income should be able to experience the outdoors in a way that is safe, welcoming, convenient, affordable and culturally relevant.

Please welcome Cydney Remelius our new part-time Administrative Assistant. Cydney will be job sharing the administrative assistant job with Karen Breault. WELCOME!

And congratulate Keith Haynes who is stepping up to take on the White Rock Meal Program Coordinator and Head Cook position. We are so glad to have him in this new role.

FREE Blood Pressure &

Oxygen Level Checks

Los Alamos Visiting Nurse Service is excited to offer complimentary blood pressure and oxygen checks at the senior activity centers. Take advantage of this opportunity to monitor your health and receive professional guidance from our dedicated Visiting Nurses.

The Friends of the Senior Centers Annual Elections and Lunch Meeting will take place on

Monday, December 11th

11:30am Lunch

12-12:30pm Meeting

Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center

Come join the Friends for lunch

and become a member if you aren’t already one.

Starting January 2nd, 2024, lunch

will be served from 12-1pm at both Centers.

Home Delivery will be between 11:30 and 1:30pm

There seems to be some confusion about whether you need to pay for lunch or not. Although we appreciate any donation you can make for a meal, LUNCH IS ALWAYS FREE if you are 60+ and a member of the Senior Activity Center.

Yummy holiday cookies from business manager, Amy Vigil.

We will be closed November 23rd and 24th for Thanksgiving.

We will be closed November 10th for Veteran’s Day

Enjoy this childhood favorite from Director, Jacci.

With the holiday season approaching we each need a “wellness budget”. Consider the activities you engage in within each of the wellness wheel categories. Are you overspending, under spending? The goal is to create a balanced, harmonious budget. If you are tired in one area, it ultimately depletes all the areas - there is lack of balance.

Support the Senior Center you love. Join your Los Alamos Senior Activity Centers this month and next in celebrating Giving Tuesday and Year End Giving. Giving Tuesday, November 28, 2023, is a day dedicated to charitable giving. We know there are so many charities deserving your support at this time of year.

This month I’d like to share a few announcements and remind all our members, if you ever have a question or concern about something happening at the activity centers, please reach out.

Four months and looking froward. Before I left on my fabulous trip to Norway, many jokingly (or maybe not) asked, “you're coming back, right?” While I’ll admit I used Norway to not think about work, I was excited to come back and continue the work of rebuilding, rebranding and making our Senior Activity Centers a hub for all seniors in Los Alamos and White Rock.

Hello, I am grateful to be a part of the Senior Center community. I feel at home and welcomed by the beautiful family of the Day Out program.