Page 54 - Sonoma County Gazette 6-20

Jun 13 ~ Garden workday at Andy’s Unity Park ~ Show your community pride and spirit by helping Andy’s Unity Park stay beautiful. Free, 9a-12p, Andy’s Unity Park, 3399 Moorland Ave, Santa Rosa, 707-544-7284, landpaths.z2systems.com
Ongoing
Volunteer Drivers needed for Meals on Wheels ~ Cloverdale or Guerneville. 30 Kawana Springs Rd, Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa, 707-525-0143, councilonaging.com, lgalten@councilonaging.com
Hallberg Butterfly Garden needs gardeners, & teachers ~ Volunteers to help in gardens, tour groups, classes, outreach projects, and to support local events. Hallberg Butterfly Gardens, 8687 Oak Grove Ave, Sebastopol, 707-823-3420, Meghan Peterman, hallbergbutterflygardens.org
Sonoma Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District ~ Lend a Hand Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us! As a District volunteer you will play an important role in preserving and stewarding the open space lands in Sonoma County. 707-565-7366, sonomaopenspace.org
Fife Creek Bridge to Bridge Butterfly Garden ~ Help with establishing native plants for butterflies and removing invasive species. tools provided. Every Thursday 11a-4p, Woods Resort, 16484 4th st, Guerneville, 707-484-8767, viraneverends@yahoo.com
Donate Blood Donated blood has decreased dramatically, please come out and give. Find an drive at: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive
Red Cross Ready + COVID-19 Webex Information ~ Free preparedness education curriculum, designed to help people understand, prepared for, and respond appropriately to disasters. Mon, Wed, and Thurs at 5p via Zoom. Meeting number: 739 077 299 Password: Covid-19
The Living Room Sonoma County ~ The Living Room offers drop-in day services Mon-Fri to women and children who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. Visit the website for List of urgent needs. 1207 Cleveland Ave. Santa Rosa, 707-579-0138, info@thelivingroomsc.org. https://thelivingroomsc.org/how-to- help/#in-kind-donations
Hygiene Kits ~ Create hygiene kits and drop off at a shelter for people experiencing homelessness to help them stay healthy
Volunteer or Donate to Redwood Empire Food Bank ~ Food banks are running low on food items, help them stay well stocked. They are in great need of volunteers to help pack and sort food. They are taking precautions to prioritize volunteer safety. https://refb.org
The Hero’s Plate ~ Petaluma businesses have joined together to create a unique opportunity to those on the front line. Each week we choose an organization to celebrate then we provide a nourishing lunch. Organizations include: healthcare professionals, firefighters, police officers, ext. Choose from businesses and order food, candy and wine to be donated. We will prepare, gather and deliver your donations to these front line workers on your behalf. http://theheroesplate.com
Deliver Meals Vulnerable seniors are at greatest risk amid COVID-19. Let’s help keep them safe and cared for. Contact your local Meals on Wheels organization, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org
Wellness Checks Check on older neighbors with a call, text, or talk through the door.
Petaluma People Services Center is looking for volunteers to make daily phone calls to our Sonoma County seniors or friends with compromised immune systems. Email: NotAlone@petalumapeople.org to learn more and receive an application!
Make Masks From frontline workers to neighbors we all need masks. There are many online tutorials to show you how.
Vacationing at Home – By Default!
When we used to talk about vacationing at home, we usually meant around our home region! You know – the local beach or the attractions of the nearest big city. Well, not necessarily this time around, pal. It’s a whole different challenge, an unwanted set of circumstances and a time for very creative thinking.
While opening up has not necessarily proved as safe or as easy as we wanted or hoped, we do have the opportunity to use better judgment than we might usually apply to systemic impatience! Carelessly handled, it can mean reversal to those serious isolation disciplines.
As our traditional vacation season approaches, it is unfortunately roaring at us with an invisible enemy in tow. Turning this odd social environment into vacation fun is going to drive us to innovations – or drive us crazy. Figuring out how to capture the spirit of vacation and holiday, while also being smart about the pandemic, presents some frustrations to say the least. In some ways, it’s harder on the kids because we have spoiled them rotten. With our contemporary ways, we gave them too many answers and in many ways did too much and expected too little! Do they even know how to create play?
Indulge me a comment or two about the “good old days!”
Some of you must remember when Mom would get you into your “play clothes,” open the kitchen door, gently but firmly shove you outside and say “go play?” I do! As the kids, we were largely responsible for what that meant! That kind of play was not a range of pre-programmed stuff handed to us on a silver platter; it was not a carefully orchestrated block of time complete with all the gimmicks and elements that seem to be critically essential for “play,” for many of today’s children -- and their parents.
Back then, thankfully (thankfully!) all the answers were not provided for us; our world of play was much broader than a tiny electronic screen (or a
big one...). We were expected to think our way to fun, games, mischief -- and process. (OMG!) We made up games, used the natural stuff around us -- you know, dirt, rocks, hills, mud puddles, sticks, each other... We daydreamed as we rode around on trikes and bikes; we grappled with boredom (whining and pleading) and also got into trouble. But we learned valuable lessons about self-sufficiency!
So what place do squishy memories like those have in light of today’s situations? I see corollaries; and I see a lot of frustration as families
are faced exclusively with each other – day in, day out. Some parents accustomed to dashing their kids to day care facilities, on their way to work, are confronted with 24/7 confinements! Home schooling? Physical fitness, boredom and impatience, the list goes on -- for some, with stunning unfamiliarity.
I heard statistics that domestic abuse has escalated alarmingly – with shelter-at-home meant to be protection. So, let me get this straight in my old brain: for many, protection from CORVID-19 = endangerment at home. How’s that for irony.
Vacation at home must not become a double jeopardy, a prison in disguise, a travesty of judgment or a wasted opportunity.
Many seniors know a little (some, a lot -) about being confined alone. Whether it is the simple reality of an empty nest, widowhood, disability, death or economics, it would be a stretch to imagine being in one’s 80’s without having arrived at one or more of those thresholds.
Having isolation and solitude thrust upon our entire human community,
by the occasion of a Pandemic, adds a tough layer to all our coping skills. Grandma and grandpa might have some good ideas! You’re stuck there together anyway – why not take a creative group-look at something new for vacation at home!
54 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 6/20