Executive Director’s Report (Aug – Sept 2005)

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer and looking forward to the fall at 411 Seniors Centre.

As you know we held our Annual General Meeting last June, elected our Board of Directors and presented our financial statements. Welcome back to all those who let their name stand again for this year, and also welcome to Karen Rangno, Jim McDowell, Sirjit Lalli, Shams Jilani, Veny Miranda our new directors.

Our financial situation seems very stable this year, and I hope we continue that good work. We have a new treasurer, Judy Board and I’m sure with her at the helm we can’t fail to keep our books in shape. I would also like to welcome Anne Judge as our new President; she has a vast array of experience to help us guide the organization. We are still in need of a secretary, so if you have scribe-like abilities, and some experience on a board, please let president Anne Judge, or me know.

At the AGM we also changed our constitution to allow five directors, instead of eight, as quorum at a board of directors meeting. However, we inadvertently forgot to ask the membership to change the membership fee from $8.00 to $10.00. Therefore, the board has decided to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on August 18 just before the Volunteer Tea, as per the constitution, in order to get the members input into this important matter. Please see the advertisement and discussion on page 7.

Thanks to a grant from Summer Career Placement from Human Resources Development, this summer we hired two young students to help us out with the many activities here at 411, including the annual Volunteer Tea to be held on August 19 in the Cafeteria. The students have been organizing the event, which will be complete with great door prizes, good food from our cafeteria and entertainment. Welcome Jacqueline and Mia.

I’d also like to welcome Judith Howe, who has been hired to work full time in the Cafeteria and Thomas Todd Jones, who has been helping out over the summer and hopefully into the fall.

In May 2004, the 411 Seniors Centre undertook a strategic planning process. In general, the initial impetus for this work was sparked by the possibility of having to find an alternate location to house 411’s programs and services. The focus quickly expanded into looking at the organization as a whole and the functions it performs in the community. A report was written summarizing the work accomplished to date, the input from members, staff, Board and community stakeholders, and a list of recommended action steps based on the input.

As noted above, we took on the strategic plan, because we were dealing with various issues including the possible move. In order to keep current with changing demographics and needs of seniors, 411 Seniors Centre has developed many new programs and services. We work with partners in the broader community to implement innovative projects such as the Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered and Bisexual Project, Women Elders in Action, and the Falls Prevention Project. We recently re-initiated the Seniors Outreach Counselling Program in partnership with the Vancouver Coastal Health and partnered with Kiwassa Neighbourhood house to implement an Information and Referral program. Over the last three years 411 has also sponsored a number of initiatives on behalf of other groups. For example, we sponsor the Seniors Advocacy project, which we administrate on behalf of the Seniors Health and Housing Coalition.

Given the demographic and environmental changes that are now beginning to impact senior serving organizations, and to equip the organization to carry on the tradition of service and inclusivity that it has developed over the years, we needed to explore the following questions:

§ How is our constituency changing, and how is the profile of volunteers changing?

§ How is the environment changing in the seniors’ community and in the downtown core?

§ What programs and services should the Centre continue, change or develop?

§ Is 411 Dunsmuir Street still the best location for the Centre, or could two locations serve us better?

It was determined that, in order to continue to provide essential services for seniors, it is imperative that the organization re-evaluate its current programs and goals, look at future location options and formulate a plan for the future. This is what we did over the year, and the report has been written. The new board will be asked to look at the report and begin to share its findings and plans for future steps with the membership. Hope you (key stakeholders) can assist us with this task.

Hope to see everyone back from their vacations in the fall; as usual we have a great line up of classes, programs and events.

~Margaret Coates