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4<br />
(Continued from page 3)<br />
• I am thankful for the Bistro and the food and coffee I have had.<br />
• I am thankful for my colleagues on the Board of Directors and those that look after our<br />
finances, grants and day-to-day support of our services.<br />
• I am thankful for all the people responsible for putting together and leading the great<br />
programming we have available.<br />
• I am thankful for those that attend our programs.<br />
• I am thankful for anyone I left out because I am so excited to be thankful!<br />
Thanksgiving is a time for fond memories. I would have loved to have brought my mom and<br />
dad here when they were alive. My dad would have found a venue to play his harmonica or<br />
form a group of Barbershoppers like he sang with up in North Bay, Ontario. My mom would<br />
have been the type to enjoy the card games – in her elder years, we must have played hundreds<br />
of games. However, she was also naturally artistic and could paint or draw. Unlike my parents,<br />
I have no artistic or singing talent!<br />
Your GWSA Board wishes you all a harvest of blessings, good health and good times. We<br />
continue to hope that you are active, involved, making friends and aging with dignity.<br />
Donna Keating<br />
Vice President / Vice Chair<br />
Guelph Wellington Seniors Association<br />
JOAN<br />
Joan has been a volunteer on the Trips, Travel and<br />
Tours Committee for about 6 years. As she has<br />
always had a passion for travel, joining this<br />
committee seemed a natural pursuit for her. Joan<br />
wanted to be proactive by sharing her interest in<br />
travel with others, encouraging people to try<br />
something new in their lives. She would like to<br />
reassure people who are nervous to travel alone that<br />
“they are always with others in a very supportive<br />
group. Approximately 1/3 of the people are on their<br />
own on most trips. Everything is taken care of and<br />
there are always two hosts on the bus whom a<br />
traveller can go to for assistance.”<br />
Research data states that travel has many health<br />
benefits for seniors. Travel can boost physical<br />
activity, but only as much as you desire. It can<br />
broaden your horizons and form new and exciting<br />
memories. Joan also adds that there are social<br />
benefits such as increasing engagement with other<br />
like-minded individuals and the possibility of making<br />
new friends.<br />
Joan continues to be inspired to volunteer on the<br />
Travel Committee as she enjoys the companionship<br />
of committee members. She has made new friends<br />
and so her social engagements have increased,<br />
The Sentinel - <strong>October</strong> <strong>2023</strong> — Vol. 48, No. 2<br />
resulting in an element of personal attachment in<br />
volunteering. She also enjoys planning and hosting<br />
the trips and gets great satisfaction from seeing<br />
others getting out and enjoying themselves.<br />
Volunteering “gets me out of the house and gives me<br />
something to look forward to in the future.”<br />
Joan was employed as a librarian for many years<br />
and this work enabled her to financially be able to<br />
travel to such destinations as Europe and Australia.<br />
She just recently returned from a vacation in<br />
Newfoundland. Besides travel, she enjoys reading,<br />
walking, dining out and movies at the Bookshelf<br />
Cinema, as well as her volunteer work at the Mission<br />
Thrift Store.<br />
Joan values her volunteer work at the Evergreen<br />
immensely and gets a lot of satisfaction from helping<br />
others to enjoy<br />
themselves. The GWSA<br />
appreciates the work<br />
that she and the other<br />
committee members do<br />
to make our lives more<br />
interesting and active<br />
through travel!<br />
Written by: Jessie Watt,<br />
Volunteer
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