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We Thank YOU! 24th Annual Festival of Hearts Success and Gratitude

  Every year, Friendship Center raises money for HEART (Helping Elders At Risk Today) to benefit low to moderate income members attending the Center. This year’s theme was Kentucky Derby!   This pre-Valentine’s Day event featured a delectable sit-down lunch, live music by Strada Swing, and the display of works by local “heart-ists.” The live auction featured amazing packages such as an in-town…

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Festival of Hearts

Friendship Center to Celebrate it’s 24th Annual Festival of Hearts

Friendship Center is hosting its 24th Annual Festival of Hearts, 12-2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 at Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort.   The pre-Valentine’s Day event features a sit-down lunch including wine, a no host bar, and live music by Strada Swing, a jazz swing band with a French twist. Participants are urged to dress in their favorite Derby attire —…

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Friendship Center Honors Members at Veteran’s Day Celebration

  Friendship Center was proud to honor the veterans we serve with another wonderful celebration on Thursday, November 10th, from 12-1:30pm. Fabulous weather, delicious food and drink, a great emcee, and live singing all added to the joyful occasion. “At Friendship Center we celebrate and honor our Veterans who sacrificed so much for us and our Country.” said Heidi Holly,…

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Senior Activities Best Practices Refresher

Rebecca Birotte M.A., Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and CLC, shared her insights with program staff in December, providing a refresher on the how’s and why’s of effective memory care activities for Friendship Center members. “Activities are medicine,” she said. “That’s my business motto.” Rebecca owns and operates Los Angeles-based Healthy Solutions, a consultancy providing activity and recreation therapy training for a…

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You’ve Got a Friend in Me: Friendship Center Finds a Way to Stay Connected

by BY STEVEN LIBOWITZ , Montecito Journal Friendship Center serves an often overlooked, but much-needed niche for the aging adult community — providing a daytime home away from home where the dependent seniors can take advantage of companionship and engaging activities. They also receive necessary supervision while their family caregivers receive respite and a much-needed break from the demands of…

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Judith Ewing, MFT, Receives Individual Award

  Friendship Center is proud to announce it was awarded “Caregiver of the Year” for a facility by the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens Area Agency on Aging in honor of Older Americans Month. “Friendship Center has been very successful in providing live virtual classes five days a week,” writes Sue Larsen of Gulley and Larsen Insurance Services, who…

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Friendship Center to Roll Out Hybrid Schedule

  As the State of California inches toward a comprehensive reopening plan, Friendship Center members and caregivers will be heartened to know that our own reopening plan has been in the works for months. The new hybrid plan incorporates both onsite and Zoom activities as it transitions toward fully re-opening. “We’re pleased to announce that our plan has been approved…

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Board Member Cynder Sinclair Walks the Walk

  It all started with a small thing in the early 1970s when Cynder Sinclair was helping in her son’s classroom. “I noticed some of the kids were not dressed warmly enough for the weather,” she says. Cynder was living with her husband and five children in the small farming community of Kingsburg, where it gets cold in the off season…

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Dine & Donate Hits Record Numbers in Support of Friendship Center  

By Sophia Davis Advancement & Project Manager April’s Dine & Donate Event was a fantastic success with over 110 dinners sold, making it our most successful Dine & Donate event ever! Heidi Holly, Executive Director commented, “We want to extend our sincere gratitude to SBAOR, and the CORE Committee for working their hearts out to support Friendship Center. The event…

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