Ken Roht from the Orphean Circus has compiled a large work of short stories that you and the reader can choose from. The reader (a volunteer from the Medical Reserve Corps) calls you once a week and they read for 15 min or so and then just check in. You can pick a book from what they have available or pick one of your own, just depending on your interest.

 

WE READ STORIES WRS COA Referral Form. 5.9.2020

 

If you are interested in receiving a call for a short story from this fun new program,
please call 528-1881

 

Nourishing neighbors is a south county meal program, providing 500 meals from local restaurants weekly!

WHO: Meals are available for all community members in the southern Berkshires needing extra support at this time, especially our senior population, those who have lost their jobs, and those otherwise financially struggling.

WHEN: Wednesdays, 1 pm-3 pm (For any updates or changes, follow Berkshire South’s Facebook page) – Please, no early birds!

WHERE: Berkshire So Regional Community Center, drive thru*. 15 Crissey Road, Gt. Barrington. **If you’re not able to drive, please contact meals@berkshiresouth.org  and we’ll deliver to you! The deadline to request delivery every week is Tuesday at 10am so that we are able to plan ahead. If you do not have e-mail access, please call the senior center at 528-1881 and we will schedule delivery for you.

DETAILS: This is a contactless system, please stay in your car. We’ll be happy to take your order to you curbside. Questions: please email meals@berkshiresouth.org

HOW: We are so grateful for Berkshire United Way, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the COVID 19 Emergency Response Fund. We’re also thankful for Berkshire Bounty for delivery assistance, Price Chopper and M Designs for their donations of bags & masks, respectively (Community donations will be welcomed shortly).

Join us on
Thursday
March 19th
At 1 PM

John Wheeler
The Mycolodge
Will be here to talk with us all about
Mushrooms.

Why not join us on Wednesday, March 11th at 10:30

 

I am pleased to announce that the Claire Teague Senior Center is now a RSVP Station.    Retired Senior Volunteer Program ( RSVP) has many volunteer opportunities available. Volunteer Coordinator, Diane Monterosso will be on site in the lobby of the senior center  on Wednesday, March 11th at 10:30.

I am especially excited about the possibility of having a broader base of  volunteer drivers to meet the  transportation needs of our seniors.  There are many different opportunities available and Diane will discuss all of them and the benefits. For direct questions about RSVP;  please call RSVP at (413) 499-9345.

RSVP is a national organization funded in part by the Corporation for National & Community Service (Senior Corps) and is sponsored locally by the City of Pittsfield.

RSVP has chapters in every county of our country, with over a half million volunteers. If you’d like to learn more about RSVP….   https://www.cityofpittsfield.org/city_hall/rsvp/index.php

 

 

The calendar has rolled over to 20202 and the new year has created an opportunity for individuals to be taken advantage of and it all relates to the manner in how you write the year on documents.

Many people will write on a check or other legal documents the date Jan. 4, 2020 in the format as 1/4/20. This provides a scammer with an opportunity as they can now add digits to the end of the year. In this example, the year can be changed to 1/4/2021 or 1/4/2019 (or any other year) just by adding two numbers to the end of the year.

What is the risk? Suppose you wrote a check to someone with the 1/4/20 date and they lose it. You issue another check and they cash it. A year later, the lost check has become stale dated but that person finds the check, They can change the date to 1/4/2021 (by adding the “21” to the end of the date) and now it is no longer stale dated and can be cashed.

Another example would be that you sign a loan agreement with an individual or business. The person or business agrees to loan you the money and you sign the loan document and date it 1/4/20. After a month or so, the loaner alters the date to 1/4/2019 by adding the ‘19’ to the end of the  date and now they can argue that you owe one year’s worth of payments.
The way to protect yourself is easy-write the entire year on any legal document that you sign.

 

Aspiring jugglers of all ages can learn the art of juggling on four Fridays in March, beginning March 6. These free classes run from 12:30-1:30 p.m. with instructor Paul Scholder.

Juggling is both fun and healthy: researchers at Oxford conducted research that showed that, by engaging in a complex task like juggling, brain function and coordination are improved.

To learn more about the Teague Center’s activities and fitness programs, visit greatbarringtonseniors.org

To sign up call (413) 528-1881.

Free for the First Four Weeks of March –

Join us Fridays at  12:30 pm.

The BBC today reports that “complex tasks such as juggling produce significant changes to the structure of the brain”. These findings come from a study that performed brain scans on 48 volunteers before and after a six-week period, in which half of them were learning how to juggle. At the end of the study, jugglers showed a 5% increase in the white matter in an area at the back of the brain called the intraparietal sulcus. This is an area that is involved in “reaching and grasping for objects in our peripheral vision”.

This study indicates that learning a complex skill can result in changes in brain structure. This research will be of interest to the research community, but at the moment the practical implications of these findings are unclear. One of the authors suggests that this sort of knowledge could eventually help in developing new treatments for neurological diseases, but acknowledges that such  clinical applications are a long way off.

Please sign up in the dining room, email me at jpeters@townofgb.org  or call us at (413)528-1881

 

We’re sorry for any inconvenience but this event has been cancelled.

Please join us on March 17th, Tuesday

At 10:30 AM

If you live with a disability, the Massachusetts Equipment  Distribution Program (Mass EDP) may be able to provide you with a specialized telephone network. Depending on your income level, these telephones may be offered for free or at reduced cost.
Mass EDP only provides home telephones with land line service.