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SENIOR TIMES • FEBRUARY 2021
Group lines up programs to help seniors avoid isolation 509-737-8778 509-737-8448 fax Mailing address: 8524 W. Gage Blvd., #A1-300 Kennewick, WA 99336 srtimes.com
STAFF Melanie Hair CEO 509-737-8778 ext. 5 melanie@tcjournal.biz Kristina Lord Publisher 509-737-8778 ext. 3 publisher@tcjournal.biz Wendy Culverwell Editor 509-737-8778 ext. 6 editor@tcjournal.biz Tiffany Lundstrom Advertising Director 509-737-8778 ext. 2 tiffany@tcjournal.biz Chad Utecht Advertising Account Manager 509-737-8778 ext. 1 chad@tcjournal.biz Vanessa Guzmán Graphic Designer 509-737-8778 ext. 4 ads@tcjournal.biz
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8524 W. Gage Blvd. #A1-300 Kennewick, WA 99336
By Kristina Lord
publisher@tcjournal.biz
As the pandemic marches on, a Richland-based group is trying different ways to keep seniors connected. “Isolation is deadly to seniors,” said David Everett, president of the Richland Seniors Association. The nonprofit, formed in 1995, wants to improve the quality of life for all Tri-City seniors – not only those living in Richland. Membership ($5 a year) is open to anyone of any age in the Tri-City area. On Jan. 1, it totaled 425. Social activities in the past year included virtual bingo, trivia and an ongoing neighborhood chat room via Zoom every other Wednesday morning. The group also offers educational and outreach programs. “We’re offering things to support seniors. They are a huge reservoir of experience and education and their life isn’t over,” said Everett of Kennewick, who has been president of the group since 2018.
Senior Valentine Gala
Members of the group been busy helping to plan a two-day Senior Valentine Gala that includes a free drivethru on Friday, Feb. 12 followed by an online virtual meetup on Sunday, Feb. 14. Seniors can hit the drive-thru between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12 at the Columbia Point Marina Park parking lot. The first 200 will receive Valentine’s party bags containing items from local businesses, including TriComp, publisher of Senior Times. In addition to Valentine treats and gifts, the goodie bags will contain ma-
terials for participating in the online virtual event between 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14. The online event will include dance music and dancers, bingo games with prizes and other entertainment. Though both events are free, preregistration is required. Register online at http://bit.ly/SeniorValentineGala, by email at RichSrAssn@gmail.com, or call 509-627-2522.
Planning group partnership
The gala is being organized by the Intercommunity Planning Group. The RSA formed the group with Katie Haynes of the Royal Columbian Retirement Inn in Kennewick, Everett said. Everett said he reached out to TriCity retirement communities when he first got involved in RSA, knowing they provided activities to their residents and were a potential resource to the senior community at large. “We try to use RSA as a vehicle to find out where the resources are and bring them together and offer the senior community an opportunity to stimulate their brain because it releases chemicals good for your memory and forestalls the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s,” Everett said. The IPG grew to become an association of about 70 members from the RSA, Tri-City retirement communities, representatives from the cities of Richland, Pasco and Kennewick, and senior-focused supporters, such as Active4Life, Rock Steady Boxing TriCities and HAPO Community Credit Union. The group’s goal is to offer fun social events for Tri-City seniors by allowing the different organizations to pool resources.
Education and philanthropy
RSA also offers monthly educational events on a wide range of topics, such as: legal planning (estate planning, medical directives, guardianship, and powers of attorney); home health and home care; decluttering; medical issues (dental, skin cancer and psychological awareness); dementia and Alzheimer’s disease; and healthy cooking. Everett and the RSA board added three ongoing philanthropic initiatives to its mission: • Tri-Cities Scholarship for Geriatric Studies. The endowment through the Washington State Foundation has about $12,000 toward its $25,000 goal to underwrite scholarships for nursing students majoring in geriatrics. • Travel Scholarship Fund. The fund helps low-income seniors participate in RSA-sponsored trips. It received an initial contribution from JEA Corporation of $1,000 toward its $5,000 goal. • Sound Barrier Initiative. This fund helps seniors obtain quality hearing aids for $250 a pair through an international program sponsored by the nonprofit Starkey Hearing Foundation. The RSA committed an initial contribution of $1,000 toward a goal of $15,000. “There’s a purpose behind these projects to inform and raise the awareness of seniors. They’re a valuable reservoir for our community. It’s about community, ultimately. It’s about loving and caring for each other,” Everett said. For more information about the RSA, find them on Facebook or call 509-6272522. Information also is available online. RSA is transitioning to a new website so check them out at the old site, richlandseniors.com, and the new one, richlandseniorsassociation.com.
Longtime RSA volunteer dies at age 69 By Senior Times staff
A longtime Richland Senior Association board member has died. Guadalupe (Lupe) Kuhn of Kennewick died Jan. 11 from pancreatic cancer at Hospice House of Spokane. She was 69. She served the Tri-Cities senior community as an active volunteer director and secretary on RSA’s board. She devoted many hours to improving the organizational structure of the association while, simultaneously, giving unlimited time to implementing programs and projects for seniors, said RSA President David Everett. “Lupe’s substantial touch was present in monthly dances, potluck dinners, fundraising projects, cultural programs, a monthly educational series featuring
subject matter experts on a wide range of timely topics, developing fun activities, serving as a liaison within the retireLupe Kuhn ment communities, and, most recently, through serving as a leader in the RSA Helping Hands initiative to provide isolated seniors without a safety net with non-perishable food during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,” Everett said in an email to the Senior Times. Lupe was a 30-year resident of the Tri-Cities. She worked for many years in the nuclear industry and, later, at Washington State University Tri-Cities for the science and engineering faculty.
While there, she was involved in the university’s support of a U.S. Department of Energy program for university students in several summer work mentorship programs, including housing three students from Puerto Rico in her home. She and her husband, Ernie, also hosted foreign exchange high school students for the academic year. Due to Covid-19 limitations on gatherings, there will be no celebration of life service. Her ashes will be committed to the sea in accordance with her wishes. The family has requested that expressions of condolence be addressed to the Richland Seniors Association, Attn: Lupe Kuhn Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 1356, Richland, WA 99352.