Seniors Activities at a Glance

Older Adult Centre
2009 Annual Report

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2009: A Year of Growth, Expansion and Improvement

2009 has been a year of tremendous growth, expansion and improvement at Older Adult Centre. We grew in numbers, we expanded our programs in-house and via satellite location, and we made a number of facility improvements.

We created a charity which offers health and wellness services to seniors in our community. Square One Seniors Wellness Services was officially approved as a registered charity by the Government of Canada in late 2009, and we have launched a number of wonderful programs and services now.

We started a Telephone Reassurance Program to isolated seniors in our community. This was possible by a partnership with Peel Senior Link and with funding through the Mississauga Halton LHIN.

Our numbers have grown so rapidly over the last year that we started offering programs off-site. We now offer limited programs at Peace Lutheran Church and a second site starting in 2010.

Capital projects were important in 2009 with the renovation of the Administration Offices, Security Cameras installation, new telephone system, IT upgrades, and other equipment purchases.

Our participation statistics hit record high numbers.


Highlights of 2009 Statistics:

● Membership increased 4% and went from 1514 in 2008 to 1579 in 2009. This is our highest membership ever since we opened the Centre in 1992.
● The number of volunteers increased to 144 who contributed a record of 35,712 hours in 2009 which is an increase of 12% over 2008.
● The annual program attendance increased by 13% over the last year.
● We offered 82 weekly programs up from 72 in 2008 which is a 14% increase.
● We held 83 special events and 29 bus trips for a total of 112 events.

We remain strong with the support of our Strategic Partners who help us financially as well as with in-kind support. We thank and acknowledge the City of Mississauga, Square One Shopping Centre, owned and managed by OMERS Realty Management Corporation through Oxford Properties Group, Mississauga Central Lions Club, Family Services of Peel and Peel Senior Link.

Our Government Grants were strong in 2009. We received funding from: Government of Canada: Service Canada; Ontario Government Senior's Info - A-Z Index: Grants: Mississauga Halton LHIN; Ministry of Health and Long Term Care - Elderly Persons Centre Grant; Ontario Trillium Foundation; City of Mississauga: Corporate Grant.

~ Pat Fyffe, President
~ Sue Hesjedahl, Executive Director


Human Resources:
Esther E. Williams, Vice President

We reviewed our Human Resource policies to comply with changes made to the Employment Standards Act. We believe it is imperative that we keep our policies up to date to ensure our staff receives all benefits due to them.

We have experienced some growth in 2009 which made it necessary to change Staff job titles to accommodate increased workload. As a result, it necessitated also a review of the Staff's job descriptions and salaries.

We are proud to report our Staff, in addition to being well qualified, has been with us long term, ranging from 5 to 16 years:

Staff MemberQualificationsLength of Employment
Susan HesjedahlB.A. Psychology; B.A. Gerontology16 years
Laura SurmanB.A. Theatre Arts;
Older Adult Fitness Certification
9 years
Karmela BudonB.S.W.; Cert. Volunteer Management;
Cert. Fitness Instructor
7 years
Anne Goldspink-NormanInterdepartmental Studies;
St. Catharines School of Business
5 years
Lina ZitaBachelor of Health Administration;
Diploma Marketing
5 years

Programs and Events:
Laura Surman - Program Coordinator

Special Events:

Our Special Events continued to provide entertaining musical, dancing and educational presentations. Beyond Ballroom was an elegant sell-out evening. Our Diwali saw 123 members and guests enjoy great food plus a fashion show and dance demonstration featuring volunteers from many different cultural backgrounds. "Our Greatest Hits", our Broadway style show featured a cast of over thirty people who had a wonderful time fulfilling their dreams and performing for their families and friends.

Fundraising:

In 2009, we took recycling to the next level and started two Swap events, where people donated good condition clothing, handbags, shoes and jewellery and "traded" for "new-to-them" clothing. We added the Spring Swap to our Jewellery Sale and brought in over $2,000 for the Centre! Our search for pennies continues as we strive to collect 1 million pennies.

Programming:

We added some wonderful programs in 2009: We added indoor Kurling and Urban Pole Walking, our Wii Bowling expanded to twice a week, our Computer Programs expanded to include a Computer Club and Digital Photography Courses, and we have added a DVD Lecture Series and Book Club to our educational courses. We added an Internet Café with computers donated and supported by eBOOT Canada.

Greening Our Centre:

Over the past two years, we have instituted many positive initiatives to make our Centre more environmentally friendly. We installed a commercial grade dishwasher in the cafeteria and have brought in china plates and mugs to eliminate the wastage of disposables. We started composting, and have battery recycling and safe medication disposal programs. Our Annual Gift Wrap Fundraiser went green in 2009 using recycled wrapping paper. Our Centre and Square One Shopping Centre are committed to continually improving our environmental footprint.


Administration and Facility:
Anne Goldspink-Norman - Administration Coordinator

Early in 2009, we renovated the Administration Area, creating a gorgeous new office, reflecting the professionalism of the administration team of volunteers, allowing us to improve our approach to customer service and provide prompt and efficient assistance on a daily basis.

Equally important in 2009, the implementation of our new Income Manager software, allowed us to track record numbers of members and view their information in new ways to improve how and when we communicate with them.

Membership numbers topped 1579, with our ethno-cultural partner groups growing along with membership. Two newest partner organizations, theGoan Cultural Group and ALCE Latin American Art and Healing Group brought more than 60 interested individuals to the Centre, joining about 260 very active people participating with the Chinese Golden Age Seniors, the Caribbean Senior Social Activities, the Silayan Filipino Volunteer Group, Multicultural Asian Seniors and the Elderly Vietnamese Seniors Association. While 470 new members enrolled in 2009 - 75 more than 2008, 1109 of our members renewed their membership seeking greater vitality, more fun and improved health.

In 2009, another very important facility improvement was the installation of video cameras to observe Centre activities 24/7. The safety and security of our membership is essential. We implemented the H1N1 strategic plan by adding more hand sanitizer units. Hand washing and sanitizing played a major role in our response to the flu pandemic, and the success of this campaign was evidenced by the increased use of soap and paper towels in the Centre in 2009.


Marketing and Community Development:
Lina Zita - Marketing and Community Development Coordinator

Walk-a-Thon: The annual Walk-a-Thon with 96 walkers made it the most successful in our history. The October 2009 event raised $20,500 for the Centre. Top individual pledge collectors: Cam Wooledge, Edna Michelin and Ivy Cole. Top Team Group: Square One Mall Walkers.

Senior's Information and Active Living Fair: In 2009, we expanded the Senior's Information and Active Living Fair to two days. At this free admission event, 500 participants had an even greater opportunity to meet with 64 exhibitors, attend health clinics, enjoy entertainment and refreshments, and listen to various speakers.

Marketing and Community Partnerships: Marketing for the Older Adult Centre continues to grow and our official website had over 7000 hits in 2009. Loyal and supportive organizations have assisted in sponsoring most of our special events in 2009. We have also assisted the Sheridan Elder Research Centre with their Smells Preferences Among Men and Women Age 60+ project and University of Waterloo with their Health Literacy in the Community project. In partnership with Family Services of Peel, we started to offer in 2009 free One-on-One Counselling appointments and a bi-weekly free support group. We also introduced a Telephone Reassurance Program in which free daily calls by caring volunteers offer security, reassurance and friendship to Mississauga seniors, alleviating the feeling of loneliness.


Volunteer Resources:
Karmela Buzdon - Volunteer Coordinator

On December 5, 2009, we launched our 5th Annual Gift-Wrapping Fundraiser in partnership with Square One Shopping Centre. Together with our Board of Directors, OAC Volunteers, members, sponsors, friends and students, we raised an outstanding $23,222. This fundraiser involved 182 volunteers and 1881 hours of volunteer service.

One of our volunteer focuses in 2009 was Community Outreach. We provided an opportunity for our "youth" to reach out and make a difference in assisting us with various projects while allowing them to develop needed skills / nurture professional ethics / responsibilities / "give-back" to the community in which we live / and complete their community service requirements.


2009 Partners

City of Mississauga
Square One Shopping Centre
Mississauga Central Lions Club
Family Services of Peel
Peel Senior Link


2009 Government Funders

Government of Canada:
Service Canada

Ontario Government:
Mississauga Halton LHIN
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
Elderly Persons Centre Grant
Ontario Trillium Foundation

City of Mississauga


Individual Donors 2009

Anonymous Mrs. Farida Alexander Mrs. Thelma Bauman
Ms. Anna Chacko Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dods Mrs. Pat Fyffe
Ms. Dulcie Grant Mrs. Sue Hesjedahl Mrs. Doreen Howell
Ms Kathleen Lee Mrs. Pearl Lee Mrs. Pui Kwan Li
Mrs. Mathilda Lo Mr. and Mrs. Sann Lwin Mrs. Edna Michelin
Ms. Blanche Monteiro Ms. Betty Mortimer Mrs. Hazel Salman
Mr. Niles Shaw Mrs. Vernie Persaud Ms. Foutna Thakib
Mr. George Toyota
(Memorial Donation)
Mrs. Sue Toyota Mrs. Faye Van Horne
Ms. Esther Williams Mr. and Mrs. John Wooledge  

Sponsor Organizations 2009

3C's Seniors Home Care Services Amica at City Centre
Amica at Erin Mills Beechwood Place & Court
Bough Beeches Place Retirement Centennial Park Place
Century 21 Best Sellers Chartwell Classic Robert Speck
Constitution Place Copper County Foods
Elderly Vietnamese Association of Mississauga Erin Mills Lodge Retirement Residence
Essentially You Expo Cruises and Tours
Heritage Glen Community for Seniors King Gardens Retirement Residence
Mississauga Credit Valley Lions Club Older Adult Centres' Association of Ontario
Ontario Seniors' Secretariat reBOOT Canada
Regency Retirement Residence Robert Stephens Consulting
Sunrise of Erin Mills Sunrise of Mississauga
VIVA Retirement Living