President’s Message

Campbell Area AARP Chapter Meetings

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Campbell Area Chapter 5151 meets at the Campbell Community Center on the third Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in Room Q80. Don’t sit at home with little to do! Come join this active group. Make new friends. Expand your horizons. Meetings are open to residents of all communities, but membership in the National AARP is required for Chapter membership, which provides, for an annual fee, a mailed black-and-white local newsletter or an emailed color version.

Members often share common interests. Monthly general meetings provide a forum to keep people informed about various local, state, and federal issues, such as legal news, health, identity theft, personal safety, utility regulations, musical programs, magicians, dance and drama groups, and much more.

Members are encouraged to volunteer in the local area to help fulfill the National AARP, “To serve, not be served.” Chapter 5151 has provided commendable volunteer service to many organizations, even throughout the pandemic of 2020-2022.

Come visit us at our next meeting on the third Tuesday of the month and bring a friend.

President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

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Welcome to February!  Happy Valentines’ Day and Happy Lunar New Year!  This month is packed with all kinds of celebrations and commemorations.  It is Black History Month, Women’s Heart Health Month, The Olympics are starting, and there is also Presidents’ Day!

Unfortunately, it does not represent a return to in-person meetings month.  It has been determined that many of our members are nervous about returning to in-person meetings, so for February we will still be on ZOOM.  We are allowed to have up to 50 people at a meeting in-person, but that will have to wait until April.

In March, we will have our annual luncheon for members and guests.  Again, we can have up to 50 people.  The venue will be Casa Lupe at 2165 Winchester in Campbell.  Enter the parking lot from Cherry.  The date is March 15th and the time is 11:30 a.m.  It will be in a private room and Buffet Style.  The menu will consist of cheese or chicken enchiladas, beef burritos, rice and beans and sauteed seasonal vegetables.  Coffee, tea, water or a soft drink is included as well as tax and tip. Cost is $23.25 per person.  Please send checks in advance to Sharon Levine, Treasurer, at 4622 Calle De Farrar, San Jose, Ca. 95118-1914.  Checks should be made out to Chapter 5151 AARP and write “luncheon” in the memo line.  NO MONEY WILL BE COLLECTED AT THE DOOR.  The deadline for payment is March 8th.

I have been on several COVID-19 state and national calls and the advice is as follows:  1. Get your Vaccinations.  2. Wear your masks.  3. Get out and LIVE YOUR LIFE!  We need to start doing this again! This “surge” is supposed to disappear by mid- February.  In the meantime, wear a mask to the Community Center in April until further notice.

Depression and loneliness are taking lives as well as the virus.  The Suicide Hotline number is 855-278-4204.

Hope to see you in March if not on-line in February.

President’s Message…Margaret Schieck

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HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!  I hope you all enjoyed the holiday break.  We start a new year with new challenges and new opportunities!

Our General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 18, in Room Q80 at the Campbell Community Center.  Social time is at 9:15 a.m. with the program scheduled for 10:00.  Meetings are limited to 50 participants, so please sign up in advance prior to January 17, by emailing Joy Walsh or calling her.  We MUST enforce the 50-person limit. If you do not sign up in advance, you may not be able to attend. Officers and Committee Chairs are automatically on the sign-up sheet.  Thank you, Joy for doing this.

Masks are required to enter the Community Center buildings, regardless of vaccination status.

The information regarding in-person meetings is contingent upon COVID guidelines staying as currently defined; we may have to switch to ZOOM at the last minute.

Our Chapter has been operating at a deficit for several years, mostly due to printing and mailing costs, and we find it necessary to raise membership dues for 2022.  Effective March 1, 2022, dues for members receiving the Dispatch via email will be $15.00 and for those receiving it via snail mail dues will be $20.00. These changes represent a $1.00 increase or a $3.00 increase, respectively, for a yearly membership.

On a brighter note, the social committee has chosen a venue for our annual luncheon on March 15, 2022. We will be meeting at Casa Lupe Restaurant in Campbell on Winchester at Cherry at 11:30. The luncheon will be a buffet in a private room, with seating for 50 people with plenty of space. More details to follow at the January meeting.

Many thanks to Sue Yeager for stepping up to manage the Book Exchange table.  There will be no post- meeting lunch in January as no one has volunteered to be lunch coordinator.  For events to take place, we must have volunteers.

See you on January 18!

President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

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Happy Holidays to all whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or any of the other 26 religious or cultural holidays that occur between November 25th and January 6th.  Just enjoy the time and company.

At this point in time, we are looking forward to resuming in-person meetings in room Q 80 at the Campbell Community Center, # 1 West Campbell Avenue, on January 18th, 2022.  No coffee can be served as of this date.  Anyone entering the Community Center must wear a mask whether vaccinated or not.  We will update any changes to this information as we receive them.  Since our meetings must currently be limited to no more than 50 people, please sign up to attend prior to the meeting by calling Joy Walsh, Telephone Chair, or e-mailing her at joywalsh1@comcast.net.  Her phone number is in this Dispatch.  Your reservation should be made prior to January 17th, 2022.  If you do not sign up, you may not be able to attend, depending on numbers.

The Board will be discussing a slight increase in yearly dues at its next meeting.  The information will be in the next Dispatch as well as on our website.  As you know, we are spending more than we are taking in.  The cost of printing and postage has been rising for over 4 years and we can no longer subsidize the cost of sending the Dispatch.  If you can possibly receive your Dispatch via e-mail, please consider making that change on your renewal information.  I will also no longer bring copies of the Agenda to the General Meeting except for a few copies for new members.  We have been paying to print copies of the Agenda and then throwing them out after the meeting, which is a waste.  If you wish to have an Agenda in front of you at the meeting, please print and bring your own.

Our Annual Luncheon has been moved to March 15th.  More details will follow in the January Dispatch and at the General Meeting regarding place, menu, and cost.  Payment will be collected at the January and February meetings.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone in person in January.

President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

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November is full of special days and the beginning of the Holiday Season.  In some areas, November 2 is Election Day.  The celebration of Diwali is on November 4.  Veterans’ Day is November 11, followed by Thanksgiving on November 25 and the first day of Hanukkah on November 28.  It’s a month of various commemorations and celebrations.  In the midst of it all, don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour on Sunday, November 7.

We are now authorized to begin in-person meetings for up to 50 people.  However, since our programs for November and December were set up for ZOOM meetings, we will not return to the Community Center until January.  I have spoken to Tina about this, and we will be in touch with her a few weeks before our meeting to discuss protocol for refreshments at that time.  Masks are currently required for anyone entering the Community Center.  If all goes as expected, our meeting will be on January 18 in the Center.  We will have to set up a sign-in system to make sure we don’t go over 50 attendees.

Paddy Wray and her committee are working on getting a luncheon organized.  At this point in time, it will not be in January as the closing of Mama Mia has complicated matters.  We will have more about that in a later Dispatch.

As promised, I attended the Home Fit video AARP presentation on October 21 and picked up some useful information on aging in place for those of us who want to stay in our own homes.  One point was to always have professional handymen install grab bars in bathrooms; do not depend on clips or suction cups.  Also, have a handrail at every entrance.  For useful and relatively easy and affordable tips, consult aarp.org/homefit.  You can also request a free Home Fit guide. We will see you on ZOOM on November 16.

President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

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Welcome to Fall, everyone.  There is a lot happening in the month of October.  The Campbell Octoberfest will be on October 16th and 17th in downtown Campbell.  Even if you are not a beer drinker, it’s lots of fun to be downtown and outdoors.  October 11th is both Indigenous People’s Day and Columbus Day with celebrations to match and, of course, Halloween is on the 31st. If you choose to come in costume to our general meeting, even if virtual, feel free to do so.

We still do not know when National AARP will give an okay for in-person group meetings.  I just keep getting told “until further notice” no meetings of more than five people indoors.  I will let you know as soon as I know.  I have asked for exemption because we are in a city that is over 90% vaccinated, and a county that is over 80% vaccinated, but cannot get an approval from National.  I’ll keep trying.

As promised, I did attend the meeting on Heat Stroke, Climate Change, and Seniors.  The greatest danger to older adults is not when we would think, but in the winter.  More seniors die of heat stroke when there is an unexpected heat surge in the winter because our bodies have not had a chance to acclimate to a warming up.  This used to be more common in Southern California, but with climate change the phenomenon is moving north as well.  Be aware that warming weather in January or February means drink more water and stay cool.

President’s Message…Margaret Schieck

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Our previous hopes of returning to in-person meetings in October have been dashed by the Delta Variant of COVID-19.  For the foreseeable future, we will continue to meet via ZOOM.  If you are uncomfortable using ZOOM, please consider joining one of National AARP’s volunteer-led training sessions.  To get more information and register go to:  http://bit.ly/Trainings4AARPVols.

At this point in time, we are still planning to have our annual luncheon in January.  Please give some thought to contributing items for door prizes for this event.

It has been suggested that a future column in the Campbell Press can be comprised of comments from members as to why they like attending AARP meetings, even via ZOOM.  If members will please send their positive comments to me at K1141@sbcglobal.net, I will compile the column.

Hope you enjoyed the three-day Labor Day weekend.

President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

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Happy birthday to the United States Coast Guard (founded 1790).  That’s about the most significant event that occurred in the “Dog Days” of August.

At this time, we believe we will be able to begin in-person meetings in Room Q 80 of the Campbell Community Center on September 21st.  As we know, all information regarding COVID-19 is subject to change.  As of now, all participants will be required to wear a mask, both those who have been vaccinated and those who have not, at all indoor meetings.  We are unsure as to whether or not we can have coffee yet.  I expect to have more information from the Adult Center as we approach the date.

Many, many thanks to the telephone committee and to our ZOOM participants and officers who have held our chapter together during these past difficult 18 months!

I am including important information regarding a Virtual Lobbying Day on Aug. 18th for the P.R.O.T.E.C.T. bill for nursing home reform.  Please read the information in the box below and register for training if you want to get involved.

President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

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Happy Independence Day to all.  I hope you had a safe and sane celebration of the U.S.A.’s 245th birthday!

Good news:  As of September, and barring any surges of COVID, we are back in the Campbell Community Center for our General Meetings.  Therefore, assuming things continue to progress at the current pace, we will meet in Room Q80 on September 21st with a coffee time from 9:15 to 10:00 a.m. and the meeting from 10:00 a.m. until 11:30a.m.  At the present time, we do not have a permanent lunch coordinator, so unless some member volunteers to take that on, we will not have plans for an after-meeting lunch.

As of July 1st, Chapter 5151 of AARP (Campbell Area) will have a monthly column in the new Campbell Press newspaper.  I have written the first article, and we have volunteers for August and September.  Please let me know if you have ideas and/or are willing to write a 200- to 250-word column for the paper.  Get in touch with me for details.

See you on Zoom for July and August and in Q80 for September!

President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

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Here we are six months into 2021 with maybe some light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.

It looks as though we will be meeting on ZOOM for at least another four to five months as the Campbell Community Center does not expect to open for large groups before October.

In the meantime, Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers and grandfathers and all who are fulfilling a “father figure” role.  This is your month.

For those of you who are uncomfortable using Social Media, the Office of Volunteer Engagement has affiliated with Senior Planet for free technology sessions called Older Adults Technology Services (OATS).  You are invited to join Facebook Fridays for training.  Tech Tuesdays are also available for novice users and for training on hosting meetings.  Have fun!  For more information, contact Sharon Stewart at  sbinns@aarp.org.