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Diana Diaz Brings Life to Willson House

1/21/2015

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Life Enrichment DirectorDiane Diaz, Life Enrichment Director at Willson House
On any given day at Willson House, there are four or five activities available for the residents. It may be the fitness hour with Diana leading an exercise program. At 10:00 am three days a week there is a visit from the children at the Child Development Center where the shared activity with the seniors may be a sing-along, a balloon toss, or storytelling.  Diana is always busy giving manicures, playing card games, doing fun trivia or puzzles to help retain memory, taking a walk to watch the squirrels scurry about in the beautiful backyard, or making fresh popcorn for the residents to enjoy with a movie.
 
Providing an active, homelike atmosphere for our residents is a focus at Willson House. This is our residents’ home and they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve, yet they remain as independent as they choose to be.  Diana is ready to step in and provide assistance, though, if needed.

Diana began working at Willson House in 2012 as a med aide and member of the care staff where she worked daily to provide assistance to residents for all their activities of daily living. These include helping them get up and ready for the day, get to meals and activities, and manage their medication. She became the Life Enrichment Director in 2014. Diana and her husband, Alex, along with their son Benjamin and new puppy, Tito, are looking forward to moving into a new apartment at the end of this month. Her goal is to eventually buy a house.

With her constant smile and outgoing personality she is the perfect person to bring happiness and joy to the lives of our residents. When asked why she likes working at Willson House she said, “I love making my residents happy and being a part of their lives.  I love them and I really love my job!”


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Meet Helen Shafran, Development Director

1/6/2015

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Helen Shafran
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.). The dedicated donors, Board members, staff and volunteers of United Methodist Retirement Center have a ready answer as they devote resources, energy and time to the tender and loving care of some of Salem’s most vulnerable citizens— the residents of Willson House and Jason Lee Manor and the little children of Willson House Child Development Center. I am honored and excited to join this amazing intergenerational community that was founded so long ago and continues to this day as a caring home and extension of family.



I’ve lived in Salem for five years now and have had the pleasure to visit UMRC, but I—like many other Salem residents—was not fully aware of all this remarkable community has to offer not only its residents and students, but also the public. My passions have always revolved around building community. Previous professional engagements have been as the donor and community relations and events person for a number of non-profits in California, Oregon, Michigan, and Virginia, including the Oregon Bach Festival, the Caltech Alumni Association, the Boys and Girls Club, Albion College, two land trusts, and a community foundation.

In my personal life, I’ve done similar work for my alma mater and for the American Diabetes Association. I have also been a very active participant/resident of two cohousing communities,
 and have cherished lifelong ties with retirement communities and the elderly. It is a joy to help
 organizations and their supporters thrive and connect with one another, and to witness how 
meaningful these experiences are to participants of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities; it has 
been proven to me countless times that absolutely everyone can help make a difference and
 gain something for themselves in the process!



Some might know me from other involvements: I am the former outreach and events person for LifeSource Natural Foods, I’m in my sixth season as a soprano in the Willamette Master Chorus, I’m a Leslie Middle School and Candalaria Elementary School parent, and I participate in local and regional distance running events annually with the Willamette Valley Road Runners, the Oregon Road Runners Club, and others (looking forward to my 12th marathon in March)... and I help out my darling mom (aged 77), in West Salem, when she lets me (which isn’t often enough for my taste!). I grew up in Claremont, California and got my degree at Occidental College in Los Angeles, and am happy that my two children, my mother and I now call Salem home.



Please don’t hesitate to stop by for a visit, call me at (503) 585-6511, or email me.  Let’s put our hearts and minds together on how we can bring gifts 
of time, effort, talent, dollars, connections and other resources to the UMRC and its residents, students, and families.

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Willson House - A Residential Care Community
1625 Center Street NE, Salem, Oregon  97301
Phone: 503-585-6511 - E-mail: info@WillsonHouse.org