Willson House is making it extremely easy for you to get a gift for a loved one this holiday season! We assembled 9 baskets in a variety of themes including “A Taste of Italy”, “Girl Power”, “Warm Up for the Holidays”, “Time for Christmas Tea”, “Light up the Holidays with Joy”, “Home for the Holidays”, “Café Bar”, and “Family Game Night”.  There is also a huge, wicker Christmas basket filled with dozens of holiday foods and drinks that will be perfect as a gift or to use for your own holiday parties.

For one of these beautiful baskets to possibly be yours, simply buy raffle tickets at the price of $1.00 each or 13 for $10.00 and 26 for $20.00.  You decide which basket you want to win and your raffle ticket will go in to an envelope for that basket. Winners will be drawn on December 8th at the Christmas party at Willson House.

All proceeds from the Christmas raffle baskets will go to providing activity supplies for the intergenerational program at Willson House.  Each day children from Willson House Child Development Center come up for an activity at Willson House Assisted Living and Jason Lee Manor.  Whether they are singing songs, painting pictures, or telling stories the thing that is never lacking is laughter.

Intergenerational programs are so important to children as well as the seniors.  One study reported in Childhood Education showed that children in intergenerational programs achieved higher personal and social development and reading scores than children in regular programs. 

At the same time, seniors benefit too. They receive the satisfaction of giving back, mentoring and sharing special gifts with the younger generation. According to Portland State University's Gerontology Department, seniors involved in inter-generational programs had better self-image, fewer sick days, and felt better about their own familial relationships.

Help generations continue to learn and grow together at Willson House.  Buy raffle tickets at the reception desk at Willson House where all baskets are on display.  Call 503.585.6511 for more information. 

Chances are that when President Ronald Reagan designated November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in 1983, he had no idea that in 10 more years he would be one of those living with the disease. When he made that proclamation there were fewer than 2 million Americans with Alzheimer’s; today the number of people with the disease has soared to nearly 5.4 million with nearly 80,000 million living in Oregon. 

As we enjoy the beautiful fall season with leaves changing into brilliant reds, yellows and oranges we also must remember those at-home caregivers who are struggling to care for their loved one with Alzheimer’s or other dementia.  It’s a difficult journey, to be sure, and one that most people are not prepared for.  They need our help!

The purpose of National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month is to let the general public know more about the disease and how to help their families and friends who are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s.  What can you do to help or support a family member or friend? You can suggest that they attend a support group.  Willson House facilitates 6 groups in Marion and Clackamas counties along with the help of Christy at Golden Life Solutions.  Get more information here on the caregiver support groups. 

You can also offer to help your friends or family members but you must first of all be very specific.  Instead of saying “call me if you need anything” you might say:

•    "I'm going to the grocery store. What can I pick up for you?"
•    "I've got a couple of hours free tomorrow afternoon. May I sit in for you while you run a few errands or take some time for yourself?"
•    "I doubled my meatloaf recipe so that I could share it with you. I brought enough to last you for several meals."
•    "Do you need some laundry done? I can pick it up today and bring it back clean tomorrow."
•    "Does your yard need to be mowed? I'd be happy to take care of it this weekend."

Sometimes sending a card or making a phone call to check in on a caregiver means a lot. Emails and text messages work, too — but often personal visits are even better. Contact with the outside world can help lift a caregiver's spirits. It might seem like a small gesture to offer a few hours of your time but to that overwhelmed caregiver it will mean the world to them.

Willson House and Jason Lee Manor have many veterans living with us who sacrificed so much to keep our country safe.  We all have a chance to say thank you and happy holidays to veterans and service men and women stationed throughout the U.S. and abroad by participating in “Holiday Mail for Heros.”  We’ve set a goal to collect 200 cards.  If you’d like to help us reach that goal bring signed cards to the reception desk at Willson House by noon on Friday, December 6th.

As they have done in the past, for the 2013 holiday season the Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are sponsoring a "Holiday Mail for Heroes" program to distribute holiday cards to service members, a program that encompasses not just troops who are recovering in military hospitals but also service members stationed throughout the U.S. and abroad, as well as veterans and their families.

Well-wishers who would like to send Christmas (and other seasonal) cards to U.S. service members should address those cards to:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P O Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD  20791-5456

All cards must be postmarked no later than Friday, December 6, 2013 in order to ensure sufficient time for sorting and distribution before the holidays.



The Red Cross provides these additional guidelines for sending cards to service members:

    •    Ensure that all cards are signed
    •    Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.”  Cards addressed to specific individuals cannot be delivered through this program.
    •    Only cards are being accepted.  Do not send letters.
    •    Do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
    •    Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
    •    Please refrain from choosing cards with glitter or loose glitter as it can aggravate health issues of ill and injured warriors.
    •    If you are mailing a large quantity of cards, please bundle them and place them in large mailing envelopes or flat rate postal shipping boxes.  Each card does not need its own envelope, as envelopes will be removed from all cards before distribution.
    •    Please note that the “Holiday Mail for Heroes” program is for the delivery of holiday cards only.  Those wishing to donate items such as phone cards or military comfort kits should go to the Help our Troops section of the Red Cross online catalog.

Thank you for joining us to do a small thing to honor the men and women who have bravely served our country and those who continue to do so.  For any questions, please feel free to call Mary Reitan at 503.502.4509.  

You’ll also be amazed at the holiday gifts and crafts that you’ll find at the Annual Craft Fair to be held at Jason Lee Manor located at 1625 Center St. NE in Salem. You can start your Christmas shopping AND help us earn money for our activity programs at Jason Lee and Willson House. Join us on November 15th and 16th from 10-4PM.

There is still room if you’d like to have a table at the craft fair to sell your holiday crafts. Call Kathy Derby-Ray at 503.585.6511 to reserve your table.  

Did you know that we have a new Brain Health page on our website?  Last week we posted a Brain Training Sampler with a variety of exercises that we use in our 7-week classes.  This week we posted the answers so you can check to see if you got them all correct. Check the Brain Health page often to see recipes, brain health tips, and brain exercises.  We want you to have a healthy brain for as long as you need it!