On Saturday, December 7th the Community Center hosted our annual fundraiser for the Meals on Wheels program. The “Breakfast with Santa” event was another great success! Over 350 people enjoyed a full course breakfast, made Holiday cards, shopped the Holiday Bazaar, and had photos with Santa. We appreciate the multiple volunteers who along with staff make this event happen. We also appreciate the donations from numerous local businesses for raffle prizes, food donation from Timberline Meats, and cash donations from the Golden Age Club, Clackamas County Bank, Sandy Decor, and Lady Bug Heaven. We were able to raise $2000 for the meals on wheels program. Thank you to everyone who attended.
Senior Services
The holidays can be very difficult for many who live in isolation, are without family, and who have suffered many challenges and great loss. The Older Adult Loneliness Project is a workshop about the impacts of loneliness and learning to “be the connection” for someone who is feeling lonely. A representative from the Older Adult Behavioral Health led this beneficial workshop at the Community center this month.
The senior’s collected gifts for the annual Toys for Tots drive this year and delivered their donations to Les Schwab. In addition, the senior’s really enjoyed seeing the Christmas Ships parade on trips to the Spaghetti Factory and Jantzen Beach Grill. There was plenty of viewing of Christmas lights on trips to the Christmas Fantasy Trail at Wenzel Farms, Festival of Lights at the International Raceway, and Pittock Mansion.
Transporation continues to see an increase in daily pickups, drop-offs, and the shopping shuttle. The meals on wheels delivery continue to grow with four routes M-W & F and serving over 90 meals on those days. We are always in need of additional volunteers to help deliver these meals.
Recreation
The Winter/Spring Community and Recreation Guide is out and online. The electronic version of the guide continues to save a significant amount of money. It is launched online and sent to email addresses in Sportsman and Constant Contact Databases. It is also available on the cities website and prominently posted on Facebook. Over the last few years, we have increased the use of social media both posting and creating events. We also use the electronic reader board, flyers, and occasionally Peachjar to distribute flyers to schools within the Oregon Trail School District.
19 teams of 3rd-6th graders are in the midst of the Mountain Storm Youth Basketball season. Games begin in January and practices have been underway in Oregon Trail School District gyms. Thank you to OTSD for working closely with local programs to make this possible.
A brand new program featuring Acting Workshops beginning in January was sold out the first Saturday following the launch of the guide. Thanks to Carol Cohen for her help in sharing the program with her vast social media network. Acting for Kids and Teens is a Portland-based program that has connected with many Sandy families who travel to Portland to take the classes. The owner of Acting for Kids and Teens has a home on the mountain and has been interested in building a business in Sandy. We are excited to be able to offer this unique collection of classes locally while assisting small businesses.
Summer programs are in development and two new specialty summer camps are in the works. Camp Namanu will be back and together we have created a day camp option that serves the local community and is especially useful for working parents. Also in the works is a camp offering specialty outdoor programs not currently available in Sandy.
Pickleball continues to be a growing interest in Sandy. A meeting with OTSD staff generated ideas and ways to collaborate. The group is looking into using the old tennis courts to convert into possibly 4 pickleball courts. An estimate of costs and possible fundraising were also discussed. The school district can look at possible grant options and then be able to offer pickleball to the students. Discussion is continuing with the hope to get something started as early as this summer.
Special Events
Planning has started for a Recreation Scholarship fundraiser. The Spaghetti Feed and Bingo will take place on Feb 21st from 5:30p-8:30pm at the Community Center. Confirmation from Gresham Olive Garden is they will be donating 10 pounds of spaghetti, sauce, breadsticks, and salad for this event. We are also working with local businesses to have bingo prizes.
Parks
The Parks Master plan process is going. Staff met with the project team from Environmental Science Associates and Project Manager, Nancy Enabnit for the kick-off meeting on Dec. 3rd. The First Technical Advisory Committee meeting on the same evening.
The Stakeholder meetings are set for Jan. 28th & 30th. The second TAC meeting is scheduled for Jan. 29th.