Falling leaves, fading flowers and the last produce in the garden seem hurried now with the first dusting of snow in the mountains and frost on the fields. At TAPS we gather in our warm building, happy for the company, activities and the generosity of our community.
We are grateful to our donors for bags of chard, boxes of tomatoes, plums, potatoes, apples and a 150 pound pumpkin! We have made soup, frozen bags of produce for the coming year and the pumpkin...well, we’ll find out soon as ideas fly and “The Yellow Whatcha’s” future is yet to be determined.
TAPS participated in Seniors Day activities at the CDCRC on Sept 29th. Thanks to Andrea Peet for organizing this annual event. TAPS ran the afternoon bingo, thanks to volunteer Colleen Kennard for her personal gathering and donation of prizes and to Pharmasave and Shoppers Drug Mart for the gift certificates for the bingo.
Thomas Decker said, “Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together”. During a recent Living Well workshop at TAPS we explored a few aspects of sleep and its importance. We watched a TED talk on the latest research on the value of sleep for overall health. (Russell Foster and Jeff Lliff are two online examples.) The brain plays a major role in the health of our immune systems, but only during sleep. Other positively affected areas include stress levels, heart health, memory, blood sugar regulation, sense of well-being and more. Sleep is an activity that we almost take for granted. But our brains don’t sleep. As research continues to discover more functions, it appears our sleeping brain acts through cleansing, restructuring, restoration, consolidation, rebuilding and more. By exploring this topic together, we discovered similar concerns, shared strategies and recognized the importance of educating ourselves to value ‘getting enough sleep’. The brain uses one quarter of our body’s energy yet accounts for only two percent of our body mass. One fifth of our circulating blood goes to the brain on sleeping. Imagine, if you live to be 90 years old, you would likely have slept 32 years of your life. Yet how often do we consider the vital role that sleep must play.
The first week in November is the start date of our next United Way funded Living Well Program with the theme ‘Emotional Health’. Contact TAPS if you and/or a family member are interested in participating. There will be six weeks of programming. Monday afternoons will be yoga and Thursday afternoons will be guest speakers. There is no charge although there is a lunch fee of $6.
Thinking about volunteering? TAPS is holding its annual Volunteer Training Day on October 24th, from 10AM-2:30 PM at the TAPS centre. This is for our regular volunteers and anyone considering volunteering with us. You will have an opportunity to review the role of volunteers at TAPS, learn about various aspects of the program and our volunteer policies and procedures. There will be time for questions and discussion and a session on Compassionate Communication. This is a no charge event. Lunch and refreshments will be served. Pre-registration is requested. If you’ve ever considered contributing your skills and time to TAPS, this is a good time to come meet us.
For more information , phone 250-428-7939 . TAPS is one of many programs provided by Valley Community Services www.valley.services