IBCA Volunteer Information Sessions

Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance is holding two Volunteer Coffeehouses for anyone to learn about new and exciting volunteer opportunities with our organization. Please join us on Tuesday morning, June 12th 8-10 AM or Thursday evening, June 28th 7-9 PM for coffee and pastries. Contact Sharon Kaplan at 277-0960 or sharon@ibca.net for more info. The mission of IBCA is to create and sustain a community of support for people living with and affected by breast and gynecological cancers in Tompkins and surrounding areas.

Mayor's Forum 6/11/07

Monday, June 11, 2007 Pastor Bruce Davenport and Deborah Davenport, of New Orleans’ Seventh Ward’s Saint John #5 Faith Church will speak at a Mayor's Forum from 6:00 to ­ 8:00 PM in the Common Council room, 3rd Floor, City Hall.

The focus of the Mayor's Forum is to generate interest in an initiative to create a Sister City/Sister Ward relationship between Ithaca and the 7th Ward of New Orleans. The 7th Ward is an area that used to be demographically about the same size as Ithaca, and was one of the hardest hit sections of the city. They are desperately struggling to recover and need more assistance than what the official relief organizations are currently offering. Residents are being told that their community will be rebuilt in 15 - 20 years! The displaced residents of the 7th Ward cannot afford to wait that long. They are turning to Ithaca, where the Davenports have many friends and supporters, to generate
greater momentum for their rebuilding efforts. This event is sponsored by the City of Ithaca, Love Knows No Bounds, GIAC, and the Multicultural Resource Center.

This event occurs in conjunction with work spearheaded by Love Knows No Bounds (LKNB); a local action group which has been sending donations, work teams, and political support to the 7th Ward since December 2006. Two teams of LKNB volunteers have recently returned from rebuilding work in the 7th Ward and will share stories and photos from their trips at the Mayor's Forum. In addition, youth from the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) will speak about the amazing volunteer work they have been doing locally on behalf of the 7th Ward. This is an opportunity for Ithaca to utilize our compassion and vast resources to model a new approach to disaster relief for the rest of the nation. Our efforts as a Sister City can inspire other cities around the nation to partner with other areas of the Gulf Coast and help bring this devastated region back to life.

Pastor Davenport has often said, "A neighbor is anyone who lives outside of your body." Please come to the Mayor's Forum on June 11th and learn how you can join in the efforts to make an enormous impact for our neighbors in the 7th Ward.

Enhance Fitness Classes!

This low-cost, evidence-based exercise program helps older adults at all levels of fitness become more active, energized, and empowered to sustain independent lives. EnhanceFitness focuses on stretching, flexibility, balance, low impact aerobics, and strength training exercises.

When you join an EnhanceFitness program, you won't need any special or expensive equipment. Our certified instructors have undergone special training in fitness for older adults will lead you through an hour of dynamic exercises at a pace that's right for you.

The program is proven to:

• Increase your strength. People who follow the program grow stronger, improve their balance, and become more limber.
• Boost your activity levels. Even the unfit quickly find themselves able to do the things they want to do safely and independently.
• Elevate your mood. Research shows that exercise can help prevent depression, and EnhanceFitness participants say they feel better physically and emotionally.

Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays

8:30 - 9:30 AM Lifelong, 119 West Court Street, Ithaca, NY

10:15 - 11:15 AM Enfield Community Center, 168 Enfield Main Rd, Enfield, NY

1:00 - 2:00 PM Juniper Manor 1, 24 Elm Street, Trumansburg, NY

2:00 - 3:00 PM McGraw House, 221 South Geneva Street, Ithaca, NY

For information contact Lifelong:

(607) 273-1511

Volunteer to Protect the Environment

Looking for a way to protect the environment while having a good
time with your friends?

Volunteer with the Ithaca Festival's NEW Waste Management Crew.

Did you know that 51% of waste generated at a festival consists of food
scraps?! This year, the Ithaca Festival is working to reduce the amount of
landfill-bound waste generated over Festival weekend by offering a
commercial
composting service in addition to recycling. BUT, we need YOUR HelP.

Volunteer at the Ithaca Festival during any of these 3 hour shifts!

Friday June 1: 11:30-2:30, 2:30-5:30, or 5:30-8:00
Saturday June 2: 11:30-2:30, 2:30-5:30, or 5:30-8:00
Sunday June 3: 11:30-2:30, 2:30-5:30, or 5:30-8:00

Volunteers will help run waste reduction stations, answer questions Festival
goers may have about where to put their trash, and help transport bagged
materials to a central location. All volunteers are encouraged to sign-up
for multiple shifts, though this is not required. Volunteers who
work 6 or more hours over the weekend are entitled to free food during their
shifts. Can't work a full shift, or can only make it between shifts? Contact
us to see how you can help!

** All volunteers will receive a free button (and all 62 discounts that come with it) and a
special edition Festival t-shirt.

For more information, or to sign-up, contact Kat at: 273-3646

Lifelong is seeking HIICAP Volunteers

Would you like to become a HIICAP volunteer for Tompkins County?

If the answer is yes, you’re in luck!
The next formal training for HIICAP volunteers will take place right here in Ithaca
at Lifelong, 119 West Court Street
Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Now, you may be asking yourself:

1. What is HIICAP?
HIICAP is the New York State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and is coordinated through the New York State Office for the Aging.

2. What do HIICAP volunteer counselors do?
They talk with individuals and small groups of retirees, help out at health fairs, and enrollment events, and—at all times—advocate on behalf of others who need assistance navigating our healthcare system.

3. What will HIICAP volunteer counselors become trained and certified to do?
HIICAP counselors will provide assistance with Medicare coverage and claims, Medigap policies, prescription drug coverage and enrollment (Part D), Medicaid and Medicare benefits, Medicare Savings Plans, and EPIC (the New York State Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage program)

If you would like to be included in this free HIICAP training session or if you would like more details about HIICAP, please contact Sarah Jane Blake at Lifelong, 273-1511.

Women's Over 50 Social Group Meeting 5/22

An "Over 50" Social Group is forming at Martin-Lyon Lesbian Support Services. The first organizational meeting meets on Tuesday, May 22nd at 7pm in the Martin-Lyon LSS meeting space, Women's Community Building, 100 West Seneca Street, Ithaca.

The meeting is open to lesbian, bisexual and questionning women over 50.

For more information, contact Dolores at ddewbury@martin-lyonlss.org or info@martin-lyonlss.org.

Phone: (607) 330-2753.

Free and open to the public.

Senior Day at Friends of the Library Sale 5/16

Senior citizens* and anyone with mobility problems are invited to shop at the Friends of the Library Book Sale on a special day when the sale is closed to the public.

Wednesday, May 16^th 10am – 2pm

Books in the main room will cost between 10 cents and 50 cents each, plus… you may select one of those books for free. Collectors’ Corner will be open too; books in that room are individually priced. Of course you may shop at the book sale any other days that we are open.

(* age 60 or over)

Friends of the Library

509 Esty Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Phone: 272-2223

www.booksale.org