April 11, 2024 Newsletter
So much happening in April and May.
Keep an eye on the list on the Mailroom bulletin boards and on the posters in the IPTRA glass cases in the mail room.
First the weekly activities, they are currently all ongoing:
Mondays @ 10am: MINDFUL MEDITATION (195 Social Room)
Tuesdays @ 2pm: EUCHRE (195 Social Room)
Wednesdays @ 3pm: WORKOUT WEDNESDAYS (195 Social Room)
In the amazing news department, Ottawa West Community Services has come up with more funding for us to continue to have our Workout Wednesdays beyond May 1. Watch for details.
Tuesdays @ 2pm: EUCHRE (195 Social Room)
Wednesdays @ 3pm: WORKOUT WEDNESDAYS (195 Social Room)
In the amazing news department, Ottawa West Community Services has come up with more funding for us to continue to have our Workout Wednesdays beyond May 1. Watch for details.
Events:
Saturday 13th @ 3pm: BARNYARD RACES (195 Social Room) If you haven't been before, drop by to at least witness adults playing. If I wrote out in words what it is, it sounds silly, but what is missing from a description is that this is just good old fashioned childlike fun. Unlike childlike fun, this is made more fun if you bring some quarters to place bets on the races. Hint: I may be wrong but Yellow Cow is not a good bet.
Saturday 13th @ 5pm: HORS D’OEUVRES POT LUCK (195 Social Room) If you prefer more 'adult' socializing, join us for the hors d'oeuvres potluck supper. If we all bring a plate of appetizers, there will be enough to make a meal. The key is to bring something you can eat from a napkin. BYOB as well, although water is available.
MEMBERSHIP DRIVE April 15 - 17 in the lobby:
If your membership is up for renewal or if you wish to pay $10 for 'formal' membership in IPTRA, then drop by your, or any, lobby on the following days from 4 – 5p.m and again from 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Saturday 13th @ 5pm: HORS D’OEUVRES POT LUCK (195 Social Room) If you prefer more 'adult' socializing, join us for the hors d'oeuvres potluck supper. If we all bring a plate of appetizers, there will be enough to make a meal. The key is to bring something you can eat from a napkin. BYOB as well, although water is available.
MEMBERSHIP DRIVE April 15 - 17 in the lobby:
If your membership is up for renewal or if you wish to pay $10 for 'formal' membership in IPTRA, then drop by your, or any, lobby on the following days from 4 – 5p.m and again from 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Monday April 15, lobby of 200, Betty and Larry
Tuesday April 16, lobby of 185, Nancy and Ron
Wednesday April 17, 195, lobby of Kathryn/Ken and Janice
Even if you do not need/want to donate, this is also a chance to say hello to some of the IPTRA board members, and learn more about IPTRA and what fun other residents are offering (it isn't always board members who run events), offer up suggestions for more events and/or offer up your expertise either for a one time event, or for something recurring.
All IPTRA events are open to all residents. I'm often asked to list the benefits of membership and because any resident is welcomed (and encouraged) to come out to activities, I find it hard to come up with a pat answer. The only tangible benefit is that you may vote at IPTRA meetings (which is usually just at the Annual General Meeting) and serve on the board. The intangible benefit is that you are offering concrete support to the efforts of your neighbours to help residents build friendships within the community and, as a result, make this a more pleasant and safer place to live.
We are not a tenant's association but a social group. That said, we do use our network of resident contacts to help tenants who want to organize to do tenant association work. Sometimes it is connecting people with similar problems with the landlord, other times it is offering our chairs and tables to help organize a response to an Above Guideline Increase, and seed money to start that process.
All IPTRA events are open to all residents. I'm often asked to list the benefits of membership and because any resident is welcomed (and encouraged) to come out to activities, I find it hard to come up with a pat answer. The only tangible benefit is that you may vote at IPTRA meetings (which is usually just at the Annual General Meeting) and serve on the board. The intangible benefit is that you are offering concrete support to the efforts of your neighbours to help residents build friendships within the community and, as a result, make this a more pleasant and safer place to live.
We are not a tenant's association but a social group. That said, we do use our network of resident contacts to help tenants who want to organize to do tenant association work. Sometimes it is connecting people with similar problems with the landlord, other times it is offering our chairs and tables to help organize a response to an Above Guideline Increase, and seed money to start that process.
Stuff Swap and SEWING/CRAFTING EXCHANGE, April 18, from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. (195 Social Room)
The regular monthly stuff swap in on April 18th. If you have something you no longer need/want, drop it off, then peruse the tables to see if there is anything you could give a home to. The idea is to exchange items between neighbours to save things from going to landfill. Items found leftover when a tenant moves out are put into the dumpster as are items left out on the tables in the lobbies (or in the garage.) So this is a chance to redirect items away from that dumpster while freeing up space in your apartment.
The regular monthly stuff swap in on April 18th. If you have something you no longer need/want, drop it off, then peruse the tables to see if there is anything you could give a home to. The idea is to exchange items between neighbours to save things from going to landfill. Items found leftover when a tenant moves out are put into the dumpster as are items left out on the tables in the lobbies (or in the garage.) So this is a chance to redirect items away from that dumpster while freeing up space in your apartment.
At the same time a Sewing/Crafting Exchange: this is a chance for those that sew or do crafts to connect and bring any extras from their stash to exchange with other like minded people. This is usually run quarterly on a weekend but this time Magda has asked that we combine the two in the hopes of identifying more people interested in sewing and crafting. There will be a specific table(s) set up for these items.
We need a volunteer to take the leftovers to the charity shop of their choice. There will be people to help pack and load your vehicle after the event ends at 7:30. If no-one can do it, Homestead will put the leftovers in the dumpster.
Thursday April 25 and @ 4:30 pm: PUB NIGHT (Churchill’s) - residents interested in going out for a drink and/or supper meet at Churchills Pub at 356 Richmond Road for a few hours of socializing. This is an event that recurs every 3 weeks.
Wednesday May 1 @ 12pm: BROWN BAG LUNCH (195 Social Room)
We need a volunteer to take the leftovers to the charity shop of their choice. There will be people to help pack and load your vehicle after the event ends at 7:30. If no-one can do it, Homestead will put the leftovers in the dumpster.
Thursday April 25 and @ 4:30 pm: PUB NIGHT (Churchill’s) - residents interested in going out for a drink and/or supper meet at Churchills Pub at 356 Richmond Road for a few hours of socializing. This is an event that recurs every 3 weeks.
Wednesday May 1 @ 12pm: BROWN BAG LUNCH (195 Social Room)
Bring your lunch to the social room and have a chance to get to know some neighbours better while you eat. This is a small group, so not overwhelming if you are new to Island Park Towers and are interested in meeting just a few people at a time.
Thursday May 2nd @ 10:am: ANTI-FRAUD SEMINAR (195 Social Room)
This is approximately 60 - 75 minutes in length (depending on questions asked) and provides information on current scams and how we as seniors can avoid becoming victims. This presentation discusses what the Canadian Anti- Fraud Centre is about, current statistics, open discussion on the following scams, grandparents, CRA scam, Romance, Prize and Lottery, Service Calls ( via phone, computer or door-to-door) and other current scams. Questions will be taken during or following the presentation. It is presented by Tom Cheel, a retired police officer, bank security manager and now volunteer with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Thursday May 16th @ 4:30 pm: PUB NIGHT (Churchill’s)
Other Items of interest:
Thursday May 16th @ 4:30 pm: PUB NIGHT (Churchill’s)
Other Items of interest:
MURAL MOSAIC We had a lot of people suggest craft projects when asked on Facebook. With that, we would like to
participate in Mural Mosaic. Google connect.muralmosaic.com online.
How it works is, we will paint a small canvas (15cm x 15cm [6” x 6”]) known as a tile. Packages are identified as brown, blue, chartreuse and so on. That defines main colour of your canvas and you have accent colours to work with as well. Example, if your package is brown and you paint a robin, the red will be an accent.
Photos of the completed tiles are sent in to the project and will be assembled into a larger picture, a mosaic. Your tile will find a home in a picture such as this one.
participate in Mural Mosaic. Google connect.muralmosaic.com online.
How it works is, we will paint a small canvas (15cm x 15cm [6” x 6”]) known as a tile. Packages are identified as brown, blue, chartreuse and so on. That defines main colour of your canvas and you have accent colours to work with as well. Example, if your package is brown and you paint a robin, the red will be an accent.
Photos of the completed tiles are sent in to the project and will be assembled into a larger picture, a mosaic. Your tile will find a home in a picture such as this one.
This project is a travelling exhibit and currently will be displayed in a museum in Toronto. We will approach the National Art Gallery to see if they would put their name on as a host for this project.
Each package will cost $25 and we can only take 10 participants.
Please let us know if you would like to be a part of this project.
Council on Aging Newsletter
This newsletter was recommended by a resident. (If you recall, it was the Council on Aging who presented the Emergency Planning seminar last year.)
https://coaottawa.ca/sign-up-
https://coaottawa.ca/sign-up-
Homestead email for rent receipt
If you are like me and haven't filed your income tax yet, and are looking for a rent receipt, this is who you email to get one from Homestead. They respond, usually within a day, which is wonderful for procrastinators like me.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Setting up an IPTRA Green Team subcommittee
A lot of residents have expressed interest in environmental causes and the efforts we can do here at home. The Green Team would be a group of people who are interested in keeping our environmental impact to a minimum. They can choose their own path but ideas that have come to me over the years have been composting (now morphed into helping Homestead implement the city's composting requirements for Multi-unit Residential Properties), promoting reduce and reuse at IPTRA events and taking care of recycling from such events, taking the lead on the Stuff Swaps (which divert from landfill and extend the use of items), setting up Wishful Wednesdays on our FB group to provide a space for tenants to ask if anyone could part with an item they need, and anything else they think of and want to run with.
If this sounds like something you might like to be a part of, please let me know. If you have responded in the past to the request to set up a composting group, please respond again since that was long enough ago that many people may have left. In my mind, the main purpose of this group would be a more timely implementation of things people are interested in.
Book Corner
Our resident book worm's latest library and reading observations is attached.
Phew! Congrats to getting to the end of this newsletter!
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Setting up an IPTRA Green Team subcommittee
A lot of residents have expressed interest in environmental causes and the efforts we can do here at home. The Green Team would be a group of people who are interested in keeping our environmental impact to a minimum. They can choose their own path but ideas that have come to me over the years have been composting (now morphed into helping Homestead implement the city's composting requirements for Multi-unit Residential Properties), promoting reduce and reuse at IPTRA events and taking care of recycling from such events, taking the lead on the Stuff Swaps (which divert from landfill and extend the use of items), setting up Wishful Wednesdays on our FB group to provide a space for tenants to ask if anyone could part with an item they need, and anything else they think of and want to run with.
If this sounds like something you might like to be a part of, please let me know. If you have responded in the past to the request to set up a composting group, please respond again since that was long enough ago that many people may have left. In my mind, the main purpose of this group would be a more timely implementation of things people are interested in.
Book Corner
Our resident book worm's latest library and reading observations is attached.
Phew! Congrats to getting to the end of this newsletter!
...Kathryn