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SCONA Seniors

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OUR HOME-AWAY-FROM-HOME!!

The SCONA Seniors Center has been offering supportive services and opportunities for social connection specific to older, frailer seniors for the past forty-two years. We have been here for the senior who shops for tuna cat food but doesn’t have a cat, because it is cheaper than tuna for people; for the senior who has been forced to leave his rental home through no fault of his own and now has nowhere to sleep but the back seat of his car; for the senior who’s progressive physical deterioration has left him trapped in his home where he is likely to die alone; for the senior who’s roof has holes in it that let in the rain and soak her bed; for the senior who has outlived her friends and family and cries as she stares out the window alone on Christmas day; for the senior who has been alone and lonely for so long that he has forgotten how to make friends; for the senior couple who lost their only adult child to an unexpected death and have isolated themselves in the silence of their home; for the senior who has been keeping herself and her dog alive by eating peanut butter mixed with mayonnaise; for the senior who just lost her spouse and wants nothing more than to take herself to be with him again; for the many seniors who don’t know who to reach out to when they are in need, who don’t know what it is to laugh with friends anymore, whose families live away and worry about them constantly; for the younger senior who is at risk of becoming that older, isolated senior; seniors who have nowhere to go for company and no means to get there.

We are talking about seniors over the age of eighty, although many are much younger, who struggle with reduced mobility, eye sight, and hearing; who sometimes have developed mental health concerns as a result of their isolation and loneliness; whose crooked fingers and aching joints have stopped them from doing the things that used to be easy; seniors who fear falling in the snow or on rainy streets; who live in silence and with just their memories of the past.

SCONA is a not for profit registered charity. Like most not for profit organizations, we struggle to raise sufficient funds to support the work that we do. We desperately need your help in order to continue our efforts to make life worth living for the countless older seniors in our, and your, communities. We have noted, and are most grateful for the financial generosity that has come our way in recent months but there is yet a long way to go. On behalf of older seniors who often feel forgotten and long to be a part of their communities again, we ask that you keep us in your thoughts so that you may be moved to continue in your generosity.  


HERE ARE SOME OF OUR MEMBERS OWN WORDS THAT EXPRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF SCONA’S SURVIVAL:

MY HUSBAND AND I ARE BOTH GETTING ON IN YEARS AND MY HUSBAND’S HEALTH IS FAILING. WHEN WE UNEXPECTEDLY AND TRAGICALLY LOST OUR ONLY CHILD, OUR ADULT SON, IT WAS SCONA AND THE WONDERFUL FRIENDS WE HAD MADE THERE WHO RESCUED US FROM OUR OVERWHELMING SORROW. WE COULDN’T EVEN FIND THE STRENGTH TO LEAVE OUR HOME. OUR LIVES SUDDENLY STOPPED AND WE COULD ONLY TRY TO COMFORT EACH OTHER.  A COUPLE OF MONTHS AFTER WE BURIED OUR SON ONE OF THE STAFF AT SCONA CALLED TO OFFER US TICKETS TO A FUNDRAISING EVENT AND PLEADED WITH US TO COME AND SPEND AN EVENING WITH OUR FRIENDS. “IT IS TIME” SHE SAID, “TO LET YOUR FRIENDS COMFORT YOU”. WELL, IT TURNED OUT TO BE A REALLY GOOD DECISION TO GO. IT WAS A LOVELY EVENING AND OUR FRIENDS WERE JUST WONDERFUL! WE EVEN MANAGED TO LAUGH WITH THEM! WE GO TO SCONA NOW EVERY CHANCE WE GET. OUR FRIENDS THERE HELPED US TO FIND OUR LIFE AGAIN. GOD BLESS THEM. (MARY & GEORGE AGE 77 & 88 YRS)

SCONA GIVES ME A REASON TO GET UP EVERY MORNING! I EVEN PLAN MY OTHER APPOINTMENTS AROUND WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE LITTLE HOUSE! I AM REALLY ACTIVE THERE, HELPING OUT IN EVERY WAY I CAN. I HAVE A RICH AND BUSY LIFE AGAIN AND CAN FORGET FOR A WHILE THE ARTHRITIS PAIN I LIVE WITH ALL DAY, EVERY DAY! I LOVE IT! (CHARLOTTE AGE 78 YRS)

SCONA IS WHAT WE WANT AT OUR AGE. IT IS LIKE VISITING WITH FRIENDS AT HOME! WE DON’T WANT TO SIGN UP FOR A COURSE OR CRAFT. WE’VE BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! WE JUST WANT A NICE PLACE TO GO FOR A GOOD MEAL AND A VISIT WITH FRIENDS. WE WANT TO SHARE OUR STORIES AND LAUGH LOTS TOO. THAT’S WHAT WE GET AT SCONA! (KAY AGE 89 YRS)

THE SCONA OUTREACH WORKER SAVED ME FROM JOINING THE MANY SENIORS WHO LIVE ON THE STREET. I WAS A MINUTE AWAY FROM BEING HOMELESS! THE OUTREACH WORKER HELPED ME FIND A HOME I CAN AFFORD, FOUND ME MONEY I SHOULD HAVE BEEN GETTING ALL ALONG, PUT FOOD IN MY FRIDGE, SHOWED ME HOW I COULD GET TRANSPORTATION I CAN AFFORD AND THE MEDICAL HELP I NEEDED. SHE TAUGHT ME HOW TO GO AFTER WHAT I NEED ALL BY MYSELF! AND I HAVE! INSTEAD OF FEELING HOPELESS ALL THE TIME, I FEEL LIKE A WHOLE PERSON AGAIN. AND I KNOW THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE THERE TO HELP ME IF I CAN’T SOLVE A PROBLEM MYSELF! (ROBERT AGE 87 YRS)

MY FAMILY WAS TALKING TO ME ABOUT MOVING FROM MY OWN APARTMENT INTO AN OLD FOLKS HOME!! THEN MY DAUGHTER FOUND SCONA. IT IS SUCH AN INVITING AND FRIENDLY PLACE AND I HAVE MADE MANY WONDERFUL FRIENDS THERE. MY FAMILY IS THRILLED! THEY KNOW SOMEONE IS WATCHING OUT FOR ME, THAT I AM NOT LONELY AND SITTING BY MYSELF, THAT I GET AFFORDABLE, DELICIOUS MEALS EVERYTIME I GO TO SCONA. WE ARE ALL HAPPY; ME AND MY FAMILY.  I GET TO STAY IN MY OWN PLACE BECAUSE I AM NOT READY FOR THAT MOVE JUST YET AND MY CHILDREN WORRY ABOUT ME A WHOLE LOT LESS! (LAURA AGE 90 YRS)

SCONA GIVES US SO MUCH TO DO IN THE WEEK THAT IS STUFF WE CAN ACTUALLY DO! I HAVE NOT FOUND ANOTHER PLACE IN THE CITY LIKE IT. JUST GOING TO A PARK FOR A WIENER ROAST, WITH MY WALKER AND ALL, IS SOMETHING I WOULD NOT GET TO DO ANYMORE IF IT WASN’T FOR SCONA. THEY HAVE A REALLY FUNNY DRAMA CLUB TOO, AND GREAT MEALS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES!! I’M SO GLAD I HAVE SCONA! (SHEILA AGE 80+ YRS. KEEP GUESSING!)

S.C.O.N.A. IS A NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION AND A REGISTERED CHARITY WITH CANADA REVENUE. PLEASE MAKE YOUR DONATION PAYABLE TO: SENIOR CITIZENS OPPORTUNITY NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION.  OUR SENIORS THANK YOU FOR SAVING THEIR LIVES!!
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Donations 

  • Mallory Garvey
    • $50 
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer

Cathy McLean
Organizer
Edmonton, AB

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