Community News
Volunteer Opportunities

We currently run our club with one staff member, in addition to our class instructors, so we are extremely grateful and reliant on our member volunteers to help us with running our programs. We are always looking for talented individuals that can share their crafty side for new programming as we develop more activities. Interested in giving back? Whatever your skill or your age, we can find a place for you. To find out how you can help, call 204-416-1067 or email us at Archwood55@shaw.ca.

Monthly Lunch Program

Our monthly lunch program continues to be an immense success with sell-outs. Our next lunch is scheduled for January 12th at 11:30 AM. Please book early as tickets go quickly. There are no tickets sold at the door so we can maintain capacity management. Come and reconnect with old friends and even make some new friends!

Happy New Year!

Welcome Back! Archwood 55 Plus will reopen on January 4th with class registration on January 5 and 6th. Please call for an appointment if you are coming to the club in-person. Classes include Yoga Fit Flow, Cardio Conditioning, Chair Yoga, Total Body Workout, Tai Chi, Line Dancing, Functional Movement, Art Class, Low Impact Cardio and Drums Alive. All of our classes at Archwood Community Club at 565 Guilbault St. will restart January 17th in addition to Pickleball, Billiards and Games. Members continue to hone their skills with on site activities like pickleball, billiards and card games with activities running every Monday and Thursday afternoon. For more information, call 204-416-1067 or email Archwood55@shaw.ca

Archwood 55 Plus

Archwood 55 Plus is a community-based non-profit, charitable organization offering lunches, art and fitness classes, social activities, bus trips and other services to adults ages 55 and older living in the Winnipeg area. Our goal is to encourage graceful aging and empower older adults to lead healthy and active lives while socializing with their peers.

Essential Oils & Coaching

As a Coach, if a client already uses essential oils in their routines, we can incorporate them for alignment and attainment of their goals. Whether you experienced loss or want to heal an emotional trauma, want to increase your spiritual awareness with meditation, are shifting towards prosperity and plenitude with a financial goal, are working on an existing relationship or trying to find new love, want to practice more self care, are looking to release anger, or have a physical goal using exercise and/or diet there is an essential oil that would aid you in the attainment of your goals.

January is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that destroys brain cells, causing thinking ability and memory to deteriorate over time. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging and is irreversible. While it’s difficult to predict symptoms, the order in which they will appear or the speed of their progression, there are some warning signs you can look out for. Sudden changes to your loved one’s personality are often another sign that something is not right. These changes can include anxiety, paranoia, depression, and socially inappropriate behaviors, as well as sudden mood swings and physical aggression.

Clean Eating Recipe

Easy Red Lentil Soup. Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil. 2 carrots. 1 onion. 3 cloves garlic. 2 tsp each ground cumin & turmeric. 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper. 1/4 tsp cayenne. 1 pkg. 900 ml. vegetable broth. 1 cup dried red lentils. 1/4 cup chopped parsley. 3 tbsp. lemon juice. Directions: Heat oil in large saucepan. Cook carrots, onion, and garlic until starting to soften, 3 to 5 min. Stir in cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook 1 min. until fragrant. Stir in broth and lentils; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 25 min. Stir in chopped parsley and lemon juice. Find more healthy recipes at Sobeys.com

Brain Teaser Answers

1. Because laughter is the best medicine. 2. High bud-pressure. 3. Marbles, you don’t want to lose them. 4. Well water. 5. A boxing ring.

Hidden Gem Awaits at Lions Place

It’s a tall, unassuming, 18 story apartment building on Portage Avenue where countless commuters drive by it daily. It’s not far from the downtown core, and to most Winnipeggers the building labelled “Lions Place”, looks like any other 55+ residence.

Lions Place, under the Lions Housing Centres umbrella, has a unique and truly one-of-a-kind feature in their building, and you’ll find it tucked away in the back on the main floor, The Greenhouse, a little touch of nature that is also attached to a backyard garden for the resident’s enjoyment.

On any given day, if you wander through the space that boasts tall ceilings and plenty of natural light, there’s a very good chance you’ll find long-time resident Dorothy Wilk. Wilk moved into the building back in 2007, and it was because of this very amenity that she decided to call it home.

“Yes, the Greenhouse is what brought me here,” she laughs. “My son accidentally found this building, and thought yes, my mom would enjoy it here.”

Now, she’s not just enjoying it, Wilk has made it her “baby”.

She heads up a small group of volunteers and has taken it upon herself to make sure the space is attractive, clean, and of course full of foliage. Wilk oversees the buying of the plants, soil, fertilizers, and any supplies needed – all reimbursed, of course, by Lions Housing Centres.

After a new organizational structure was put in place in 2020, Lions Place has seen many improvements throughout the building – but the one Wilk is most happy about is the Greenhouse restoration project, where the renovations are now almost fully complete. A project that began this past summer now sees new cabinetry, flooring, lighting, and paint – the choice of colour an honour bestowed upon Wilk and a few other volunteers. It’s now given the space a new life after years of being overlooked by previous management.

“I was delighted because nothing had been done since I have been involved, which is approximately 15 years,” she muses, “other than what the volunteers had finished on their own.”

While she is never short of volunteers for the greenhouse, it’s the outside garden in the backyard that is a bit more work to recruit help. This area -slated for improvements of its’ own in the summer of 2022 – gets TLC from Lions Place maintenance staff who look after the outside plots, shrubbery, and weeds, all of course under a watchful eye from Wilk who has high standards. Nestled in amongst the shrubs is the Memory Garden, started by the residents in 2012. It’s a space devoted to friends who have passed away at Lions Place. Roses and lilies adorn the area, all courtesy of residents who provided the plants or the funds to honour them.

For Wilk, who turns 92 in February, there is nowhere else she’d rather be, and loves nothing more than taking the time to talk to residents and tour them around the greenhouse. She wouldn’t trade her work in the space for anything.

“It just makes me feel valued as a member of society, that I’m useful,” she smiles. “Doesn’t matter the age you are, you can always be useful.”

If you would like to donate to the Greenhouse restoration project, or the upcoming garden improvements please visit their website at www.lhc.ca.

– Michelle Lissel

Community Announcement: We Have Moved!

Re-New Mobility is excited to announce that its 665 Stafford St. location has moved to its NEW location at Unit 1-940 Lorimer Blvd. (by the Golf Dome), combining the warehouse and retail outlet to serve you better. Re-New Mobility has been helping people gain more mobility for more than 25 years. The business offers new and gently used products such as power chairs, scooters, grab bars, security poles, stair lifts, and much more. Services such as equipment rentals, in-home installation, and modification of products are also available. Shop online or in person and regain your independence with increased mobility!