Community Feeling Comes Alive With New Passport Project
Now that COVID restrictions have been lifted, residents are eager to re-create their community by getting more involved in the programming and getting out to meet new residents and renew old friendships. To encourage that, a Community Connection Challenge passport has been developed by the Creative Expressions team and given to each resident. There are 20 stamps to be collected along their journey that represent engagement in a wide range of activities.
“While we continued to offer modified programs during COVID, one of the real benefits of living at United is the wide variety of programming we normally offer,” said Kim Coulter, Fish Creek Program Development & Creative Expressions manager. “We’ve been slowly getting back to normal with more in-house concerts and lectures, but what we have developed starting with the August Program Calendar is more in tune with what residents have come to expect.”
Fitness classes, in-house music and lectures, excursions, art workshops, choir, movies and more. And that’s just in the first part of August!
Kay Rasmussen moved into Fish Creek West last September. The programming is important to her, but she understood when she moved in that many programs had to be modified to comply with COVID restrictions. Today, with programming back to normal, she is excited. “Everyone needed this. It’s like a new world. It’s wonderful to see people spending time with each other again. It’s easy to make friends here, so now I’ll be able to spend a lot more time with them.”
While programming is important, the Connection Challenge is also about people. Writing in this month’s resident newsletter, Garrison Green creative facilitator Ryan Tang said, “Avoiding the outside world was common advice we followed for the last year and a half. But those behaviours that kept us and our loved ones safe have made socializing harder than ever. We want to help. The Community Connection Challenge is a series of tasks designed to help introduce, or reintroduce you to our community.”
“The Challenge is about finding fun ways to reconnect with each other,” added Kim. “The August program calendar is about getting back to where we were on the programming side, and the Connection Challenge is about encouraging residents and employees to get back to where they were as part of a thriving and engaged community.”
Prior to COVID, a monthly welcome tea was held to welcome newcomers to the community. The last welcome tea was held in February 2020, so the teas will start again in August, and include a wrap-up of the passport challenge.
“We’ve started opening up again in our programming and already we’ve heard from residents who are so happy to have the in-person programs back,” said Kim. “It’s one of the things United is known for, and with residents’ input, we expect the rest of 2021 will be one to look forward to.”
Photos by United Active Living. Videos by Sherana Productions.
Don’t hesitate to talk with one of our active living advisors about life in a United community. They can arrange for a tour at your convenience. If you know a friend or family member who could benefit from living in a United community, send them a link to our website or blog, or arrange a future visit. We are happy to help!
To learn more about life at United’s Fish Creek community, watch this short video.
Or, to find out more about life at United’s Garrison Green, watch this short video.
