November 18th, 2021 at 1 PM was the official launch of our 3rd Annual Tree of Giving. By all accounts, it’s going to be a great program.
Last week I gave a bit of a background as to why this event has been so well received and successful with our community.
We know that many of our residents have family members who do a great deal for their loved ones, sadly though, not every AVENS resident has family.
Although AVENS does a great job in creating an inviting and festive holiday atmosphere, every person deserves something from “Santa” or in this case a “Secret Santa”.
Sadly, not every AVENS senior resident has family
The Tree of Giving evolved from our community requesting to do positive gestures of good will for our seniors during the festive holiday.
(L to R) Health and Wellness member, Anthony Stapleton, Director of Care, Frances Bower and Health and Wellness member, Holly Mann decorating the 2021 Tree of Giving
The Tree of Giving is truly more than just a community event, it has now become an AVENS tradition.
Many of our AVENS staff dedicate their time and energy in making sure every attention to detail reflects our values and beliefs.
There is always that person behind the scenes that make the Tree of Giving a success. Seated is none other than our Supervisor of Health and Wellness, Carol Norwegian, meticulously making decorations come alive. Christmas music plays in the background as employees walk by during the shift change. Truly magical!
I am very proud of our entire AVENS Team and the support from our resident families. Together, we understand and thank our communities wish of wanting to give.
We will update you along our Tree of Giving 2021 journey, as we continue to cope with Covid restrictions and with the hopeful return of family visitation.
For those employees who receive full time benefits, one of the most generous of those benefits is the Employee Retirement Benefit.
The importance of a retirement benefit should never be understated. AVENS pension plan is a promise for better financial health for you, our employee. We put a lot of effort in making sure you have a future well beyond your time at AVENS.
Retirement planning is a multi-step process that evolves over time. You must consider what this “financial cushion” needs to look like and how to get there. This is not a game of luck or chance; you need a plan!
Since your Employee Retirement Benefit is a “self-directed plan” you need to look at the types of retirement accounts that will enable you to grow your portfolio.
You need to determine your time horizons when to move in and out of investments, you need to consider your risk tolerance, how to take advantage of the power of compounding and when you should rebalance.
Our Directors are not a financial advisors, so our administration team will not give you this advice, therefore, you need to use our dedicated Manulife plan advisors.
(L to R) Director of Human Resources, Lindsey Dwojak, working with Manulife Plan Advisor from Adapt Financial, Shawn Talbot. (Current assets under administration for AVENS $5,552,184.00)
Your dedicated AVENS Team comprising of the Director of Human Resources and the Office of the President & CEO have been working directly with our dedicated Manulife plan advisors since December of 2018. From this time stamp, we have been monitoring client interactive reporting in making sure you have a retirement planning strategy. Since 2019, many of you have taken the challenge of reviewing your account and have undertaken an asset restructuring exercise.
Recently, we met with our Manulife plan advisor, Shawn Talbot, from Adapt Financial. The purpose of this meeting was to find solutions on how to help our employee’s make sound decisions with their retirement investment.
We know and understand much of this stuff could be very confusing and possibly a bit scarry to digest. That is why it is so important that we work together to help you achieve the maximum benefit for your retirement.
Please see your Director of Human Resources if you want to know more. Please don’t delay, you need to have time work on your side!
I’m not sure if I know anyone that does not like a cup of hot chocolate in the winter? So, if you are a “chocoholic”, this article is for you!
The Health and Wellness Team know how to make anyone’s day that much brighter. Recently, they got their mobile hot chocolate cart together and hit the hallways and resident areas throughout AVENS.
More than just a “comfort” drink
Now from a pharmacist’s perspective…when chocolate was introduced to the French in the 17th century, it was reportedly used “to fight against fits of anger and bad moods”, which may be attributed to chocolate’s phenylethylamine content.
Today, hot chocolate is not really considered medicinal and is consumed more for pleasure, but there is always new research suggesting that there may be other health attributed benefits to the drink. More specifically, Cornell University studies have shown that hot chocolate contains more antioxidants than wine or tea, therefore reducing the risk of heart disease.
Of course, when copious amounts of sugar add-ons are introduced, one must be careful with one’s health
(L to R) Health and Wellness Team members, Paris Levavasseur and Holly Mann seen mixing up AVENS Hot Chocolate Specials (inset)
In any event, whether you agree or not believe in the benefits of hot chocolate, one thing is for sure, it tastes GREAT and our residents LOVE it!
In the end, this is all that matters!
Last week we lauched for the first time, the AVENS 2021 Holiday Gala. The creation of this event is 100% attributed to the dedicated and hardworking AVENS Social Committee.
With the blessing from the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer, AVENS has been granted the opportunity for this special function.
The company holiday party is a great place to meet everyone you’ve been emailing from 10 feet away
Chateau Nova- Caribou Room (3rd floor), Saturday December 4th, 2021. 6:00 PM- midnight. Music by DJ Godson. Masking and proof of vaccination required at the venue
So please don’t delay, there are only 100 tickets.
Tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased at Adminstration.
Hope to see you there!
