Volunteer of the Month
Archives

April 2021
Leisa Alexander

Photo of Leisa Alexander

This month we’d like to shine the light on someone few of you may have seen, but may have benefited from her volunteering. Lesia (pronounced Lisa) Alexander has been helping us out since 2020. During that time she has helped serve meals for Thanksgiving, Operation Senior Claus, and most recently, the Grab-n-Go dinners Monday thru Friday she can be helping out her sister, Mae Lucero, getting the dinners from the local restaurants, then helping to distribute them to seniors at the center. However, Leisa doesn’t just come here help to serve food. All that work can wear a person out, so when she’s not volunteering, she enjoys coming to the center’s Aerobics Program to boost her cardio. Originally from Meridian, MS, she and her two siblings came out Calif., to live with, and be raised by their big sister Mae, when their mom passed away. After she grew up she went to work for the Dept. of Corrections where she worked for 27 years before retiring. During that time she raised a son, who in turn, gave her a grandchild. Thanks Leisa for helping to ensure that our senior don’t go hungry.

Featured Class

Spanish
Date: April 23, 2020
Time: 1:30 - 2:30 pm
Length: 8 weeks
Cost: $8 members
      $8 non-members
Instructor: TBA
Location: Game Room
Description: This class is designed to teach students conversational Spanish. The class will enable you to carry on limited conversation at first just to get you started. Then as you progress, so will the levels. As for what to bring, just bring a writing instrument and paper. Books might come later. We hope to see you there, or as you will soon be saying, Esperamos verte ahí.

Featured Activity

Nutrition Program
Time: Dailys 12:00 pm
Cost: $1.75 members
      $3.75 Non-seniors non-members
Location: Dining Room
Description: This week, the Highland Senior Center would like to give you a little background on a program that many people take advantage of but probably know little about: their Nutrition Program. It has been going on here at the center for nearly 40 years. When it first began, it was run by San Bernardino County. There was even a cook who prepared the meals at the center. The following year it was taken over by the City of San Bernardino through the Parks and Recreation program, which has been running it ever since. The meals are cooked downtown and delivered to the center Monday through Friday. From there, the centers' Nutrition team of volunteers take over feeding approximately 225 diners every week. Starting at 8:00 am, the group comes in and begins cleaning the kitchen and getting everything ready for the food. When it arrives around 11:00 am they prepare the trays and service begins at 12:00 pm. Once everyone is done, its time to clean the kitchen and dinning area in preparation for the next day. This needs to be done because they are inspected regularly by three different agencies. The County of San Bernardino, the City of San Bernardino, and the Department of Aging and Adult Service. However, its not all about the food. Many people come also come for the social interaction; coming hours early to chat and visit with friends, staying afterwards to participate in activities. As they say, man cannot live by food alone, and the crowd shows that they are hungry for more. The cost is only $1.75 for those ages 60 and older, and $3.75 for non-seniors.

Koffee Klub

Join the Highland Senior Center for our FREE Koffee Klub. Come enjoy an informational meeting with a home cooked breakfast on the 2nd Thursday of each month. We feature great speakers and timely life topics. Please make sure you R.S.V.P. at (909)862-8104 !

December’s Koffee Klub was presented by our very own Executive Director, Penny Lilburn, who did a presentation on our very own Operation Senior Claus (O.S.C.). For those you who do not know, O.S.C. is a program run by the center where we deliver a home cooked holiday meal and a basket filled with food and goodies. The recipients are home bound seniors in the area.
We receive referrals from local senior housing apartments and mobile home parks as to who could use a hot meal delivered by a friendly face for the holidays. The center has been collecting non-perishable food for months prior as well as receiving donations for Stater Bros. gift cards which are then divided amongst over 150 seniors.
However, to deliver all these goodies we need drivers who come to the center and take no more than 3 baskets each. Each driver will only give up about one hour of their time, including pick up and deliver, ensuring that our seniors enjoy days of happiness. If you would like to donate your time or money please contact the center at (909)862-8104.