Check out our new Aligned to Go exercise programme! |
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Just a few short weeks away from Christmas, the Age Concern Wellington Region office has been buzzing with Christmas cheer. We even put our Christmas tree up yesterday (a little early, yes)... Do you have any fun Christmas traditions you'd like to share with us? We'd love to hear from you: comms@acwellington.org.nz
There's plenty of news, information and more in this newsletter. Thanks for sharing a few moments of your day with us. Please give us a call on 04 499 6646 or email info@acwellington.org.nz if you would like to get in touch with us.
Picture above: our awesome volunteer Vanessa helped us decorate our Christmas tree |
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Join Age Concern's monthly pop-up social connection hubs for seniors: come by for some tea and coffee, and snacks, and a great speaker! Everyone welcome. Next hub events, with a special Christmas theme: Brooklyn - Vogelmorn Community Centre, 13 Vennell St, Tuesday 28 November, 2pm
Seatoun - Seatoun Village Hall, 22 Forres St, Tuesday 5 December, noon Upper Hutt - Heretaunga Christian Centre, 51 Lane Street - Wednesday 13 December, 12pm Linden - Linden Community Centre, 10 Linden Avenue, Tawa. Tuesday, 12 December, 1pm
Call 04 499 6646 or email events@acwellington.org.nz for details. |
COFFEE GROUP AT TE POKAPŪ HAPORI - Y CENTRAL |
Join our monthly coffee group for seniors at the Te Pokapū Hapori – Y Central in Manners St.
Where: Te Pokapū Hapori - Y Central, 105 Manners Street, Te Aro When: Thursday 14 December, 10.30am coffee group
All welcome. Drop in, or call 04 499 6646 or email events@acwellington.org.nz for details. |
OUR LATEST STEADY AS YOU GO FALLS PREVENTION CLASSES |
To find out more about Steady As You Go and for a full list of Steady As You Go and Aligned To Go classes around the Region, click here or call 04 499 6648.
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ALIGNED TO GO FALLS PREVENTION EXERCISE CLASS |
Are you looking for something a little more than Steady As You Go?
• Dance-based movements
• Seated, standing, and walking movements
• Improve balance, stability, flexibility, and coordination
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Recently developed by Age Concern Otago in collaboration with the University of Otago, Aligned To Go is our newest falls prevention exercise class.
Aligned To Go is quite different from Steady As You Go as it is designed by a contemporary dancer in association with the University. It's much faster than Steady As You Go, and a little longer. It requires participants to do some barefoot walking and parts of it are dance moves.
This class is suitable for seniors who would like something a little faster than Steady As You Go. Come along to our new trial class:
New class starting 17 November 2023.
When: Fridays 10am
Where: Victoria Bowling Club, 125 Pirie Street, Mt Victoria, Wellington Entry: $3 donation
Please email info@acwellington.org.nz or call 04 499 6648 for more information.
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STEADY AS YOU GO ONLINE EXERCISE CLASSES - ALL WELCOME |
Every Wednesday at 9:30am there is a livestream Steady As You Go class on Zoom. It's open to anyone - you don't need any prior experience. It is a gentle entry-level exercise class designed for seniors. All you need to do is register by filling in the form online (click the blue button below). Come and join the 20+ other seniors online for some gentle exercise fun together! |
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HUTT VALLEY VOLUNTEER CATCH-UP |
Join some of Age Concern Hutt Valley's volunteers for a coffee every couple of months. If you're one of our volunteers, and you would like to come along or would like more information, please email avshutt@acwellington.org.nz or call Tania on 04 499 6646.
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Did you know that by becoming a Member of Age Concern Wellington Region, you'll be contributing to our important work of helping reach isolated and lonely seniors? Plus you'll get our fantastic magazine in the post four times a year! Join now by filling in the form on the website.
Call 04 499 6648 or click the button below to visit the website to find out more. |
WE CAN HELP YOU PLAN FOR YOUR END OF LIFE CARE |
Age Concern Wellington Region has an Advance Care Planning service in partnership with Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand. Kay Webster is our amazing Advanced Care Planning Coordinator. She is available to come and talk to you about making an Advance Care Plan. This fantastic service is free. She is also available to make presentations to your group. If you want to know more about this new service and how to get in touch with Kay, please check out our website or call us.
Call 04 499 6646 or visit our website (click here) for more information. |
COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS REMEMBRANCE SERVICE |
Christmas is a time to remember.
A Community ‘Christmas Remembrance Service’ will be held at Old Saint Paul’s, Wellington on
8 December at 6:30pm. The Christmas Remembrance Service provides the community at large with an opportunity to come and Remember loved ones, Reflect, and Receive support from one another, at this often-poignant time of the year.
ALL are welcome. If you are unable to attend physically please visit this special tribute page where you can join in via the Blue Livestream button. Also, if so desired, there is an opportunity to leave a tribute about the loved one/s you are remembering.
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Netsafe are looking for people that would be able to participate in some focus groups to help them review some resources. Would you like to take part? Please email natasha.muir@ageconcern.org.nz or phone 04 801 9338 for details. |
HEALTH AND DISABILITY ADVOCACY |
The Health and Disability Advocacy Service is a free service that operates independently from all health and disability service providers, government agencies and HDC.
If you want to know more about your rights when using health or disability services, get questions answered, or make a complaint, they may be able to help.
It's a free service. Advocates should be able to:
- Help you understand your rights when using health or disability services
- Listen to your concerns
- Talk through your options
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Help you to formulate your complaint and make a complaint
- Support you while you resolve your issue
Freephone: 0800 555 050
Email: advocacy@advocacy.org.nz |
NZSQ Encounters
When: Sunday 26th November, 3pm (60 minutes duration)
Where: Newtown Community & Cultural Centre, Cnr Rintoul and Colombo Streets, Newtown
Entry is free. There's no need to register online, just show up on the day!
More information via their website: www.nzsq.org.nz
Join in an exciting opportunity to get up close and personal with some of Aotearoa's finest classical musicians. The New Zealand String Quartet - Te Rōpū Tūrū O Aotearoa - is visiting Newtown with NZSQ Encounters: a free, whānau-friendly performance of music.
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MACULAR DEGENERATION - FREE AWARENESS AND EDUCATION SEMINARS |
Free Seminars on Macular Degeneration in Wellington and Waikanae. Both seminars will cover the same content. Please register today for the seminar location that is most convenient for you to attend.
As you may already know, macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness in people over 50 years of age in New Zealand. 1 in 7 people will get this eye disease and 1 in 4 people over 80 years will suffer vision loss. Understanding more about this age-related eye disease is vital for ensuring independence and a good quality of life. Early detection can save sight.
Ophthalmologists, Dr James Leong and Dr Neil Avery, will share the latest information on research, treatments, disease management and how to best manage the challenges of living with macular degeneration.
Wellington
Date: Saturday 25 November 2023
Time: 10.00am to 11.30am
Speaker:Dr James Leong
Venue: Copthorne Hotel, 100 Oriental Parade, Oriental Bay
Waikanae
Date: Sunday 26 November 2023
Time: 10.00am to 11.30am
Speaker: Dr Neil Avery
Venue: Waikanae Community Centre, 28 Utauta Street, Waikanae
To register, call 0800 MACULA (0800 622 852), or send us an email with your name, contact number, seminar location and number of attendees. You can also register online at www.mdnz.org.nz/public-seminar
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The Books at Home Service is a free service for people who are unable to get to a library themselves, permanently. If you wish to join Wellington City Libraries as a Books at Home Borrower, would like to know more about the service, or would like to help by delivering selections to a Books at Home Borrower, please get in touch. Call 04 801 4044 or click here for more information.
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PITO-ONE - HARMONY SINGERS |
If you have friends or family who want to relate to others with cognitive decline or are living with dementia, why not visit the free singing group Pito-One Harmony Singers. It's a shared space to feel accepted while strengthening neural pathways and slowing cognitive decline while boosting positive emotions and feelings of connection. When: November 10 and 24, December 8, from 2.30 pm starting with a cup of tea or coffee Where: Petone Baptist Church, 38 Buick Street |
NEW POSTAL SERVICE IN PETONE |
A new Post Centre will be opening in Petone. The Petone Post Centre will be opening on Monday 4 December 2023 and will be operating out of the Petone Library, 7A Britannia Street. The Post Centre will offer postal and courier services.
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The Naenae Community Library run a Mid-week Movie screening on Wednesdays at 10am. These are free to all and they use a drop-down screen in their community space to project the film. Call 04 567 2859 for more information. |
VOICE ARTS - COMMUNITY DRAMA CLASS FOR SENIORS |
Voice Arts is a free community drama class for seniors. The 90-minute session is run by a theatre professional who creates a friendly, fun, welcoming environment. They use applied improvisation to light up neural pathways, provide connection, community and a joyful weekly experience.
Their participants come from all walks of life and say that they develop new friendships, confidence and enjoy the laughter and playfulness of the classes. Most classes include a coffee and biscuit break.
Their weekly classes are throughout Wellington and the Hutt Valley. New members are welcome to attend classes at anytime.
For more information on venues, dates and times please email: meldodge@gmail.com |
As we age, we may choose to drive our car less than we used to – we may only drive familiar routes or drive only in the daytime, or we may find we are medically unable to continue driving and have to relinquish our driver's licence. There are many options that enable us to maintain our independence and keep doing the things we enjoy when we no longer drive a car.
Reducing or stopping driving does not need to be a limiting factor that prevents you doing what you want, but it helps to think ahead about your future transport needs. Age Concern New Zealand has produced a booklet which highlights options for older New Zealanders to remain active and connected. This includes some things to consider about where you live, community and public transport services, recreation activities as well as social outings.
To download a copy of the booklet click HERE and scroll down to the publication. |
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Useful Tips From phone calls and text messages saying you owe money, need to claim a parcel, or must renew an important document, to emails and letters claiming to want to give you money or urgently needing you to renew a registration of some kind, there are countless approaches out there. Sadly, it's important to be on your guard.
Some useful tips include considering requests and asking yourself how the request makes you feel. It's also important never to enter passwords on unknown sites. Even clicking on a link in a text message can be dangerous. Scammers are good at making things seem urgent, so perhaps the most useful advice we've come across is to 'pause, reflect, protect." BNZ's scam savvy quiz is also an interesting resource. Give it a try here if you like (click here)... Consumer NZ also has interesting information about scams, including this article: The simple banking process that could stamp out scams - Consumer NZ
Email Scam
An email scam has re-emerged that references Police and other justice sector partners. The email claims authorities have done a search of the email recipient's computer locating explicit illegal material, and that a reply is needed within 48 hours or a warrant will be issued for their arrest. This email is a scam and anyone who receives it should not reply under any circumstances. It's important to note that Police and other government agencies will never contact you out of the blue and ask for your password, credit card or bank details. Anyone who received this email scam is asked to send it as an attachment in an email to the Police Cybercrime Team: cybercrime@police.govt.nz
Phone Scam
We've also heard of a local phone scam where someone pretends to be calling from Age Concern and tries to sell dietary supplements. This is a scam - Age Concern will never call you and try to sell something. Just hang up. Please also report it to us - call us on 04 499 6646 |
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS AND CONTACTS
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THANK YOU PELORUS TRUST FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT |
We really appreciate the support of Pelorus Trust who recently gave us some funding for some equipment. Thank you! |
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Age Concern Wellington Region is a registered charity. We are part of a wider network of more than 30 Age Concerns located across the country.
Visit our website to find out more about our work around the Wellington Region and how you can be involved www.acwellington.org.nz © Age Concern Wellington Region Incorporated
Charities # CC26836 |
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