Twelve Days of Goodness 2021, part 4

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

We are touching the hearts of our seniors for the twelve days of goodness on the answers for elders podcast network. Get to know what we’re up to this season of two thousand and twenty one. Welcome back everyone, and we are here again this twelve days of goodness edition of answers for elder’s radio and I am here with Yolanda Morgan, who is the president of the Central Council of the official Booster Club of the Seattle Seahawks, and that is the sea hawkers. Yolanda, welcome back and I’m so glad we’ve had this hour together to talk about the fabric and their culture of our of our hawks, because it’s really, really pretty amazing and you guys have been such a big part of this. It’s so incredible and you know, I first of all want to say thank you because you’ve been in the perimeters helping us for a long time, many years. You know everybody at our events and we miss her terribly this year. We’re always looked forward to having our wonderful candy John’s with us. Candy was always at all of our you know, so many of our events, and she was bringing the twelve flags, she was doing your book, she was doing rally cards, she was doing all kinds of stuff for years as on behalf of the Seahawks, she was the liaison to the team and certainly candy and I had an amazing friendship and she is very missed as she passed away last year and there’s not a day, you know, during these times that I haven’t actually, you know, shed a little bit of a tear thinking about the fact that she’s not with us this year and she was a really, really good, dear friend so many of us, and I know you kind of feel the same way and and you know, but this is the time of year at we say it’s about touching the hearts of seniors and it’s also about gratitude. It’s about gratitude for all the things that are seniors have done to build a culture around our community and it’s not just about football, but it is about giving back and I think one of the things that we’re very grateful this year is we really now have an official partnership with the seahawkers and the seahawkers are doing so many things for our events and Yolanda is here to talk and share with all of our listeners about what you guys are doing. So, first of all, thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all of your work. You have been so tireless and helping coordinate, you know, twelve days of events and certainly you landa. You’ve been amazing, so thank you again for for doing that. You’re welcome to the and it’s been an honor and privilege to actually be able to do this for the community. I must say it is my first year actually participating. I know that candy has always participated in this eventd and, like it stated earlier, she is thoroughly missed. There are times in my day where something has happened and I automatically want to pick up my phone and of course call her. Of course I can’t. So, you know, I just kind of look up and I just, you know, I just say to her and, like you saw this. I know you’re laughing up there. Yeah, you’re laughing at all of us, and she was so amazing. She was all you know, we are listeners to those of you that she was such a big personality and certainly somebody that you would never miss, because she always had blue and green hair and she was you know she was so totally rock star category, but you know, it died suddenly this last year and it’s so tragic amongst you know for what happened that we just were shocked and I will you know that happened like a little over a year ago now and I just just blows my mind that this happened right. But, Um, I want to talk a little bit about, you know, the seahawkers participation and how we have to do things differently this year. Of course, before, before a pandemic, we had anybody and everybody could come to events and we had full houses and we had, you know, a massive amount of people and all kinds of things happening. So one of the really cool things about this program, and I about twelve days of goodness, is that we’ve been able to work with the seahawkers to keep things safer this year and went in one of the ways in which I did that in speaking with Mike Flood, who is the vice president of community outreach of the seahawkers. Are Seahawks? Excuse me, yeah, I always all these different Seahawks, seahawkers, Mike is said. You know, I want to bring you lawand and the seahawkers in and I’m really, really thrilled that we did so. One of the things that for all of our listeners to know is that for each of our events, a chapter has actually adopted one event. So what tell tell us a little bit, Yolanda, about how that works now. Well, you know when you first of course, approached me and said, hey, we really want to have the seahawkers involved with the twelve days of goodness for this season, you know, you think we can maybe have you know that some of the chapters host each event, and so how that of course starts is, you know, I typically will go to my my chapters and put out an email stating this is a great opportunity for us of course, participate in this. I need hosts for, you know, certain facilities and I prefer that, of course, the ones that are closest to these facilities be the ones that host them. Yeah, so all across the board. You know, south sound is going to be hosting five, Renton is going to be hosting the Tequila community center, bottle the bottles of the North Shore Senior Center is going to be hosted by the Kirkland seahawkers. Snow Valley is going to be hosted by our Snow Coa Snow Homes County chapter. Let’s see, we have Edmonds, the Waterfront Center Herkland about. Yeah, chapters also doing Kirkland as well, right, the Kirk Peter Kirk community center as well. So they’re doing two they get there. Maze. Yeah, they’re going to get extra stars for that. Plus I believe they’re doing one for the watch party day. Yeah, I’m going to get to that in the middle. Okay. Yeah, and then, of course, you know, we have edmonds. It’s being hosted by our Watkin chapter. They’re actually planning on driving down spacides and is Ballard, where we will, of course be awarding the first recipient of the nosby Glasgow Essence Award. Will be hosted by our northwest Seattle chapter. I’m trying to think. Am I missing anybody? Let me look at my hoo is. I think I listed out the Seattle South. The Seattle is actually being cohosted by our kids AP chapter and also our South Chapter. Yeah, yeah, and that’s the claw. Specifically, I am going to be hosting that. So the Executive Board of the seahawkers is hosting that particular location. That’s amazing. That’s and of course you’re planning on being at all the locations and they’ll be a couple little surprises at every single event. So that’ll be really fun for our seniors. So one of the things that that obviously in trying to keep our senior safe is that we’ve been really fortunate in the fact that now voluntarism is very, very controlled, and I use that word very carefully. We want to make sure that anybody that goes into the community is fully vaccinated, that they wear a mask and that they are, you know, invested in keeping people safe. There’s certain things we can’t do this year. We can’t have super fans here this year because a lot of them paint their faces and they need to wear masks and so, just as a decision the seahawkers, the seahawks have said no super fans this year. So that’s kind of a challenge, but we’re working through the challenges and of course the crowds aren’t going to be as big, I’ll because social distance and seeing is important. So, you know, are where we normally have a few hundred people in a room, we might have half that and that’s okay. You know, what we’re what we’re looking for is making sure that there’s that there’s you know, that there is a good, safe place that people feel comfortable. And our events usually happen around the lunch so we have different you know, they happen in the middle of the day. So if you’re a senior and if you’re interested in attending, please go to twelve days of Goodnesscom and you can click on events and you can see the closest event to you. We just did north shore yesterday, but we have a lot more to do the rest of the twelve days. So, Yolanda, I want to talk specifically to you about twelve twelve. It’s fans day, seahawkers, that’s your day. What are you guys doing? Well, I think there’s a handful of chapters that are actually going to be going to I believe a few of the vineyard assisted living in your parks, Huh Hmm. And so I know I I’m planning on going to the PLAP location and rallying them up for this Houston away game that we have happening on twelve twelve. So yeah, we’ve got again, we’re keeping it safe, so we’re only allowing like up to four volunteers from each of our chapters that are participating to go to these locations and help rally them up, been bring joy and football, you know, into the Facilon such. So, yeah, I know that Kirkland, I think, is doing one, south sound I think might be doing one, and then, of course I’m going to the polap location and then northwest Seattle is going to be doing Vineyr Park Motley Terrace. So that it was confirmed this morning. Okay, perfect, Hey, yeah, yeah, okay. So, so, obviously in we only have just a couple of minutes left and I really want to thank you, Yolanda, so much for being on the show today. I think one of the things, the message that I would like to leave to each one of our seen, our seniors and our listeners out there is, if you’re a senior out there, thank you for all you have done to make a difference in creating community that we have today. But if you’re not a senior, I know you know of a senior and it doesn’t take much to reach out and touch their heart. Maybe it’s a you know, it’s a basket of cookies, maybe it’s a you know, invite them to into your own home. To Watch a game. If they if you feel comfortable, maybe it’s just to you know, take a plate of food or, you know how go in and share a picture of, you know, memory, memory scrap book or things like that. Look around their house. Maybe there needs some chores or yard work cleaned up or something like that. I will tell you, by making a difference in others lives, the person that it affects the most, that that it touches the most, is those are actually doing it and being out there and making your life count. Having a sense of purpose to me, is really what makes life worthwhile, and I know that, Yolanda, you live that every single day and I’m so grateful that you were on the show today. So thank you so much. Thank you for having me, Susanna. It’s been an absolute honor to be much. Are these things with you? Yeah, well, we’re really thrilled. And so for those of you again think about becoming part of the Sea Hawkers Booster Club. And that again is the website, www dot hawkers dot org. And until next week, everyone, as we’re making and touching the hearts of seniors, guess what, be good to each other. This podcast was brought to you by our sponsors, Humana and care partners. We are so grateful for your sponsorship, as well as all the senior providers that came forward to make our events happen over the twelve days of goodness to each and every one of you. Have a happy holiday season. In Two thousand and twenty