Skip to header Skip to main content Skip to footer
Helpful Village logo
Add me to your mailing list
Youtube channel Facebook page
Header image for Pasadena Village showing nearby mountains and the logo of the Pasadena Village

Blog archive

November 2024

October 2024

ARBORIST WALK: NOT FOR TREE HUGGERS ONLY!
10/29/2024

Bill Wishner: Visual Hunter
10/29/2024

Can a Village Group Fix Our Healthcare System?
10/29/2024

Community Board Directors Strengthen Village Board
10/29/2024

Connecting with Village Connections: The A, B, C, & D’s of Medicare @ 65+
10/29/2024

Grief is a Journey: Two Paths Taken
10/29/2024

Message from the President
10/29/2024

Promoting Informed & Involved Voters
10/29/2024

What Will Be Your Legacy?
10/29/2024

1619, Approaching the Election...
10/27/2024

Beyond and Within the Village - A Star is Born
10/17/2024

Happiness by Priscilla Leonard
10/11/2024

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
10/11/2024

Unpainted Door by Louise Gluck
10/11/2024

In the Evening by Billy Collins
10/10/2024

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
10/10/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

September 2024

August 2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

First Anniversary
08/19/2024

Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024

Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024

The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024

Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024

Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024

Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024

Future Housing Options
08/15/2024

Message from the President
08/15/2024

There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024

Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024

A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024

Haikus
08/13/2024

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024

Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024

Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024

Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024

Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024

Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024

Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024

Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024

Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024

Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024

Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024

Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024

Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024

No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024

An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024

Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024

Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024

The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024

Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

Cheers to our Volunteers!

By Blog Master
Posted: 04/01/2021
Tags:

Pasadena Village relies on volunteers to build community, fulfill member requests for rides and other support, for office and tech help, to create and run all of our programming, and a myriad of other ways of furthering our mission. Knowing that the 2021 Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 18-24) would again be without the joyous and delicious gathering at the local favorite restaurant Mijares, the Village forged a new partnership to show our appreciation in another way.  

Gabriel Vazquez from the Institute for Redesign of Learning was looking for ways their clients can give back to the community when he and Katie Brandon met on Zoom at a Pasadena Chamber of Commerce event earlier this year. The Institute for the Redesign of Learning (IRL) provides programs for individuals with special needs, ages infants through adults, through the greater Los Angeles including here in Pasadena.

This mutually beneficial partnership turned into a creative endeavor for adults in IRL’s programs who are on the autism spectrum or who have Down's syndrome. Gabriel told the Village how much these individuals miss social connections and how they find joy in art projects. One of IRL's clients is Francisco who has been a part of the Almansor Transition Program for many years which has surely enriched his life. The IRL staff works with him on independent life skills and ways to be a part of his community. They shared, "Francisco is mainly non-verbal but if you know him well as we do, you will be able to communicate with him," and that he has been recognized for his hard work and ability to follow directions. The IRL staff was grateful for this creative project for Francisco. They shared that, "Artistic freedom allows Francisco to totally be himself. His art frequently displays bright vibrant colors with no rhyme or reason." We hope the cards he made will convey his larger than life smile and personality.


Two months after the Chamber event, Gabriel hand-delivered over 100 colorfully decorated thank you notes to the Village office to be sent to Pasadena Village volunteers and supporters. They have traveled from the Institute for Redesign of Learning campuses, to the homes of their clients, to the Village’s offices, and finally will arrive in our volunteer’s homes in the coming weeks. The Volunteer Coordinating Committee hopes our amazing volunteers know how appreciated they are and that these little cards will spread joy and make our community feel even closer during these times when we continue to be physically separated.


Blogs Topics Posts about this Topic