Kind Hearts
For over 10 years, over 500 Easter baskets have been specially made and given to children in need. Easter is a sign of hope, and I felt an Easter basket for a child would give them hope for a better year. I started this project with 12 Easter baskets and this year delivered 85 baskets to St. Vincent DePaul of St. Mary’s in Huntley and the Itasca Food Pantry, which was founded by my best friend Ann McNally. My nieces in Johnsburg: Dawn, Kaitlyn (age 12) and her friends Maria and Sarah also followed in my footsteps and made baskets for mentally challenged adults and Home of the Sparrow. They also provided Easter eggs for an Easter egg hunt.
This project has been supported by many and could not be done without the generosity of my family, dear friends, the best neighbors in Arcadia, which is where I live, special Del Webb friends, strangers who have heard my cause, loyal co-workers, and kind clubs – especially the Celtic Club, which has been a supporter of this project and others.
Over 1000 items went in these baskets: clothes, an Easter bunny, toys, candy, school supplies, art supplies, trucks, dolls, baby food, shampoo, shower gels, cars, basketballs, crayons, coloring books, and on and on.
They were put together by volunteers who could not believe the extent of this project. Baskets were put in cellophane, tied with ribbons, labeled, and picked up by the volunteers of the organizations who help these families.
I have supported many smaller projects that don’t have the funding like the major organizations. Through these same people, I have delivered, blankets, pillows, toilet paper, household products, flip flops, cleaning supplies, diapers, sheets, towels, storage bins, food pantry items, school supplies, and anything that is needed and requested. The organizations I have helped are Pioneer Services, PADS, Home of the Sparrow, Turning Point, and anyone I see that needs a little help.
Thank you for supporting Simple Needs, and when you hear my cry for help, I hope you are able to help fill these simple needs.
At the present time, PADS has asked for welcome baskets that they can give to anyone who is being transferred from the outdoors to a real place to live. It would be nice if
families, clubs, neighborhoods, and classrooms could help sponsor one of these baskets at one of their events, classrooms, or get-togethers.
Thank you again to all these Kind Hearts for your support. I could never do this without you.
For any information, I can be reached at dianmnaples@yahoo.com.
Diane Naples
Simple Needs
Our Sun City Tankers Victorious in Illinois Masters State Swim Meet
Five Stingrays Swim Club members chose to join 548 swimmers, from 18 years to 80 years of age, at Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin for the 2014 Illinois Masters State Swim Meet. Held on the first weekend of April, Sun City/Huntley’s tankers selected two of the three meet days to swim their favorite events.
Stingrays Mark Schark, Ginny McCann, Bruce Hofstetter, Joanie Koplos, and Nancy Moore. (Photo provided)
The results were phenomenal! The Stingrays present placed in the top 10 finishers for all of their events, earning a total of 4 gold medals, two silver medals, one 4th place ribbon, three 5th place ribbons, and one 7th place ribbon. Their meet results earned them a ranking in the middle of 39 teams, many of which greatly outnumbered our seniors. Here are the Stings’ individual results listed with the age group in which they competed:
Nancy Moore (70 to 74 years of age): 1st Places: 500 yard freestyle and 100 yard freestyle
Joanie Koplos (70 to 74 years of age): 1st Places: 200 yard IM and 50 yard Butterfly; 2nd Place: 500 yard Freestyle
Ginny McCann (65 to 69 years of age): 2nd Place: 100 yard Breaststroke; 5th Places: 50 yard Freestyle and 50 yard Backstroke
Bruce Hofstetter (65 to 69 years of age): 5th Place: 200 yard Breaststroke; 7th Place: 50 yard Butterfly
Mark Schark (50 to 54 years of age): 4th Place: 200 yard Backstroke
Mark Schark and Bruce Hofstetter proved to be the group’s veterans for attending state meets. Mark, who has been competing for 20 years, has done 15 State Masters Meets. In fact Mark told us “I’ve been to Nationals a few times.” Bruce, who laid off swimming for 15 years, has attended three State Masters Meets. All three of our ladies were swimming in their first State Meet. The Sun City tankers loved the athletic site that provided two pools, one for the men and one for the women, where the event could run efficiently in a simultaneous manner. Mark commented “The RecPlex is the biggest swim facility in the Midwest.” Bruce agreed, “It was the best run meet ever!” Ginny thought “The cold showers got you ready for the pool water temperature.” Because of the Masters event being run almost as a dual function, Nancy and Joanie both had only one negative response concerning the noise reverberating throughout the huge room. This created a large number of event start and finish distractions. Nancy commented “When I swam the 500, I couldn’t hear my final length bell, so I swam one extra lap.” Joanie added, “The meet was better run on Sunday when the officials seemed to stagger the starts between the men and the women.” Mark, whose one competitor has been his rival since 12 years of age, stated “I am inspired to come back and even do better.” Bruce again agreed, “I couldn’t get over how fast everybody swam. Times were good for me, but I really want to get a medal next time.” Ginny added, “The variety of ages and huge numbers were impressive! The people there were helpful in helping newcomers.” Nancy finalized, “It was a great meet!” Joanie concluded by saying, “As in all Masters Swim meets, the younger ladies are always so complimentary and respectful of the seniors’ accomplishments. We hear so often ‘You are my idol.’”
By Joanie Koplos
Stingray Member
Trivia Bee Fundraiser
The Grand Victoria Casino attracts people who would like to win a few dollars. On Saturday, April 26, there were 27 teams who were there to raise money for The Literacy Connection in a Trivia Bee. This organization helps adults reach literacy goals through one-to-one volunteer tutoring and small group instruction.
One team was the Sun City Senior Moments. The members were: Kitty Bell, Diane Faubl, Barb O’Neil and Julie Schalk. This was the 3rd year of our participation.
There was a tie for 1st place, so there were 2 extra questions. Judson University won. (Judson College was the first 1st place winner in 1998.)
Here are a few questions:
What does the Mohs scale measure?
What are loonies and toonies?
What was the original purpose of the Secret Service?
Maybe next year we can have 2 or 3 Sun City teams. Want to join us? Call (847) 742-6565.
Diane Faubl
Sun City Senior Moments
