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Archive of WAVE Events


March 21, 2024 -- Maryland Department of Aging Listening Session

The video recording, chat, and slides from the March 21, 2024, Listening Session with Chelsea Wheeler, Manager of the Supportive Communities Program of the Maryland Department of Aging (MDOA) are available below. MDOA convened the session to hear from Villages and other organizations that help older adults remain in their homes and thrive in their communities. The goal was to engage these community stakeholders, seeking their input on how the state can better prepare for Longevity Ready Maryland. Hearing about their successes, challenges, needs, and priorities will help inform the June MDOA Supportive Communities grant and identify opportunities for collaboration.

Session Recording
Session Chat
Slide Deck -- MDOA Supportive Communities Initiative


2024 Plenary Conference and Mutual Support Sessions

March 6, 2024  -- Mutual Support Session: Challenges and Best Practices for Multigenerational Villages

Facilitated, interactive discussion led by Abby Simms, President, North Chevy Chase Connections.

Session Recording
Session Chat



February 7, 2024  -- Mutual Support Session: Recruiting and Keeping Volunteers

Sharing Best Practices for Attracting Volunteers to Villages. Facilitated, interactive discussion led by Chip Poston, MY Neighbors, Yancy, NC; Elizabeth Haile, Bethesda Metro Area Village, Bethesda, MD; and Robin Sandenburgh, Mount Pleasant Village, Washington, DC.

Session Recording
Session Chat



January 2024 Plenary and Annual Business Meeting.

Election of  Board members and president; annual report and look forward; Finishing Strong Award Winners. Plenary: Raising Dementia Awareness Within Villages

Conference Recording
Conference Chat Record
Raising Dementia Awareness Within Villages, Claudia Thorne, Ph.D.
Dementia Friendly America -- Northern Prince George's County, Sharon Johnson
President's Report and Finishing Strong Award Winners

Resources:
Dementia Training Resources



Joint WAVE-VtVN Conference, October 17, 2023

Click here for photo gallery

Morning Plenary -- Blue Zones
Speaker: Amtul Malik, MD, Family Physician, Geriatrician, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellow George Washington University
Description: Blue Zones are the five places in the world where the largest number of centenarians live. Dr. Malik provided insights into ways in which Villages can help create healthier environments and contribute to a culture of well-being.
Presentation

Afternoon Plenary -- Measuring The Impact Of Our Villages, Individually And Collectively
Speaker: Bill Kincaid, President, Village to Village Network Board of Directors
Description: Demonstrating the value of villages is vital to promote individual villages as well as the broader Village movement. Dr. Kincaid described the activities underway to collect and report on village programs and services, why it matters, and what individual villages can do to participate and benefit.

Presentation

Breakout Sessions

1.1 How Villages Can Be Successful With Sponsorship Fundraising
Speakers: Donna Phillips and Bruce Rosenthal, North Bethesda Village
Description: How Villages can develop value propositions to attract funding from business and corporations.
Presentation


1.2 Building Collaboration Among Villages
Speakers:
Doug Gaddis, Silver Spring Village; Carol Paquette, Virginia Villages Collective; Morgan Gopnik, DC Villages Collaborative; Margie Ott, Montgomery County Villages Consortium
Description: Examples of Villages working together for narrow or broad purposes: what worked, what’s needed.
Presentation

1.3 Creating More Diverse Villages

Speakers:
Stephanie Chong, Northwest Neighbors Village; Leo Sanchez, Mt. Pleasant Village; Wendy Zenker, Arlington Neighborhood Village
Description: How Villages are expanding their membership and volunteers to better reflect the diversity of their communities.
Presentation

2.1 Establishing a Digital Media Presence
Speaker
: Doran Flowers, Little Falls Village
Description: Developing a dynamic social media presence --aligned with your village's web site--with limited resources and experience.
Presentation

2.2 Surviving Transition
Speakers: Paula Lettice, Mt. Vernon at Home; Anne Quinlan, Bannockburn Neighbors Assisting Neighbors; Kathy Stevens, Consultant, Capacity Partners
Description: How villages can prepare for leadership transitions in advance and understand best practices for the transition processes.
Presentation

3.1 Recruiting, Maintaining, and Growing Volunteers
Speakers: Lynn Golub-Rofrano, Georgetown Village; Laila Riazi, Cheverly Village; Cindy Salavantis, Arlington Neighborhood Village
Description: Strategies and activities to identify and keep volunteers and encourage them to move into higher responsibilities.
Presentation

3.2 Helping Frail Members
Speakers: Cele Garrett, At Home in Alexandria; Eva Lucero, Dupont Circle Village; Vanessa Ripps, Silver Spring Village
Description: Appropriate and effective village services for members with declining health.
Presentation Materials


WAVE Quarterly Meetings

Summer 2023 Quarterly Meeting, July 19.  Effective  Board Relations.

As small nonprofit organizations, villages are governed by a volunteer board of directors--with or without paid staff. This quarterly meeting featured candid conversations on board governance: how an effective board should function and effective board relations with staff and committees

Plenary Session
Breakout Session
Plenary Session Chat
Plenary Introductory Slides

Resources:




Spring 2023 Quarterly Meeting, April 19. Exploring Multigenerational Ideas. Presentations from villages that have added a multigenerational project to their offerings with positive results, as well as from villages whose mission is centrally built around an intergenerational model. Winners of the 2023 Founders Awards also were announced.

Recordings:
Plenary Session, including Founders Award (timestamped)
Breakout Session #1
Breakout Session #2
Plenary Session Chat


Documents:
Quarterly Meeting Plenary Session Slides
Bradley Hills Village Everything Green -- Founders Award Winner
Arlington Neighborhood Village Penpal Intergenerational Project




January 23, 2023. The quarterly meeting included the WAVE Annual Meeting (election of officers and president, year in review) and a plenary featuring presentations on five topics of interest to villages.  The session concluded with four breakout sessions.

Recordings:
Annual Meeting and Plenary Session (timestamped)
Stronger Memory Breakout
DOROT/Tech Coaching Breakout
Collaborations Breakout -- Montgomery County Hub and Spoke Model and DC Villages Collaboration
Village Services Taxonomy Project Breakout

Documents:
WAVE 2023 Annual Meeting Presentation
Plenary Chat




October 17, 2022. The plenary featured a presentation by Kathy Pointer on the innovative Age-in-Place DC Senior Services Pilot Project, information about the new Finishing Strong Award, highlights of the Village to village Network conference, and a presentation about the new WAVE website and member benefits. The breakouts were “Problem of the Day”—facilitated discussions on challenges and solutions from participants.  

Plenary Recording (timestamped)
Kingdom Care Senior Village Presentation



July 18, 2022.  Insurance Issues and Risk Management For Villages. Liability is something that concerns every village regardless of their scope and budget. Insurance experts presented information about important things to consider when determining insurance and areas for concern regarding liability. In addition, the program included presentations by the 2022 Founders Award winners: Hyattsville Aging in Place and Little Falls Village. See below for links to the recordings and handouts.

Awards and Insurance Plenary
Insurance Plenary Only
Breakout Session Facilitated by Ken Harris, Albany Guardian Society
Breakout Session Facilitated by Emily van Loon, Village of Takoma Park
A Nonprofit Primer, courtesy of Andy Cooley, Cooley and Darling Insurance Agency 



April 18, 2022. Financial Best Practices for Villages. Though the topic may not be a "best seller," village leaders must understand the necessity of having efficient and secure financial practices. How can we run an effective nonprofit with volunteers, limited staff and budget? This panel presentation touches on the board's financial responsibility to ensure basic internal structures, record keeping, tax and 1099 requirements, payroll, investment management, bill pay options, and financial reviews. Speakers:
  • Ross Hamory - Treasurer, Mount Pleasant Village
  • Eva Lucero - Executive Director, Dupont Circle Village
  • Elaine Vaughan - Financial Operations Associate, Supporting Strategies

The program also included the announcement of the winners of the 2022 WAVE Founders Award.

Mary Jo Deering slide deck

Zoom video YouTube

Zoom video of Founders Award Winners 


January 24, 2022.  Strategic Planning for Villages. The plenary session tackles a topic relevant to virtually every village: strategic planning. Special guest speaker: consultant Michael Feinstein, Vice President of Capacity Partners. Today, a successful strategic planning process takes a somewhat different approach from the model we were accustomed to 20 or more years ago. The constant flux of our environment requires that our village operations be nimble and flexible. Feinstein discusses what strategic planning is and isn't--and how it differs from an operational plan. He covers common pitfalls and the importance of preparation before embarking on a strategic planning process. The program also includes a report on the survey of WAVE villages about the impact of COVID, by Professor Lynn Addington of American University, and the elections of a new Board member and the Board president.

Minutes -- WAVE Annual Meeting 2022

Mary Jo Deering slide deck

Lynn Addington Report 

Michael Feinstein. Strategic Planning Overview

Eriko Kennedy. Strategic Planning 101

Zoom Video YouTube


Developing Village Programs on Aging Dying and Death

Click here for additional resources and information on the Finishing Strong Award.

June 13, 2022. Creating and Leading a Village Discussion Group on Aging, Dying, and Death. Many older adults are very interested in end-of-life issues and would like to find others to discuss them with. The Bethesda Metro Area Village (BMAV) has a Shared Interest Group (SIG) focused on aging, dying, and death. Launched in 2017, it has become the village's most popular SIG. Chris Palmer, who initiated and leads the group, facilitated a session on how other villages might start a discussion group on death and dying in their own village.

Creating and Leading a Village Discussion Group on Aging, Dying and Death -- Presentation
Notes

Mutual Support Zoom Sessions

March 23, 2023. WAVE Mutual Support Session.  Low-Fee and No-Fee Villages -- Thriving on Small Budgets

Recording
Chat
Slide Deck -- Wyngate & Maplewood Neighbors Helping Neighbors



October 10, 2022.  Queen Anne's at Home Ready or Not Workshop. Though most seniors want to age in place, most lack a concrete plan for making that happen. The Ready or Not program, designed by and for the members of the Queen Anne Village, is a planning tool and 3-4 session workshop that builds on the Village’s three quality of life pillars:  connection, purpose and empowerment. It provides a tool to help members organize and plan for aging in place; an educational program to provide members with knowledge they’ll need to thrive; and an opportunity to collaborate and develop practical strategies for staying healthy, safe, connected and independent at home.

Video of the session.

Recorded chat.

Additional information.



May 23, 2022. Surveys For New And Evolving Villages. Surveys can be an important tool for the development of Villages. They can be very valuable in initiating the start-up phase of a Village, as well as providing useful feedback from members of Villages in various stages of maturity. The King Farm Neighbors Village (KFNV) has carried out both types of surveys. Jim Grueff, their former president, facilitates this session.

Zoom video YouTube 


March 28, 2022.  Reimagining Volunteers. Villages recognize that volunteers aren’t just for delivering services. We need them to initiate and lead social/educational activities, help with village tasks like communications or IT, and so much more. Bill Emmet of Mount Pleasant and Noel Durham of Arlington Neighborhood Village lead the discussion on new approaches to working with volunteers.

Zoom video YouTube 


WAVE Special Speaker Series

September 29, 2022. The Future of Medicine for Older Adults. Dr. Mikhail Kogan. Too often, care for older adults relies on prescription medications and invasive interventions. Dr. Kogan discussed effective non-traditional pharmacological, integrative, holistic approaches to managing illness and promoting wellness.

Zoom video YouTube


Washington Area Villages Exchange
P.O. Box 7464
Alexandria, VA 22307-0464
washingtonareavillages@gmail.com