Dear Friends, June has arrived…. It doesn’t seem long ago that we were “enjoying” -33 degrees with the wind chill… we imagined that these warm summer weather days would arrive some day and voila – they’re here! First let me thank you for all your emails and calls. It is so refreshing to learn from you. I appreciate your openness and willingness to meet with me / us. You represent CARP PEI. Without you there would not be this growing enthusiastic senior organization in PEI which stands for advocacy for our needs as we age. Appreciated comments: –“The Murchinson Centre seminars for the CARP members on planning (financial, power of attorney) were TERRIFIC! As was the lunch! Unbelievably warm and tasty!” S.C. –Another comment from a CARP member “I did not realize that you would come so far..” R.M. Summertime: Plan to absorb some of those warm rays each day to keep your Vitamin D levels at their peak. Avoid the sun 11 am – 2 pm; it makes smart skin sense. ***Did you know that if you expose a small area of your skin to the sun’s rays & time how long it takes your skin to turn pink/slightly dark, you can determine your special number? Take that number and multiply it by the SPF on your sunscreen product to determine the actual hours of sunlight you can soak up with your protection barrier without burning for that entire day. ***Be sure to be Sun Safe. Always wear a SPF hat that protects your ears and neck – not a visor. Be prepared for ” Fun in the Sun”. We are Seniors and we expect to be in this human race as long as we can with healthy skin! Last year I had radiation on my scalp – apparently a result from the years I played tennis with a visor as hats were so hot in those days – not like the ones available today. Teach your kids and your Grandchildren too! Please accept our apologies that we have had to postpone our informal session on June 1st in Charlottetown. More news later on our informal gatherings. At present your Board members live in the Charlottetown and Summerside areas. We would love to have representation from members in the other beautiful parts of PEI. Members who could help us hold more informal sessions during the next five months. Due to the travel time (& gas) involved to go from one end of this fair isle to the other, I envision four or five mini-offspring groups for our main Chapter 21 with social mini-forums meeting 2 – 3 times a year. The trick of course is we need more “willing helpers” – more CARP PEI members willing to do just a wee bit… arranging a location, baking, phoning, attending with friends both members and non-members. As Lucy once said, “You need involvement Charlie Brown”! Team work does make dream work! It is exciting to watch our membership number increase. As you know we have a Provincial Election coming on October 3rd. The greater our numbers – the greater our opportunity to have the politicians understand what’s important to Seniors! Many of our Mayors across the island are Seniors themselves. Help them join CARP PEI and learn the value of our membership and organization. What do you want to see happen for Island Seniors in the next 10 – 20 years here. What services can you imagine that you will need available for you and your loved ones? We welcome your responses always.