Special Events Coming Up!
Posted by: aqolli2008 on: January 24, 2009
We’ve got some great new events coming up for OLLI students!
On January 28, join us at Cook Valley for A Singing Celebration with the OLLI at Aquinas Players (formerly the Aquinas Emeritus Players). This high-energy performing troupe of comedians, actors, singers, and dancers performs regularly at retirement homes and communities. Tap your toes and laugh along as they explore the lighter side of longevity! Come and be part of the fun! Free to all.
In February, explore the joys of the rich, dark decadence that is chocolate! With Valentine’s Day approaching, join us for a Chocolate Extravaganza on Thursday, February 12. We’ll have artisan chocolate makers on hand to discuss the history, methods, and even the madness of that innocuous little cocoa bean. Our own local organic chocolate company, Wild Earth Chocolates, will demonstrate the process from bean to bar. Bring your sweet tooth! Free to members.
Tell us your favorite saying….
Posted by: aqolli2008 on: January 7, 2009
When John Logie took us around downtown, he said “And as my grandma used to say that’s serving of wind pudding with a topping of air sauce.”
My grandpa used to say, “He did that faster than Grant took Richmond.”
Got a favorite saying? Share it with us….
February Fun
Posted by: aqolli2008 on: January 7, 2009
February is a time when we most need activities to draw us out of the house and into community with other engaged learners, so we’re offering our biggest array of classes ever, from Exploring Bent Space and A Closer Look at Alternative Fuels to the political ramifications of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the unearthed mysteries of Roman Arabia. In honor of the 200th anniversay of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, Reverend Brent Smith will explore Lincoln’s religious beliefs and how they informed his political ideas.
Among our many member choices, you can explore your intuitive powers and how they deepen faith; learn how to communicate about difficult isses with your family; and discuss food and wine pairings or the perfect crumb and crust of bread with masters in their respective areas. We’re also partnering with Grand Valley to provide some of our members free registration to the 4th Annual Gerontology Conference on February 20. This year’s conference focuses on the heart, from physical health to romantic love.
If you decide to stay at home, commune with experienced learners nationwide on the web at Civic Ventures or the National Center for Creative Aging. Popular culture may have sidelined older people, but these websites offer inspiration, information, and links for how experienced adults are quietly and sometimes not so quietly transforming the face of America.
But don’t keep the good news to yourself! In honor of feistiness in age, please join me in February for a new program designed specifically for our members. Soup to Nuts is a lunchtime program that will highlight seniors who lived large right until the end. Think Isadora Duncan, Claude Pepper, Julia Child, Ralph Ellison, to name a few. We’ll eat a simple lunch together following the morning class session and discuss the lessons that can be derived from luminaries whose light shone brightly until the end of life.
We care about you! Stay warm, drive safely, and visit us often!
Registration ends January 9 for the January Sampler Session.
At this date, the following classes are full:
- Grand Rapids, Mediterranean Bus Trip
- Saugatuck Wine Tasting Bus Trip
- Eating Fresh Economically
- Einstein, Buber, and Heschel: God, Wonder, and Awe
These classes have been canceled due to lack of enrollment:
- Horticulture Therapy
- Painting Miniatures
- Exploring Justice Through Biblical Ideals
Instead of languishing away on the wait lists, why not check out some of our other great classes? Abelard and Heloise: A Historic Love Story, led by author William Levitan, explores the true story of the scandalous and passionate love affair between this famous philosopher and his student. Two brilliant minds meet and fall in love–what a wonderful story to warm up those cold January days! Call to register today!
Austen and Dickinson
Posted by: aqolli2008 on: December 19, 2008
Talented storyteller and performer Patricia Hruby Powell, daughter of Aquinas president Norb Hruby, transported us to the 19th century for a delightful evening at the Women’s City Club downtown to celebrate our name change from the Aquinas Emeritus College to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Aquinas College. Patricia delivered two fascinating monologues while in the characters of Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen as they mused about their personal lives, current events and the cultural mores that informed so much of their work. Some of the evening’s most delightful moments occurred when, in character, Patricia answered the audience’s most pressing questions about Austen’s life.
OLLI in the Community
Posted by: aqolli2008 on: December 16, 2008
Our winter community service project is to fill the pantries at Kids Food Basket, a non-profit organization in Grand Rapids devoted to ensuring that school-aged children living in poverty have food to eat when they go home at night. Over 1,300 snack/suppers are sent home with hungry children each day. We’ll be collecting items from the wish list below through our February session. Please bring your donations to class! Check out these fine folks at Kids Food Basket.
- 100% fruit juice boxes
- Granola bars
- Fruit cups and pudding cups
- Cracker packs
- Sandwich baggies
- Brown/white paper lunch bags, 8lb or extra large
- Individual serving sizes of cereal and other healthy snacks
We also like to give our generous students updates about the impact of community service projects we sponsor. We didn’t count each toothbrush, but we know we donated more than 500 personal care products to Pine Rest’s Women’s Lodge. Many of the women who enter this substance abuse treatment program arrive straight from prison without any personal amenities. Retired social worker Kim Carnes understands the relationship between caring for your body and caring for your mind, and arranged to get make-up samples from local businesses. Our community partners, Thanksgiving Women, sewed make-up bags and joined us in collecting. Betsy Brown, who works with the Women’s Lodge, was overwhelmed when she saw the laundry baskets stuffed with items.
“What might seem like a small thing,” she said, “such as a bottle of lotion or stick of deodorant, can do so much for a woman’s self-esteem. Caring for themselves and knowing the community cares for them is yet another step towards healing. We are so grateful to Thanksgiving Women and OLLI at Aquinas.”
Please help us continue to help our community!
January Sampler–New Classes for a New Year
Posted by: aqolli2008 on: December 16, 2008
What is this about dollar shrinking? Here at OLLI at Aquinas, we are forging ahead to make our OLLI memberships the most budget-friendly ticket to fun for experienced learners West Michigan has ever seen! For example, for her $25 membership fee, Dolly Parton (not her real name) has taken our Grand Rapids, India and Mexico bus tours, as well as accompanied Mayor Logie on a tour downtown to view new developments. She’s also explored Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, the geology of Grand Rapids, the role of laughter in healing, and picked up tips for running her first marathon and publishing her first novel.
And the fun is just beginning! This month, members will travel to see Grand Rapids, Mediterranean. Our January Sampler–two course sessions instead of four–is being offered at deeper discounts than ever before. And we have a record number of free member classes! Look for classes that explore the financial, personal, and cultural repercussions of economic downturns.
Returning are beloved teachers Al Lewis on Einstein, Buber, and Heschel; and Aquinas professor Dave Weinandy joins us again to teach how postive communication–especially in tough times–can enhance our lives. Joining us for the first time are Reverend Jim Vanderschaaf, founder of the Criminal Justice Chaplaincy, who will explore the biblical approaches to restorative justice, and American Academy of Rome fellow Dr. William Levitan, who will share his eloquent translations of the letters of Abelard and Heloise.
We are close to reaching our membership goal of 500, qualifying us for a million dollar endowment from the Osher Foundation. Your support has made this possible. We continue to thank you and show our gratitude by promising you more education, community, and fun at a lower cost than ever. You also have my personal pledge that your experience will be an enjoyable one, from the fresh-ground, free trade coffee we now serve all the way to a well-plowed parking lot. January has never been this much fun! Our wishes for a wonderful, safe, and blessed holiday season.
Member Bus Trips
Posted by: aqolli2008 on: August 8, 2008
Some information was left out of our catalog regarding free member bus trips.
Because we have a finite number of seats, we are only able to allow members to sign up for one free bus trip.
To guarantee a spot on the other trip, members must pay the fee for the trip ($30). Members may put their names down on a waiting list for their second-choice trip, and if by the end of the registration period (Aug. 8-Sept. 2) the bus is not full, members may take the additional spots for free on a first-come, first-served basis.
Brochures
Posted by: aqolli2008 on: July 31, 2008
Didn’t get a membership brochure in the mail? Email us at olliinfo@aquinas.edu to be added to the mailing list, or visit the Membership page to download the registration form.
Our course catalog for the Fall I session will be mailed starting next Monday, so look for it in your mailbox next week. In addition, it is also now available online. Visit the Courses page to download it and get a look at what we have coming up this fall. Call us to register for courses now!
Fall I Courses
Posted by: aqolli2008 on: July 22, 2008
Our official course catalog won’t be out for a couple of weeks, but you can get a sneak peek at our Fall I courses by visiting the Courses page. There’s a lot of great experiences to choose from, ranging from behind-the-scenes at the Zoo to learning how to play the harp, as well as two different bus tours around Grand Rapids that are FREE to members.
We’ve got some very interesting members-only courses as well, so take a look at the Membership page. As always, those are free for members. What a deal! For only $25 a year you get access to three to four extra classes a term, and remember, for all other courses members receive a 10% discount. Call (616) 632-2430 to sign up for an OLLI membership today.
Registration opens August 8!
