Adapting to the Future: Navigating Changes at the VNA

Dear Vasa Siblings,

It’s been rather busy here the past few months. It doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down much in the next few months. We’ve been working with vendors to get new windows and high-density sliding shelves installed. The windows are courtesy of a generous donor and the shelving is from the Grand Lodge.

To prepare, we’ve been working on converting the bedroom and upstairs offices into storage space. We’ve also been clearing out space in the basement. We purchased and assembled wheeled shelves to make the most of the available space. The bedroom storage space is about half full at present. I’ll be moving boxes into the office storage area in the coming weeks.

With the changes in the  archive, we realized how much stuff we have that isn’t needed. We decided to host a yard sale during an annual 100-mile yard sale weekend, More on 34. We slowly gathered items for the sale. Most of the items were extra office supplies, bedroom décor, etc. Three neighbors joined us in our large shaded yard on the main road in Bishop Hill. We made $260 despite the threat of scattered showers on the second day. We’ve been donating the extras to local charities and putting other things out for people to grab for free.

This weekend we’ll be busy with a 2-day village-wide Midsommar. With the temperatures being very high, we’re expecting more people to come in for our Respite. We offer drinks, munchies and a Make-and-Take clay station to keep people entertained while they cool off.

In Truth and Unity,

Kathy Cuff