Program director joins Casa de Esperanza

After nearly 40 years of working with her husband Harry in the retail gift shop Sailing Traders in the Green Valley Mall, Ellen March has traded in her retail role to become the new Community Center director at Casa de Esperanza.

Finally, she is able to use her college major in sociology, she said in jest.

Along with that background, March brings four decades of secretarial, financial, customer relations, marketing, strategic planning and communications skills.

Casa de Esperanza offers a variety of activities and programs to encourage socialization for seniors 60 and over; it also encompasses Los Ninos del Valle Preschool Child Care Center.

From two-year-olds to seniors, the calendar of social activities and Monday through Friday lunches will give March a variety of challenges and rewards.

With her husband changing the name, retail nature and location of his gift ship from Sailing Traders to Native Hands next to the barber shop in the Green Valley Mall, March said she wanted something new to do.

“I have a strong background in health and medical volunteering; I put an ad in the Green Valley News… and now I’m the Community Center director,” she said.

An active community center, March reported that in June there were 2,512 visits to the many programs that included lunches, social activities and seminars.

As an experienced volunteer, she said Casa uses volunteers very well. They come to Casa through director of La Posada’s Volunteer Services Program Barbara Salazar and help with lunches, driving buses and many other activities.

March said Senior Lunch Coordinator Cynthia Fletcher is currently seeking volunteers to serve as an arts and crafts instructor, a current events presenter, an escort for lunch outings and lead a Thursday exercise group.

A recent 50-plus Senior Prom was a huge success and a similar event called the Harvest Ball will be held on Halloween.

Asked about the challenges ahead, March spoke about a new Victory Volunteers program to be funded by the United Way of Tucson.

Designed to provide volunteer opportunities for older adults who might not volunteer due to common issues of aging, the program was named by Executive Director Bill McCreery for this senior generation familiar with the WWII victory.

Now busy finding volunteers and various jobs for them, March said, “I’m going to churches, home health agencies, service clubs and non-profits. I love going out and meeting the personnel…Part of my job is to bring people together to do jobs needed in the community.”

Anyone interested in volunteering at Casa de Esperanza should contact Barbara Salazar at 648-7999.

Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net.