Please join us for a “Community Connector” Event
- Thursday, September 24th, 2026
- 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- May Hall at Seba Seniors – 109 1 St S, Seba Beach, AB
Community Connectors
Connectors include members & leadership from local Seniors Groups, Activity Centers, Community/Rec Leagues, Ag Societies, as well as representatives from our local Libraries.
Seba Seniors hosted an initial get-to-know-you ‘connector luncheon’ back in January 2026; now we’d like to help continue the conversations and expand the connection among senior-serving community groups in the area.
This is an opportunity to bring community leaders from every group together – to collaborate, support and share insights on some of the challenges we all face as volunteer-run & non-profit organizations. Come out and get to know the people behind many of the other boards, groups, and organizations in the surrounding community spaces.
We will provide a detailed agenda prior to the event, but here is an overview of what we are planning for this gathering in September –
1. Grants: Insights & Information from Community Experts
Seba Seniors is pleased to have Dr. Haidong Liang & Lorena Smalley, both from WE Seniors (formerly the Westend Seniors Activity Centre), join us to answer YOUR questions about pursuing grant funding opportunities & the application processes. Haidong and Lorena can provide personal insights from a wealth of experience and knowledge.
- This will be a Q&A-style info session. Let’s come together to get answers to your questions and gather tips and insights from those ‘in the know’.
- Bring your questions and project ideas; let’s share perspective and practical advice on how to seek grants to fund your programs and upkeep of your facilities.
Helpful links to get you started, if you are not yet familiar:
2. Introduction to the “Connecting People & Community For Living Well (CPCLW)” Program
- Carmen Lawrence and Robyn Laczy work with Connecting People & Community For Living Well (CPCLW), an initiative that is transforming how health, social and community partners work together locally to design, deliver, and implement services and supports so those in their community can ‘live well’.
- Carmen and Robyn will share how the CPCLW team supports rural communities and leave time to discuss opportunities for working together.
3. Drive Happiness:
- A volunteer driver & ride sharing initiative to help older adults who are not able to drive themselves, to get out to important appointments and participate in social activities & programs.
- Mileage is compensated, and volunteer drivers can select which rides they can provide and set their own schedule.
- This program is already operating in the region, but we’d like YOUR help to get the word out, involve more drivers, and this will create more ride-share opportunities for isolated seniors.
4. Living Well; Aging Well Expo – planned for Thursday, October 8th in Entwistle
This expo is for older adults (50+) featuring a Vendor Fair (local business and service providers for older adults & their caregivers) and a Speaker Series featuring topics on healthy living, aging in place, and planning for the future.
We’d like to offer every ‘Connector’ organization a FREE vendor table to promote their programs and activities – this is a great opportunity to attract members and potential volunteers.
- More details to follow, but we hope you will consider hosting one of these tables on behalf of your group or facility.
- Registration will be open at the start of September; admission will be FREE of charge for all registered attendees & participants.
Our special guests: Joining us from WE Seniors
Dr. Haidong Liang, PhD; MA; B.R.M.C.D – serves as the CEO of West-end Seniors Activity Centre and WESeniors Strathcona County. He is a dedicated gerontologist who earned three degrees in aging studies in Canada and seamlessly bridges academic research with real-life practice. Under his leadership, the organization received the 2019 Minister’s Seniors Service Award and was the sole Alberta recipient of the 2025 Healthy Aging Impact Award — Heart of the Community (Collaborator) Award for exceptional leadership in building collaborative community partnerships.
Lorena Smalley is the Community Engagement Manager for WE Seniors, and also serves as the Operations Manager for the WE Seniors Strathcona County satellite location. Before joining WE Seniors, Lorena was a successful entrepreneur and a long‑serving government professional with decades of public service experience. Lorena brings exceptional business insight and operational leadership, working closely with Haidong to build the WE Seniors Platform, the full marketing framework, and the Alberta Seniors Alliance, while overseeing the successful development of the Strathcona County Community Hub.
Joining us from Connecting People & Community for Living Well (CPCLW)
- Carmen Lawrence is a Senior Program Consultant with Connecting People and Community for Living Well. Over the course of her career, she has worked in mental health, health promotion, and prevention with people of all ages. She is passionate about community development and is dedicated to connecting, discovering, and activating local strengths that foster health and wellbeing. Living in Edmonton, Carmen enjoys spending time outdoors, reading, painting, and staying connected with family, friends, and neighbours.
- Robyn Laczy, Practice Lead with Connecting People & Community for Living Well, holds a Native Studies degree from the U of A, with experience in health research, community development, and patient and public engagement. She is passionate about systems transformation, healing-centred engagement, integrated wellbeing, evidence-based health, and climate change awareness.
RSVPs will be requested in early September
- A reminder email will be sent out before September 14th, where we will share a detailed agenda and provide more information.
- We’ll also be requesting RSVPs at that time so we can plan to have
Personal Follow-up with each group will be coming soon.
- Please feel free to call me with your questions or for more information at any time but I will also be reaching out to each of you to check-in and see what your availability looks like and how many folks we might be able to expect from each group.
Wendy L Hildebrandt
Community Outreach Project Coordinator
Seba Seniors
email | wendy.hildebrandt@sebaseniors.ca
tel:(780)963-9641
