As we are nearing the end of another year and heading full tilt into the festive season bracing for another festive onslaught, this could be a good time of year to pause and enjoy some perspective on how far we all have come. Perhaps take a moment to pat yourself on the back for a job well done, then turn your thoughts to things other than work and focus on friends, family and Christmas giving.

At the same time, there will also be many people on their own at Christmas. Some of these people may wonder what all the fuss is about around Christmas whilst others may feel they are missing out and will feel very lonely.

In our final Newsletter for the year, members will read several articles written by ADAVIC volunteers, providing tips on how to survive the ‘silly season’ from ‘Dealing with loneliness at Christmas’ to ‘Surviving Relatives at Christmas’.

One tip from me is ‘Laughter’ – Laughter may be the best medicine for the holidays. Hire some funny DVD’s and microwave some popcorn and sit back and enjoy - amuse yourself with whatever tickles your fancy.

ADAVIC has had a very busy year once again; seems like every year is more hectic than the previous. I know that the first term of next year is pretty much full of activities that we have already scheduled. Hopefully the programs we will be offering will be beneficial to our members and the wider community.

This year ADAVIC commenced providing ‘Professional Development Programs’ – an idea I had for some years but did not have the opportunity to put into action. This idea did prove to be quite productive for ADAVIC and I hope that most attendees found the programs rewarding. We will continue these programs in 2011 as we have already organized two which will be taking place in February and March – see pages 28/29.

Unfortunately ADAVIC was not able to start a new anxiety support group this year as we feel we are not in a position to do so for the moment, however, that is something we will look at in the future. We believe our current four groups running weekly are providing vital support and comfort to the attendees. I have been quoted in the past saying that “in an ideal world if I could, I would have supports groups in all our municipalities”.

This year ADAVIC was able to increase on the numbers of lectures it provided – it was a lot of work but we managed and hope that members and other attendees found the different topics at hand full of useful and constructive information. Expect the same and more next year!!!

Thank you to all the supporters of ADAVIC, the presenters, volunteers and friends.

I hope you enjoy reading the December issue of ADAVIC’s final newsletter for the year.

Wishing you a safe and merry Christmas and a wonderful start to the New Year.


Anna Kouloubos
Managing Director
ADAVIC