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Seniors Centre has a long history in Orangeville

March 23, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Pickford

For the best part of three decades, the Orangeville and District Seniors Centre has provided a caring and comfortable home away from home for older area residents looking to remain active in the community.

Located opposite Kay Cee Gardens on Bythia Street, the local facility – and in particular its programming – has grown in popularity over the years, with Pat Elmore, the centre’s administrator, stating it had more active members than ever before in 2016. With its new membership year kicking off on April 1, Ms. Elmore says this is the “perfect opportunity” for interested seniors to come out and see what the facility has to offer.

“We’re an active recreational centre for people aged 55 years and older, and we have a long history here in Orangeville,” Ms. Elmore told the Citizen. “The centre is designed to keep older seniors active in the community. We offer a varied program schedule – there’s basically something here for everyone. We don’t just get together and play cards on a daily basis as some people may think, there are a lot of positive things happening here at the seniors centre.”

And Ms. Elmore was good for her word. Upon arrival at the facility early on Monday morning, I noticed a significant group participating in an hour-long Zumba class.

“They have so much fun in there,” Ms. Elmore said. “We have fantastic volunteers that come in and donate their time to teach and run the various classes we have, so the seniors are learning these things from people that know what they’re doing.”

Along with Zumba, Monday’s schedule included a line dancing class, knitters group gathering, bid euchre games and a Taoist Tai Chi session. Other programs ongoing throughout the week include shuffleboard, woodcarving, carpet bowling and yoga. Open five days a week, from Monday to Friday, the facility also offers a paid lunch – $6 per person – two Tuesdays every month.

“It’s a great place to meet people in the community. If you’re on your own, this is a fantastic place to associate yourself with,” Ms. Elmore said. “The big thing I always hear from new members is how quickly they make new connections and meet new people. It’s a perfect opportunity to make friends and re-establish yourself in the community.”

For a cost of $25 per year, seniors will have the opportunity to explore a whole new world, Ms. Elmore says, with a number of instructional programs and day trips also on offer along with the centre’s regular weekly programming.

“We do all kinds of cool things throughout the year. Right now we’re offering a free income tax return program at the facility – and that’s for anyone in the community, not just seniors,” Ms. Elmore said. “Then we have different bus trips out to theatre groups, we have a permanent cyber seniors program we launched last week to help people with different technology-related problems. We have foot care clinics, special guest speakers. There’s always a lot going on at the seniors’ centre, that’s for sure.”

And since the centre will soon be launching its new membership year, Ms. Elmore said those interested in trying out some of the regular programs can do so free of charge over the next week.

“March is really the perfect time to come in because we don’t charge a membership fee… The next membership year begins April 1, so we offer March as a bit of a freebie month for people to come and check us out and see if they’d like to join,” Ms. Elmore said. “What I will say about this facility is if you’re stuck and need help with different things – such as your taxes, health care or whatever – we can help you. We can send you in the right direction.”

She added, “The great thing about us is the experiences our members have reaches out beyond the seniors’ centre. Once they make the connections and get involved, it really expands them out into the community. I’ve seen it give people a whole new lease on life.”

For more information on the Orangeville and District Seniors Centre, visit orangevilleseniorscentre.com.

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