By Lynn N. Capri

The Worcester Senior Center, located at 128 Providence St., is an upbeat, inviting gathering place for all seniors, their families, caregivers, elder service providers and the community at large. Located approximately one mile from City Hall, the bustling Center is on two bus routes and has plenty of free on-site parking.

The Center, with its strong belief in vitality at all ages, places significant emphasis on health and wellness programming, intergenerational events, fitness, support groups of many kinds, arts & crafts classes, multi-cultural programs, computer classes and various other educational and recreational activities. In addition to scheduled programs, elders can enjoy a spacious library, computer lab practice, games, art exhibits and landscaped grounds. Lunch is provided every day, as is light fare at the diner. The Senior Scoop, a free monthly newsletter, lists all the activities, menus and programs for the month.

Seniors can also come to the Center for assistance with personal matters, to obtain information and support from the staff of Elder Affairs as well as from partnering organizations that provide services including veterans’ assistance, health insurance counseling, food stamps, tax return preparation, legal assistance and individual client advocacy.

With core funding from the City of Worcester, the consistent growth, success, and positive attitude and message of the Senior Center is a tribute to its personnel, its many visitors, and the needs it is meeting, as well as the creative partnerships developed with over 180 instructors and organizations that provide over 270 different programs!

Leasing space to elder service providers generates income and also enhances service delivery. Continual attention to diversity issues maintains a lively, multi-cultural atmosphere in which thousands of seniors have been taking charge of their health ~ and thriving!

On June 25th, the Worcester Senior Center will officially celebrate its 10 year anniversary. Vitality Magazine salutes them and wishes them many, many more years of success with the wonderful work that they do for so many!

For more on the Center, please visit www.ci.worcester.ma.us/ocm/elder-affairs/senior-center, call (508) 799-1232, or better yet, stop by in person!

Special thanks to Amy Vogel Waters and Robin L. Bahr-Casey

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 at 11:28 am and is filed under ParentCare, Vol. 16. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.