Meet our Mid-Valley: Marilyn Daily makes Salem more welcoming for older residents
This is part of a weekly series introducing readers to individuals who are passionate about our Mid-Valley community.
By 2030, one in six people worldwide will be over the age of 60.
With a growing older population, Marilyn Daily wants to make sure those retiring and entering the next stage of their lives have the tools, programs and resources needed to stay happy, healthy and connected to their communities.
Since 1999, Daily has been leading Center 50+, a Salem community center.
The center, located at 2615 Portland Road NE, offers more than 200 programs and services, a fitness center, retirement planning, a woodshop, classes, respite programs and artisan shops.
The center also serves the broader community through its outreach services and Wellness on Wheels van.
As the center's manager, Daily has weathered COVID-19, changing technology and an increase in people using the center's services.
She is passionate about helping people at this stage of their lives.
While getting her degree in public policy administration, Daily intended to work in skilled nursing or care home administration.
"While working in my final years of college and then into my practical experience, I really decided that I wanted to do everything in my power to give people more choices than a skilled care facility so that they could remain in their homes as long as possible," she said. "Local government and senior centers — that's why we exist."
The tools, services, programs and relationships the center provides help them do so as safely as possible.
Weathering the pandemic
The restrictions brought about by the pandemic dramatically impacted Center 50+. The physical location was closed to the public for six months. But adapting to the restrictions brought about big technological advancements for their services.
Within days of the shutdown, they transitioned to virtual services and front-door delivery.
"That was a huge growing opportunity for us," Daily said.
Now that in-person services have returned, there is a new appreciation for meaningful relationships and friendships enabled by the center.
"It's not just about filling time," she said. "It's about filling time with meaningful relationships and meaningful experiences."
Thousands of participants, hundreds of volunteers
Daily said Center 50+ has a database of membership of more than 9,800 people, which does not include the people using their mobile services.
She credited their thriving programs to the center's staff, community partnerships and dedicated volunteers — they have more than 450 registered volunteers and about 250 who are in the center on a weekly basis.
The variety of the groups keeps the center fun and engaging.
"We are not a traditional senior center," Daily said. "Our folks are adventurous. We travel. We do fun events and fun activities."
Other programs become vital to helping caregivers and older residents needing help.
Daily highlighted their adult day respite center for families with a loved one living with Alzheimer's disease. The program gives caregivers a much-needed break and offers lunch, mentally stimulating activities, arts and crafts, chair yoga and music therapy for participants.
"What I love about that program is that we work really hard to help people continue their self-discovery," she said.
The city has made a commitment to be an "age-friendly" community through AARP's network to create places more accessible and welcoming to its older residents.
"We were excited about the age-friendly initiative and the desire to make Salem a place where people can live and thrive for their lifetime," Daily said. "We never want people to have to leave Salem because they can't age in place."
If you have an idea for someone we should profile for this series, please email Statesman Journal senior news editor Alia Beard Rau at arau@gannett.com
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Marilyn Daily makes Salem more welcoming for older residents
