Room for more at the Center for Seniors

ZANESVILLE − There are more than 100 events on the Muskingum County Center for Seniors schedule in February. The center's executive director Kate Paul wants to make sure they are the right ones.

"We have great activities here," Paul said. "We are trying to promote what we do well" while attracting younger senior citizens and their families.

"We have a wide range of participants, but we don't have a lot of the younger seniors, 60 year olds, people that are still working," she said.

The question is how to reach those younger seniors. "We are asking in a community survey to get more input on what would bring people through our doors, whether it is meetings or activities we don't offer," Paul added.

The survey is available on the center's website, though their social media and newsletter.

The survey is to ask the community what they want to see from their senior center. The center's long-term goal is to get more community support, be it through volunteerism or in-kind or financial donations, Paul said. The center's operations are supported through a 0.5-mill levy passed in 2021. That was predicted to generate about $907,792 a year and would account for about 75% of the revenue the senior center receives. The rest comes from area nonprofits, donations and other grants. The levy only supports operations, the day-to-day expenses of keeping the lights on and paying staff. The rest, including the homebound meal program, comes from other sources.

"I want to see the community support, and support the community," Paul said. "Our mission in a nutshell is enjoy life, and how can we help that as a senior center or a community center for seniors."

As the population that visits the center continues to age, Paul wants to attract more of the younger seniors. "The senior population is going to look different in the next 10 to 15 years, and I want to make sure we are moving in the right direction to help establish relationships that we see in the future."

"It's a great place to be, and we want more people to know about it," said the center's Activities Director Tara McGuire after a Monday arthritis class. Seniors exercised in a semi circle worked on ways to conquer the pain of arthritis through exercise, accompanied by laughter and banter.

That means making the center attractive to people who are senior citizens now, and those who will be. That might mean hosting a painting class where a grandmother can bring her grandchild, Paul said. The class would strengthen intergenerational ties, while keeping the center in the public eye for future visitors.

And they have the capacity to host classes and events outside the center's normal hours.

"During the day we have traditional senior activities, and the traditional focus on seniors," Paul said. "I'm not going to take that way, I want to compliment that."

As laughter filters into her office from, Paul said she wants to get away from the perception that the Center for Seniors is a stuffy place full of quiet old people. "It is a fun place where people socialize," be it through dances, card games or Wii bowling tournaments. She would like to see younger generations join their elders for meals or other events.

Paul will take the survey suggestions to her board, and make sure future plans fit with center's overall mission.

For more information, visit the Muskingum County Center for Seniors website.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Room for more at the Center for Seniors