2026-03-18 - Life at the Senior Center

Summary

Charlton Senior Center director Michelle Drumm interviews several seniors and staff about life at the center. Don Kopaki (25-28 year resident, member of the senior/community center feasibility committee, ukulele player and actor with the Pasture Prime Players) describes the value of lectures, music programs, and camaraderie, and calls for a single-floor building with dedicated (not shared) activity rooms and improved on-site cooking. His wife Mary echoes the parking/accessibility and single-floor concerns and praises the center's low-cost lunches and social atmosphere. Vicki (12-year attendee) highlights genealogy and painting classes and also asks for more small private rooms for clinics (tax help, foot care). Sue Crockett, chair of the Council on Aging and a retired Sturbridge senior center director, discusses the center's cognitive-stimulation ("Fit Minds") programming and repeats the call for single-floor accessibility and dedicated small rooms. Staff members Shaunie (outreach coordinator) and Emily Reyes (departmental/activities assistant) describe benefits counseling, home visits, the lockbox safety program run with the Fire Department, and the durable medical equipment loan closet, and both say the center's biggest need is more space — for activities, storage, and quiet areas. The segment closes with thanks to funding sources (Executive Office of Aging and Independence, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Helping Hands, Country Bank) and notes the town's upcoming townwide yard sale will benefit the senior center.

Issues discussed: Senior Community Center Feasibility

Transcript

0:07 | Hi there. We are doing interviews with some seniors uh that attend the Troutton Senior Center. My name is Michelle Drum.
0:13 | I am the Troutton Senior Center director. And with me right now is one of our not only our seniors at attendees, but also one of our performers, uh Mr. Don Kopaki. Hi, Don.
0:25 | Hi, Michelle.
0:26 | And how long have you lived in Charleton? How long have you lived in Charleston? About 25 years. So, relatively a newcomer.
0:34 | Yeah. [laughter] Um, so why can you tell me, Don, why do you attend the senior center?
0:41 | There's many reasons why I attend and I'm one of those who initially scoffed at going to a senior center. And it's
0:49 | some sort of stigma that sometimes people have is, oh, you're going to go to a senior center, boy, are you on death's door.
0:56 | Right. Right. And it turns out that no, there's lots of interesting programs that do go on at the senior center. And
1:04 | that's first of all, probably the programs although secondary probably about equally important is uh a
1:14 | sort of camaraderie that you can start getting with people you're the same age.
1:19 | Uh people who you can relate to with things. Sometimes it's hard for people to relate to things that are um a little
1:29 | bit older and well we do have several generations. I mean you think senior center and you might think oh my goodness everybody
1:37 | there is you know maybe even close to triple digits but that's not the case.
1:41 | uh folks that attend the senior center are in their 60s, their 70s, their 80s, their 90s. And we even do have have attendees that are, you know, close to
1:49 | those triple digits, but there's a wide range of folks that attend a senior center. Right. And that's what you're saying that sometimes you're learning, sometimes you're teaching. Yeah.
1:57 | Right. Um so what do you would you say if I were to ask you like what's your favorite thing that you've uh attended at the center and maybe why?
2:07 | Well, there's many things that I do enjoy. Uh being a little bit of a musician, I enjoy any of the music programs, but I think what I really find
2:14 | most interesting is the lectures that are held and it's interesting to hear um
2:23 | lectures. It's as if you're going back to college with the exception that you're choosing
2:30 | the subject. So, uh, the professor is very receptive to, um, recommendations
2:38 | for what type of history we might be interested in. There's also other things that are a little bit more, um,
2:46 | on the interesting side from the point of view of u, cryptids and aliens. You get lectures on those kind of things.
2:55 | And probably the lectures are my favorite thing to go to the senior center of war.
3:01 | Thank you for that. Now, yeah, we do have uh uh Mr. Ronnie Leblanc who happens to live in Massachusetts. He's uh uh one one of the hosts of the the
3:09 | Travel Channel. He does um Bigfoot and the paranormal and UFOs and things of that nature. And that's uh a little
3:18 | different than some of the other lectures that we have that are more, you know, well, that would certainly be considered lifelong learning, but we do have like as you mentioned uh uh the
3:27 | professor from uh Frammingham State, uh Professor John Hubrex, and he uh history and he's very um open to suggestions
3:35 | like you as as you just indicated um uh different topics. So, he wants he wants you to uh be interested. He wants the seniors to be interested. So, whatever
3:44 | topics you can conjure, he's done, you know, everything from Lizzie Bordon to the Dust Bowl to the molasses flood and,
3:52 | uh, probably everything in between, right? Um, thank you for that. Um, so what does the senior center, Don, what
4:00 | does it mean to you and how has it improved your life?
4:05 | uh primarily is uh you know being a relative newcomer to uh Charlton 28 years sometimes it's hard to
4:13 | really find people who are from the town to get familiar with and it seems to be easier for older people
4:22 | to get together even if they're not from the town.
4:27 | Sure. We we are open I'm sorry we are open to uh from folks from other communities. It doesn't have to just be Charleton. It's uh very common in
4:35 | Massachusetts for folks to kind of uh pick and choose whatever programs are offered at various senior centers. So you may meet somebody from other other
4:44 | towns and not just Charlton residents, right?
4:47 | Yeah. So you like that interaction and meeting new people and expanding your horizons in that in that way.
4:53 | Lovely. Um so um what improvements Don and also Don's a little humble. He he
5:00 | does uh um acting here with the pasture prime players. He uh plays ukulele. He's played with some of his his uh his uh uh
5:10 | comrades in the ukulele industry um over at the senior center. And uh he's quite talented and he sings too. Um he he does
5:19 | do a mean karaoke I might add. Um he's also on the center feasibility uh committee uh with full transparency. So,
5:28 | um what improvements, Don, would you like to see either um in services or a physical lo? Should we um be gifted with
5:38 | um a new facility? What what what improvements or benefits could you foresee in the future?
5:44 | I think one of the biggest problems with the current center is uh first of all, there's a lack of decent parking
5:53 | and accessibility. Although it's fairly compliant, it could always improve.
5:59 | There could be easier ways for people who are a little bit uh less able-bodied uh to get in. There's plenty of ramps
6:06 | and things like that. I mean, but uh just having the accessibility of having perhaps a single floor rather
6:15 | than having to go upstairs to go to different parts of it. um to have rooms
6:22 | that are dedicated versus shared spaces.
6:28 | And if you have something a shared space might be something where there's a pool table, but maybe there's some quilters who want to do something at the same
6:36 | time someone want to might want to play pool or do things like that. And so it would be nice to have dedicated spaces
6:43 | for some of the activities that are there. It would also allow uh if there were dedicated spaces, if there were
6:52 | some classes of some sort going on to leave things as they are instead of having to spend the first 20 minutes and
7:02 | the last 20 minutes of an hour session setting up and closing down. And I think that's one thing that would be uh pretty
7:11 | good to have as well as improved uh facilities uh for cooking.
7:18 | Uh the idea being that uh maybe some of the meals could go back to being meals that are cooked on site. Uh
7:27 | yeah, we did have a good draw when we had meals cooked on site. We really did.
7:31 | Yeah. Yeah. I appreciate your time and your uh your thoughts, Don. Thank you so much for uh for doing this with us today. Appreciate it.
7:39 | Thank you very much, Michelle.
7:46 | Now, we are going to have a little conversation with Don's wonderful wife, Mary. Hey, Michelle.
7:53 | Hi, Mary. Thanks so [clears throat] much for doing this today.
7:56 | Um, so I understand that you have lived in Charlton a whole 28 years.
8:00 | Nope. No, no, it'll be 26 years this May. Oh, okay. Yeah.
8:07 | So, I see. I I won't dive into that.
8:10 | Okay. Um, so why do you attend the Charlton Senior Center?
8:15 | Oh, I couldn't wait until I was 16 so I could join. It just looked like everybody was having fun because I would see a lot of these seniors in the
8:24 | library talking and laughing and stuff and it's like, oh, they're having such a good time over there. So, you were like,
8:31 | "Yay, I want to be 60 so I can join." The month I turned 60, um, I ran over and I said, "I want I want a card. I
8:40 | want to become part of the senior center." And the staff was amazing. And it was like, "Oh, and this is so and so
8:46 | and this is so and so." And um my first meeting or or just showing up for a
8:54 | lunch, uh, there was this one woman who came over to me. Hi, how are you? I don't know your face. My name is and who
9:03 | are you? And come sit with me. And it was lovely. It was lovely. That is excellent. Very friendly. Yeah.
9:11 | Wonderful. That's what we want. That's the kind of um atmosphere that we want to uh encourage and embrace here so that
9:18 | we have folks that are kind of like the ambassadors. Um, so that when it's kind of hard sometimes, maybe everyone's not
9:27 | quite as uh enthusiastic about trying something new and it might be scary for some. And so if we have folks that are
9:34 | like welcoming, like that's not a I love what you said. That's not a face I know.
9:39 | I'm going to go over and introduce myself. Everybody's been so nice. I mean the people I knew before are you know
9:46 | the moms as the kids are growing up you you do projects together in the schools but after the kids graduated and went on
9:54 | their merry ways it was like okay who do I talk to now and I've met some
10:00 | wonderful people at the senior center so that is fantastic to hear um so um what
10:08 | would you say Mary is one of your favorite things that you've ever um did at the center and and why would you say
10:15 | um I would say um doing the projects when Bemis brings all the flowers
10:22 | yeah to the senior center and we make an arrangement for the table or something like that. That is always fantastic. So I enjoyed that.
10:32 | Um what else did I really really like?
10:35 | It's really wonderful to have all the the fresh flower the scent of the fresh flowers fill up the entire I mean the whole length of the lunchroom is filled
10:44 | with uh the the the beautiful aroma of fresh flowers and and you you create you you're given some guidance, but
10:51 | everybody um seems to go home with an a design that's a little bit different. It's all different.
10:57 | Yeah, they're all different. It's just fun and there's a lot of giggling and stuff like that. Giggling is great.
11:02 | Yeah. anything else come to mind or is um I love the lectures. I'll I don't miss the lectures and I don't miss uh
11:10 | try not to miss the armchair travel because I don't know if I'm going to see Ireland or Scotland or Italy or
11:18 | whatever. So, it's nice and then you get to try foods from those countries and that's that's always a a treat. So,
11:26 | well, y'all were out of luck because we had um a snowstorm when we were going to have Armshare travel to Thailand. So, nobody got to try the chocolate crickets.
11:36 | Oh, darn. [laughter] Oh, darn. We could redo it. We could do it again.
11:43 | Um, so Mary, what does the center mean to you and and how has it improved your life?
11:48 | Uh, my husband and I go to lunch a lot at the senior center. I love the price.
11:54 | Uh, but I would be willing to pay a dollar or two more for those wonderful home-cooked meals we used to have there.
12:03 | Um, it's a nice place to go. People, you'll always get a smile. Um, it just
12:10 | gets you out of the house and it's not far to travel. So, I just enjoy it.
12:16 | That's great to hear. Um, just as a little shameless um, plug about socializing, folks who socialize um,
12:24 | actually live longer and and um, have happier lives than those who don't. So socializing isn't isn't just about
12:32 | getting out of the house and having something to do. It actually improves your health and well-being um, those who socialize. So um, that is just my little
12:40 | commercial break. Um, so um, back to Mary. Yeah, thank you Mary. Um, so how has you your attending the center affect
12:48 | your thinking about Charlton as a community?
12:52 | Uh, it's g I'm actually learning a lot more about the community. Um, I know Don mentioned just hearing stories from people who have always lived here.
13:03 | That's kind of cool. But I haven't really um traversed out of our street and seen
13:14 | things or been been to things, but now it's like this is so cool. Charlton is a very lovely town and I don't even think
13:23 | I've seen half of it yet and I've been here 25 26 years. though. Um it
13:31 | people talk and then they mention something like um there was this underground cow p passing place that you
13:40 | can hike and you're just always hearing new in new things about the town and we go and we explore it. That's that's
13:49 | awesome. And we also have had like today we had the Trout and Fire Department come in and uh talked about programs that are offered uh in each senior's
13:58 | home whether it's changing the batteries and the smoke detector or cooking safety or um bringing you a bucket of of sand.
14:07 | That's right. Bucket of sand.
14:08 | Um that was the other nice thing about joining the center. I didn't realize all the things that you people do for the
14:16 | seniors in town. I didn't know half of the things that are available to seniors. So that's that's pretty cool stuff.
14:25 | Well, we definitely with the 40 plus square miles that the Charlton has, we do have our work cut out for us getting the word out to everybody about services
14:34 | that are out there. And that's part of what why we're doing what we're doing today is to is to help uh get let folks know what's going on, including I just
14:42 | gave a little plug about the fire department, but the police also. Um we have a an elder affairs liaison. So if you have maybe you're having some
14:50 | questions about is this a scam? Is this not a scam? You can come see us down at the center and uh we can also uh connect
14:57 | you with a or maybe you have something even you know more you know even very serious going on in your life. we have an elder affairs liaison with Sergeant
15:05 | Steve Mell and we can connect you with him and uh get you some maybe some um security in your in your thoughts uh to
15:14 | rest assured that something isn't what it is or maybe you know there's more to pursue and they can help you with that as well. Um what improvements, Mary,
15:23 | would you like to see either in services at the center or a physical location or um in a you know, what could you see for
15:30 | maybe um a new center? If you if you were to dream about one, what would you see?
15:36 | Um all on one floor because it's it's starting to get tough uh with mobility,
15:44 | but I trust this town. I know it's going to come through for the seniors because
15:51 | pretty soon we're going to be outnumbering everybody else because we're all living longer and we deserve a
15:59 | nice little place to go to. That's how I feel. But specifics, I know the
16:05 | committee is really uh in touch with what's needed and I trust the committee.
16:12 | That's great. And we are also grateful to the incredible Charlton Library for allowing us to have several of our
16:19 | classes over um and their beautiful facilities. We've had they've given us a gorgeous New Year's Eve party. They've allowed us to use their space for our
16:27 | New Year's Eve party. We've got our threaded together class over there as well as a couple of yoga classes over there every week because we just don't
16:35 | have the the space over there. So uh um but as a result there's seniors that attend those classes that we don't see at the center and there's probably I
16:43 | know there are lots of seniors that attend yoga class that don't know the seniors that come to classes over at the at the uh center proper. So there's kind
16:52 | of a disconnect there because of the the space. So yeah. Yeah.
16:55 | Well I I thank you Mary for your time and expertise today. Thanks Michelle. Yeah you're a wonderful participant.
17:02 | Thank you.
17:07 | Now we are joined with Vicki, a very active attendee at the Charlton Senior Center. Hi Vicki, thank you so much for being here today.
17:15 | Um, so how long have you been a Charlton Knight? Almost 12 years. 12 years. So a real newcomer.
17:23 | A real newcomer. [laughter] Now um why Vicki? Why do you come to the Charlton Senior Center? What brings you in?
17:29 | Um to meet and make friends with the people that are here. um to have things to do and to be able to do volunteer
17:38 | work, which I've pretty much done forever.
17:41 | You have a long history of that for sure. Um now, what do you feel is your favorite thing that you've ever done at the center and why would you say?
17:48 | Um mostly just the activities. I really enjoyed the genealogy classes. Actually found a few relatives locally
17:57 | and I like the painting classes and of course the music. Oh yeah, music is good for the soul. Yes, it sure is. Um, so
18:06 | what does the center mean to you and how do you feel is it has improved your life? Maybe it gives me purpose. It um gives me a
18:15 | chance to be with other people. Um my husband and I were very involved always
18:22 | with many groups. So it's just a way to keep connected with people.
18:29 | very important as as we've talked about, right?
18:32 | Um, how does your attending the center affect your thinking about Charlton as a community?
18:40 | Well, when we were house hunting, we did pick Charlton one because of the wonderful library and we did know some of the locals and
18:49 | it's a very friendly and warm place and even though you're a newcomer, you get welcomed.
18:57 | Perfect. What's your what's your uh favorite kind of music that you've been to at the center? I actually prefer country and 60s.
19:05 | Oh, country. Okay. Country, western. So, country and western. All, you know, both kinds.
19:09 | Yes. [laughter] And and the 60s, right? 60s. Well, we've got um not too long from now, I think we've got a Paul
19:18 | McCartney uh tribute band coming up soon. So, if we check your calendar, I think that's coming up. So, you might enjoy that. Right.
19:25 | um what improvements would you like to see um maybe in services or in the physical location? What improvements or
19:32 | benefits could you foresee maybe in a in a new center?
19:37 | Well, like some of the other ones have stated that the parking is a big issue.
19:41 | the um handicapped accessibility is hard for some people and I think we need a few more
19:50 | individual not so much offices but rooms for the small activities like the tax lady, the foot people, all the little
19:58 | clinics that get ran. We should have more small rooms for them. I am I could see that because someone um said to me
20:07 | like, "Well, there's no little rooms to have like private little chats or little reading rooms or things of that nature." And we we do lack that I think. Right.
20:16 | Yeah. Yeah.
20:17 | Well, you know, um I appreciate your time here, Vicki. I I appreciate everything you do for the center and um thank you so much for being here today.
20:25 | Oh, you're welcome. One other thing I would like to say is they do put out a very nice monthly newsletter that is
20:32 | available in quite a few locations in town so people could um find out what's going on.
20:38 | That's great. Thank you for that. I appreciate that. You're welcome. Thank you, Vicki.
20:48 | Well, with us now we have uh Charlton Council on Aging Royalty with us. We have we have the chair of the Charlton Council on Aging, Miss Sue Crockett.
20:59 | Thank you, Sue, for being here. Oh, thank you, Michelle.
21:03 | Now, if you can let us know, how long have you lived in Charlton? Just about 40 years. 40 years.
21:11 | Now, you're also you're also involved in other uh groups in town as well, and you're very an active volunteer.
21:17 | Yes. I I like at the end of the day to feel like during the day I've helped someone. So that's always been my goal.
21:25 | Well, you did that throughout the course of your life as well because you are a retired senior center director. Yes. From Sturbridge.
21:32 | Yeah. So, so this is this uh being in a senior center has been a kind of a a very comfortable place for you.
21:41 | It's kind of strange though, not that I want your job, but um you know, come in and now I'm not in charge. I'm sitting in listening to a program that at one
21:50 | point I planned and you know so it's it's a little hard you kind of taking a backseat I think
21:58 | I look forward to my retirement someday and just going go ahead you know
22:01 | [laughter]
22:02 | I know it's a mixed blessing though I bet I bet yeah it's a mixed blessing but you do you have filled your life with purpose you have filled your life
22:09 | with with uh purpose and helping people so that you did that throughout your entire work life and now you are doing it in your retirement So helping is in your in your blood, right?
22:19 | Yes, I would say. I would say.
22:22 | So So can you elaborate on that as to why you attend the the Charlton Senior Center?
22:27 | It took me a while to get comfortable with it ju just because it was like going back into my workplace but not having, you know, a structure there. And
22:36 | then it was hard after my husband passed away, going in by myself. And I I still find that kind of intimidating when I
22:44 | park the car and I walk in and Yeah. I'm still a little intimidated, but when I walk out, I'm always glad I was there.
22:53 | Yeah. I I I think that when we make the transition, it's always hard, especially when we've suffered a loss and our our
23:01 | um you know, we've had a partner for the majority of our life and now our life has changed and we are doing things on a so more of a solo mission.
23:10 | Yeah. And um that it's a dramatic difference.
23:13 | I can I can completely imagine that now you are um you know you're traveling a path that you thought that you would be
23:21 | you know longer with your partner and now you are doing it um a solo journey and trying something new is very
23:28 | challenging. Even if you're walking in with your your partner and now trying to walk in and try something new when you
23:35 | are on your solo journey it's got to be even a little bit more daunting. Yeah. I find it. So, yeah.
23:42 | But you found the courage to return back to kind of a a workplace setting for you.
23:47 | Um, son's your wonderful husband and and not only have you uh made that transition, but you've made an impact.
23:56 | You're continuing to make an impact on on uh other people's lives. So, I that um it takes a lot of courage um and
24:04 | strength, and you've been the epitome of both. Oh, thank you.
24:09 | Um, so what do you say is the favorite thing that you've attended at the center?
24:16 | Well, I I'm going to mimic some people here. Certainly the lectures. I I like to come away from that I've learned something that I can tell somebody else.
24:25 | So, I love the lectures and um and also being part of the council on aging and being behind the scenes and helping in
24:34 | that way also and planning things, seeing what's coming up. So, um those two things.
24:41 | Um is it the um the history le lectures that you uh enjoy the most or um would that be would that be a fair statement?
24:49 | I think so. Yeah. But I also enjoy listening to the um town officials come in and speak. When the town administrator comes down, he's available
24:58 | for any question you have or the when the police came in and brought the their dogs with them and Yeah. Yeah. Anything
25:07 | you can take away and learn is good for me. I'll listen to music and I might sing along, but I would rather learn something. Yeah.
25:17 | Yeah. Yeah. You Well, lifelong learning is, I think, so important for great brain health.
25:22 | Oh, and the fit minds course you do, too. I love that.
25:27 | Fit minds. We do a program that is kind of like um cognitive stimulation, excuse [clears throat] me, for any, you know, any functionality. We do cognitive
25:36 | stimulation. We do little activities or or uh exercises with your hands or what have you. And it it um it exercises
25:44 | every lobe of your brain um for for better brain health.
25:48 | And I am glad to see the BEM miss classes coming back also. Me too. Yeah.
25:52 | Me too. Um what does the center mean to you? I think we touched on it a little bit. And has it improved your life?
26:02 | Yeah, I think it has. I mean I live well in child a lot of the houses are very separate and mine is also and now living
26:09 | alone. It's a chance for socialization and Yep. So it's uh you know it's added
26:17 | to my schedule I don't always remember what I signed up for.
26:21 | How does your how does your attending the center affect um your thinking about Charlton as a community?
26:30 | Well, it's good to hear the history.
26:32 | Some people have lived here all their lives and it's amazing, you know, to learn more about the community and we all and a lot of us share the same wants
26:42 | and needs like a grocery store in town, a Trader Joe's in town, you know, so we talk about things like that, too. And uh
26:50 | maybe we can make it happen and everyone can appreciate that.
26:54 | Well, there's safety in numbers, that's for sure. You know, the more people get band together about certain things, you can make you can affect change. Um or
27:02 | you can like just say something like on a cable show and make things happen.
27:06 | Trading shows. [laughter] Um really I would love that.
27:11 | What um what improvements would you like to see either in um services or a physical location of the center?
27:18 | I mean I just have to say the same things of parking and to watch um somebody with a walker struggling up the
27:26 | ramp to get to the ladies room or to the men's room. It's painful. So, I really hope that situation can change and have everything on one floor.
27:37 | Thank you.
27:38 | And I love the idea of the individual rooms also rather than closing down a big room because a foot clinic is in there. So, I think that's that's good.
27:47 | Yeah, that would be a huge help. Yeah.
27:49 | Thank you, Sue. I appreciate your time, your appreciate you. Thank you. I appreciate it. I really do.
27:55 | I do appreciate you. I appreciate your thoughts. I appreciate what you do for the center and uh thanks for doing this today too. I know it's not always a
28:02 | comfortable thing to uh to be on camera and you you you did it and I appreciate it. Thanks Sue. Appreciate that.
28:13 | Well, now we are are transitioning into an interview with staff. Today we have here with us Shaunie. She is our
28:20 | outreach coordinator and uh she's been with us what maybe what a year?
28:26 | Just about a year now. just about a year. So Shaunie, could you tell us what an outreach coordinator does? What's your what's a day in the life of Shaunie like?
28:35 | So at the Charles Senior Center, uh what don't I do? Um I am Michelle's
28:41 | right-hand woman. Um I am mostly benefits and I help um the seniors that come in. I explain to them what's
28:50 | available to them such as um food stamps, um fuel assistance, uh any discounts they may be eligible for
28:59 | public benefits. Um also connecting them with our local resources with the fire department or the police. Um someone
29:08 | mentioned stand for seniors and that was a great uh program that the fire department offers. Some people just come
29:15 | in just to chat. Um, can you talk about the lock box?
29:20 | Yes, the lockbox program. Um, some seniors lock themselves out of their house. Some seniors might fall in their
29:29 | home and the fire department will go out and actually put a lock box on their outside of their house so only they have
29:37 | access to it. So if something were to happen in their home, um, they can get in and assist without busting a door down. Right. Yeah. Right.
29:44 | Yeah, that's great. Thank you for that.
29:47 | Um, so what do you say is uh something that you enjoy about your job?
29:52 | I love helping everybody. I love seeing the same faces every day. I also love seeing new faces come in. I love um
30:01 | exploring different um options that people don't know they have to them with them and and just educating them about
30:09 | them. um and showing them around our center and trying to get them to come back and feel welcome.
30:15 | Shaunie also does home visits. Um some folks are unable. We we want folks to be able to stay independent in their homes
30:23 | for as long as possible and um and and with that Shaunie um our outreach program does home visits so that maybe
30:31 | you need fuel assistance but you really are not able to get out of your house anymore to come down to the center or and um and and and access that service.
30:40 | So Shaunie will um go to the house and um get those forms filled out for you so that you you have the same access to services.
30:48 | I have done that. Um I've done food deliveries for you know the less fortunate that can't get out um you know
30:56 | donated food um chip in from the senior center as well as I've brought in someone's trash barrels for them while I
31:04 | was there because they weren't able to move their trash from the road. So, um, a lot of different things for home home visits.
31:10 | How about And you are a wonderful, um, ambassador to the center when people come in. Um, you
31:18 | know, we we could have had kind of a very busy, hectic morning, but the a new person comes in and you are just like,
31:26 | "Hey," you know, and just so warm and uh kind and welcoming and um I you're just
31:34 | a a great um Well, you're like an Alka-Seltzer. You're effervescent. I want everyone to feel welcome.
31:40 | You did. You do. I want I want them to remember um you know people will forget what you said or forget what you did but they'll never forget how they made you
31:47 | feel and I think you know providing a safe safe place for the seniors to come and feel welcome and and and secure and
31:56 | get the knowledge um that they need and feel part of something bigger in the town is important and you'll jump in whether or not if
32:04 | we're short staffed in the kitchen or whatever is happening you are right there willing to jump in whatever ever needs to be done to get through the day.
32:12 | You Yes, we're you're we're make a a great team. I think we've got a great team um at the at the Charlton Senior Center.
32:19 | You can catch me with a hairet and a spatula sometimes behind the kitchen. It's a good look. [laughter] Yeah.
32:26 | So, anything else you want to Oh, can I can you have you talk about the durable equipment closet?
32:31 | Yes. Our closet um is full of durable medical equipment that has been donated
32:37 | to us. Um it's loner equipment. We have over 50 rollolators. So if you need one,
32:44 | please let me know. Um we are trying to clean out that closet. We have um transfer benches,
32:52 | um depens for men and women. Um if somebody is looking for anything like that, please reach out to us first. Um
32:59 | canes, crutches, yeah, walkers, commodes, right?
33:03 | Yes. and anything you may think of um call us and ask first and before you go buy it because it's expensive and we might have it for you.
33:11 | We don't service any of it so it is asis. So we want to say that you know so we make sure use at your own risk but it
33:19 | is free and uh we're happy to provide a service to the community. Yes, absolutely.
33:24 | Yeah. What else can we say? Anything else you got on your mind about your job or the center in itself? What do you think we could you benefit from? Um, if
33:32 | we had a dream center, I definitely think more space um, especially for activities, different rooms for different activities so
33:41 | nothing's interrupted. Um, storage for all of our storage, all of our bins. We have a bin for
33:50 | St. Patty's Day. We have a bin for the Wizard of Oz movie. So, you know, really room for storage where we can get
33:58 | organized and provide the best um experience for our seniors.
34:02 | I I think it's it's organized. It's just that it's in the same room where we have the thrift closet and the sewing group
34:10 | and the the phone that for the volunteer that answers the phone and the pool table and the um office equipment uh
34:17 | office supply closet and the uh craft class closets. Um, so it's it's a little congested.
34:26 | We have everything we need. It's just we need the space to provide everything we our to our full potential.
34:33 | Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I I appreciate you, Shnie. I appreciate everything you do for the seniors. I appreciate you, too. Thank you. And thanks for for doing this today.
34:42 | Thank you. Appreciate you.
34:48 | And last but certainly not least in our edition of the child and senior center uh hits cable TV um I want to introduce
34:56 | you to Emily Reyes re Emily here as a departmental assistant slash activities
35:03 | assistant and she does a little bit of everything. So thank you for being here Emily. Thank you.
35:10 | What um can how can you describe your role as what you do at the center? My role it's a mixture of things. I do both
35:17 | departmental stuff and I do activity stuff. So like in the morning or early afternoon when there's a group, I'll help run that. Like whether we need help
35:25 | with the craft. Denise does awesome crafts. Um great volunteer. [laughter] Yes. Love her. Um whether it's setting up a karaoke group or starting
35:34 | decorations or something. I help with the activities with that. And then, you know, later on throughout the day, I go through like the billing with the
35:41 | invoices and um getting spreadsheets to work and answering emails and all that stuff. So, kind of keeping both the activities and the department in check.
35:51 | You got a lot of you have a lot of balls to jump around [laughter] here, don't you? Your day is u varied, I would imagine, because like you said, it's
35:58 | it's part administrative and and part activities. So, um, it's it's it's kind of I'm sure it can be challenging to find that balance. Yeah.
36:07 | You never know what you're getting into each day, but it's you figure it out.
36:11 | You get the flow. You go, "Okay, I'm going to do this thing for the activities and I'm hop over to the computer and do this and you find a flow and it works." And I like that though
36:18 | that I can just come into work and it's all going to be different and it's not a set thing that, you know, you get tired of. It's all different. It's all great.
36:25 | And the same thing that I I said for Shaunie is that um you also um whenever anyone's new or anybody needs anything,
36:33 | you are, you know, like Johnny on the spot, whatever needs to be done, whatever it is, you're popping into the kitchen if some if we're short staffed
36:40 | and popping on the hat or the hairet and serving lunch or or you're like, "Absolutely, I can make that flyer." Or, "Absolutely, I can give a new person a
36:49 | tour." And what what and it's always yes, absolutely. No matter what it is that I say, "Hey, Emily, can you?" Or, "Hey, Shaunie, can you?" You ladies are
36:57 | always just like, "Absolutely, absolutely. You're wonderful. You're just so I just feel so fortunate to have such a great team. You you ladies do a
37:05 | fantastic job and I'm I'm just so um proud to be to be working with you and and have you be the the faces of the Charlton Senior Center."
37:12 | I think we have a great team. We work really well together. I think three of us and then also with the volunteers and every volunteers. We work together. love
37:20 | working with Shaunie, collaborating with you. It's just I think we have a great great system.
37:25 | And like I'm so glad you said that the volunteers we a senior center is nothing without the lifeblood of its volunteers.
37:32 | And we have uh I don't know 30 volunteers or so that we try to um every year um show our gratitude by taking
37:41 | them out to a lunch or an activity or something. Um, and we're also grateful, I want to say, for the executive
37:48 | executive office of aging and independence, formerly known as the executive office of of u of uh executive
37:56 | office of aging. Yeah. And uh so EOEA and uh that is our uh grant source. So
38:03 | uh one of our grant sources and uh because of them, because of the state, we are able to offer many of our programs at little to no to no cost. Um
38:12 | I I would be remiss in any program about the senior center if I didn't talk about um the executive office of aging and
38:19 | independence and also the cultural council here uh Charlton and you mask cultural council supports us um with
38:27 | grants. We've been fortunate enough to get grants from the cultural council um annually and uh it is it makes such a
38:36 | tremendous difference um to our programming to have those have those grants. they are key to uh to offering
38:43 | services to the town um to the to our seniors. So, we're very grateful for that.
38:48 | Yeah. Some of the thing like the um the office on aging and independence um they
38:57 | provided um and they still provide a great 10-minute massage um like a chair massage. Awesome. Everybody loves it.
39:04 | Everyone's so happy about it. the cultural um agency. They also provided um during our veteran stuff. They did
39:12 | storytelling with music and stuff. It was just really awesome. They provide great great opportunities for us.
39:18 | Absolutely. Is and also our helping hands. They uh provided uh treats and gifts to our veterans. We do a an annual
39:25 | uh veterans program to to honor our wonderful vets. And we have several female vets in town as well. Um, but I'm very grateful to the helping hands.
39:34 | They're a wonderful organization in town. So, um, we're I want to just make sure that we say thank you to all of our
39:42 | supporters and also uh country bank has been generous to us and uh many individuals as well and many individuals
39:50 | uh give us uh private donations which we are able to take. anybody can uh can uh you know donate to the center and we're
39:57 | we're grateful. And also I want to say that our latest um kind donors uh there there's going to be a townwide yard sale
40:05 | and they chose um the people in town voted and they chose the senior center to be the recipient of any of donations
40:15 | um received from the for the townwide yard sale and I am so grateful for that.
40:20 | I mean, it's gonna I I was so excited when they told us I saw the announcement on I think it was a community [clears throat] forum and I was like, "Oh my god, they they picked the senior
40:28 | center. [laughter] There's a lot of love and care, I think, from the community coming into the senior center." for a lot of it. It's
40:35 | and the library that did all of the the giving tree and um the generosity of the patrons of the library that that uh
40:44 | donated to for our our seniors in need and Shnie was our elf uh delivering of of the gifts at the holidays for um the
40:51 | folks uh in in need. So the the patrons of the library have been so kind to us as well. The friends of the the library
40:59 | even helped us with cookies at the um the New Year's Eve party. So, um it really does take a village, I think, to not not just raise a child, but to to
41:07 | support our seniors. So, um to uh we do support the the town does certainly support the seniors and we've been so
41:15 | grateful for that. So, yes, absolutely.
41:17 | Um if you were to see like um a new and improved senior center, what would you envision? I would say space. Space. Space. Space.
41:25 | space for more activities, different groups, space for storage, space for even just a person to take some time to
41:32 | theirel like you said earlier and just go hang out or read a book or something.
41:36 | Maybe do a cross word by themselves or with a couple other people, but just to be able everything has its own space, easy to move around. I like the level of
41:45 | like like the first floor level that idea. um just make it more accessible to everybody so that no matter your ability, cognitive level, anything, you
41:54 | can just come have fun, socialize, just make friends.
41:58 | I love it. And I would also like to see maybe someday if we were to be so fortunate an outdoor space where we could have perhaps a a community garden
42:06 | or walking trails or um outdoor space where it's like right now we're wonderful to have the building that we're in. we've come over here, the uh
42:15 | activities uh council here, we've been fortunate to have bonfires over here. Um but when we're trapesing everything that
42:22 | we have and vans of this, you know, to get everything over here to offer services um for seniors for an outdoor
42:30 | um bonfire or little uh s'mores or something. So, we've been fortunate to to use this building as well. But is
42:37 | there it's a lot of, you know, carting things and you know to planning. Oh my goodness, I forgot this. I got to go back to the center if that's the case.
42:44 | But we've been very good with our planning so we don't make uh multi-rips anymore. Um but um so those are the kinds of things. Maybe some outdoor
42:52 | space. Absolutely. You know, botchi court, you know, like outdoor even if it instead of like the activities like inside, maybe either
43:00 | a craft or an exercise class outside if it's nice out and just hang outside. Yeah.
43:06 | Yeah. A little uh noodle ball outside with the volleyball and stuff.
43:10 | [laughter]
43:11 | Um uh this month we're going to do uh in April we're going to do a human whack-a-ole game. If you can envision that. I mean [laughter] that's going to be fun.
43:19 | Sometimes we know we find ideas uh on the internet from various other places.
43:25 | Sometimes uh in various other countries we find uh senior ideas and uh we like to implement them as well. So um thank
43:32 | you. Thank you so much, Emily, for being here. And thank you to all of our uh our folks who are are kind enough to give their time and their their thoughts
43:40 | today. And many many thanks to Charlton Cable and Drew uh for his time and expertise as well today. And uh so um
43:49 | signing out from I'm Michelle. I am Drum. I am the Charleton Senior Center director. And uh thanks for watching.