Dozens of people came out to the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre on Thursday afternoon to attend the Seniors Health and Wellness Fair.
Linda Ind, director of programs for the centre, kicked of the event by welcoming everyone before passing off the microphone to Mayor James Leduc, who spoke about the importance of Seniors Month before reading the town’s official proclamation.
“Seniors have contributed and continue to contribute immensely to the life and vibrancy of the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury. Their contributions past and present warrant appreciation and recognition and their stories deserve to be told,” he said.
The event featured a presentation from Special Const. Elisabeth Aschwanden of the South Simcoe Police Service about identifying and avoiding scams, from phone calls, text messages, emails and more.
“Just say scram to the scam,” the audience chanted along with Aschwanden.
Afterwards, attendees had the chance to browse stations with information and chat with representatives from 13 different community partners, including the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU), BWG Leisure Centre, The Elden of Bradford, Memories Group and more.
Olga Bishop felt it was really nice to have a lot of information and enjoyed the presentation from Aschwanden.
“Elisabeth is always good and it’s important to have community for seniors,” she said.
Joe Pipino said he learned different things from speaking to people at the various tables, and even though he knew about of lot the information before, he felt it was important to attend to see what’s changed and what groups are doing differently.
“It’s a really well-run event and very informative,” he said.
Dianne Watson was visiting the event for the first time and found some helpful information at the SMDHU table about keeping her home free of clutter and different exercises to help her build strength and stay stable.
She also praised the presentation from Aschwanden.
“I’ve seen her before many times, and she does a great job,” Watson said.
Ind said the centre has been running the Seniors Health and Wellness Fairs for eight years as a way help inform local seniors and bring together the various groups providing support.
“You have all the organizations available to you that you might need, and sometimes you need a little bit of all of them,” she said.
Ind also stressed the importance of the social aspect of the event.
“I think people are happy to get back out post-COVID. They’re bumping into all their friends here and organizations that they deal with, so they’re getting to meet people face to face, which is very important, especially for older adults,” she said.
In addition to seniors programming at the library and recreation centre, Ind said the Danube Seniors Leisure Centre is also working to offer more programs and workshops.
Together with The Elden of Bradford, Holland Gardens Retirement Residence and the South Simcoe Police Service, the centre collaborates on events to engage with seniors and are hoping to offer one event every three months, such as their National Seniors Day pancake brunch on Oct. 1.
“We’re just going to try to keep it rotating so that people are getting out of their houses and starting to get more active in the community,” Ind said.
To see a calendar of activities and events at the centre, visit their website: www.danubeseniors.club/?page_id=193
