I was telling some friends recently about a great senior center trip I took.
“You’re so active, why do you go to the senior center?” they wanted to know.
“Because there are programs I would not know about except through my senior center, and I learn new things and meet new people,” I answered.
I can’t understand why some people would die before they would go to their senior center. Do they think age is catching. It has been at the senior center where I have learned about programs that help me save my limited income. If you don’t know about the Medicare Savings Programs, contact your senior center. Besides, I have FUN at my senior center.
September is National Senior Center Month. The theme of this year’s observance is “It Happens at My Senior Center. My Life. MY Time. My Way.” East Hampton Senior Center will observe the special month by taking the morning of Sept. 12 to talk about what the senior center means to you. Senior Center regular visitors will tell their stories about what they do at the center and how it affects their lives.
The other big event in September, of course, is fairs. Portland and East Hampton will be going to the Big E on Connecticut Day, Sept. 21.
They are also going to the Hebron Fair. East Hampton will be leaving at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 9. Portland’s time is to be announced.
On Sept. 10, Portland Senior Center will be participating in Family Day. As a fundraising for Sojourn Bears, the seniors will be flipping flapjacks, otherwise known as pancakes, at 8 a.m., and selling stuffed baked potatoes at 11 a.m.
Senior centers are always taking care of the health of seniors. Portland will have a flu clinic on Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. East Hampton will hold their flu clinic at their temporary quarters in the East Hampton Congregational Church on Sept. 26 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Bring your insurance card.
Both centers also provide blood pressure clinics and exercise classes on a regular basis.
East Hampton Senior Center is an intake site for energy assistance for East Hampton senior citizens and the disabled. Starting Sept. 6, every Tuesday and Wednesday in September, appointments to fill out applications will be held at the East Hampton Town Hall at 1 p.m. Call 860-267-4426 and leave your name and phone number so you can be called to arrange an appointment.
Portland Senior Center has a few seats available on their trip to Friesians of Majesty in Vermont with lunch at the Putnam Inn on Tuesday, Oct. 11. If you love horses as I do, you’ll love this trip. Early October is a great time for seeing foliage as well. Cost is $109.
These are just a few of the things that senior centers do. They also provide coffee and the newspaper for those that just want to sit in the company of others. Then there are the usual Wii games, bingo and card playing, computer classes and shopping trips. There are also the crafts, like quilting, monking and making the Sojourn Bears. There is something going on all the time. Drop in and visit with some of the elders in your community.
