Mars facility earns Senior Center of the Year award
MARS — For 24 years, Nelda Higgins has not had a lonely moment.
“I like everything about it. What's not to like?” Higgins said about attending the Mars Senior Center. “There's all kinds of activities, you're never lonesome. There's always something going on.”
For the first time, the senior center was recognized with the Senior Center of the Year award by the Pennsylvania Association of Senior Centers. Center officials plan to celebrate with a reception at 11 a.m. Oct. 7 at the center at 2 Gilkey Drive.
“It's a wonderful honor. We never expected it,” said Christine Perkins, assistant manager. “We try to give them a place to come and enjoy themselves,”
Activities at the center range from exercise, crafts and bingo to Bible study and different church services and educational speakers.
Lunch is served daily to an average of 38 people who come to the center to enjoy a cup of coffee, card games, singing, line dancing and yoga, Perkins said.
Senior centers provide physical and mental health benefits for the elderly, who are able to socialize at the different activities and lunch, said Carol Keddie, who has volunteered at the center for two years.
“I love it here,” Keddie said.
Another senior center attendee is Marilyn Boyle, who has noticed an increase in the number of people who go to the center.“Kim makes it everything,” she said about the center's manager, Kim Hicks. “She makes it fun, she decorates, she does everything for us. She makes it fun to come down.”Boyle said the center deserves the recognition.About 200 of the 550 senior centers across the state are members of the association, said Tammy Miller, Pennsylvania Association of Senior Centers board member and public relations committee chairperson.Senior centers are scored with a rubric that gauges its programs and activities, why the center deserves the award and how its clients rate the center, she said.Another consideration are the center's partnership with community organizations, Miller said.One standout about the Mars Senior Center, which was one of the four nominees for the award, were the 10 nomination letters that were submitted from its clients, which shows the passion of its members for the center, she said.Every senior center is different because they evolve based on the needs of the communities they are located, she said.When Hicks, who has been with the center for about two years, first arrived, there were about 17 clients. Since that time, the center has grown to serve about 35 clients a day.
The center has partnered with C.A.R.E.S. of Western Pennsylvania, an organization that provides person-centered and community-based services for people with developmental disabilities and behavioral health challenges, for about two years to offer volunteer opportunities, Hicks said.Senior centers are judgement-free spaces for the aging who might feel alienated, Perkins said.“When people become seniors and people forget about them, they need to come here, socialize and enjoy themselves,” she said. “Come and talk and be appreciated for who you are.”Senior centers are beneficial, Hicks said.“It promotes a more social lifestyle for everybody and gets them more involved in activities and socialization with other people,” she said. “These people here don't have access to go out and do anything, only if they drive, which a lot of them don't do anymore so they're able to come out here and visit with other people.”What makes the Mars senior center unique are its people, Hicks said.“They're more like a family than clients. Everybody looks out for everybody,” she said. “I love it here.”
WHAT: Senior Center of the Year reception for the Mars Senior CenterWHEN: 11 a.m. Oct. 7WHERE: Mars Senior Center, 2 Gilkey Drive, Mars
