HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-04; Senior Commission; ; 0419-1 Senior Center Report
Meeting Date: April 4, 2019
To: Senior Commission
From: Margaret Hamer, Recreation Area Manager
Staff Contact: Char Buckalew
Subject: Senior Center Report
Recommended Action
Informational
Executive Summary
Receive Senior Center Report provided by Recreation Area Manager Margaret Hamer.
Exhibits
1. Senior Center Department and Statistics Report
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SENIOR COMMISSION
Senior Center
REPORT
April 4, 2019
GENERAL
New Senior Commission Mission Statement
The Mission of the Senior Commission is to champion an age-inclusive environment that promotes
wellness, vitality and education that leads to a vibrant quality of life.
April is National Garden Month
Spring delivers sunshine with new life. The Senior Center will celebrate National Garden Month to learn and
watch new life grow outdoors in the Pine Avenue Community Center Gardens, plot 14 which is the designated
Senior garden bed. Gardening is good for the health of seniors providing natural Vitamin D sun supplements with
numerous health benefits like helping with weight loss, bone development, and improving the immune system.
The new Senior Center garden club will begin in April and meet on Tuesday mornings, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Senior Center Volunteer Recognition during Volunteer Week April 7—13
April 13th the City of Carlsbad will shine a bright light on the people and Senior Center causes that
inspire volunteers to serve, recognizing and thanking volunteers who generously share their time,
talent and voice to make a difference at the Carlsbad Senior Center. The 150+ senior center volunteers,
with an average of almost 100 hours each selflessly donate their time and talents in the form of
teaching everything from dance, language and meditation to serving meals, delivering meals to
homebound seniors, fielding questions at our very busy front desk, scheduling bus routes, helping in
the office, or assisting with tax returns. We hope you can join us to thank the volunteers. We submit
final attendance numbers on Monday, April 8th.
Senior Center Fitness Room
Senior Center staff conducted a Fitness Room Survey and have been working with the company Out-Fit
to redesign and upgrade the room for new equipment and space efficiency to motivate members to
enhance and challenge their health and wellness. Members had excellent ideas and input for
improvements and the plans are moving to the final phase for purchase and installation. We hope to
have the Fitness Room upgrade finalized before the end of the fiscal year by May or June.
Center Upgrades:
▪ New directional signs for the Senior Center will be installed by next week.
▪ New chairs have been ordered for the dining room.
▪ Activity Room 116 will receive mirrors for fitness classes.
Marketing
▪ The March and April Seaside Insider Senior Newsletter expanded content to include the
monthly menu and more space to feature the “Senior Commission Corner” for announcements,
highlights and invitations. The meeting location change and new Mission Statement were
featured in this new corner and in the future can be used to introduce topics from the
commission work plan and to inviting the public to participate in the upcoming Master Plan
process. If there is a specialty topic or article you want featured for May, please let me know as
soon as possible. Additional features will include monthly health highlights, instructor
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C cityof
Carlsbad
Par_ks & Recreation
spotlights, staff profiles, transportation and home meal delivery information will all be included
to enhance communication with the senior community.
▪ Staff continue to work with the communications department to utilize the Canva design
program to create Carlsbad branded materials for display and promotions of Senior programs
and events.
▪ A new video is being developed to showcase all the amazing services, programs, and activities
held at the Senior Center. Video will be captured at the commission meetings, volunteer
brunch, classes, lectures, and events to highlight the vast amount of opportunities for adults 50
plus to champion wellness, vitality, and education that will lead a vibrant quality of life.
Transportation
The Senior Center has hired on two new staff for transportation, Rich Gallagher and Mike Pierro. If you
see them out and about please give them a big hello. Rich previously worked at the Encinitas Center as
a driver and Mike is a local in Carlsbad and knows all the local stops and roads so their addition to the
team is a big bonus for Carlsbad. Transportation is a vital service and highly utilized for visits to the
center, weekly shopping, and medical appointments. Drivers are caring, kind, and supportive of their
passengers. New buses will be purchased sometime this year.
Technology
Customers are enjoying the new Computer Lab and Library in the previous lounge. New technology
offered includes the ability to scan photos and pictures and send them to any computer in the lab. This
was a consistent request from customers and we were thrilled to provide the feature. February and
March offered a huge variety of technology classes to include Managing Your Passwords, Scanning
Photos, Cloud Storage, Google photos, Google Maps, Amazon Alexa and Photoshop Elements. Mike
McMahon is hugely popular at the center and a valued resource by all.
Senior Classes at Pine
The Senior Center auditorium has limited use to the flooring and dance classes are now taking place at
the Pine Avenue Community Center. Line Dancing and Spiral Fitness will be held at Pine for now and
may be moved to the new Activity Room 116, formerly the Computer Lab. Mirrors will be installed
after the AARP Tax Preparation Services end on April 11. During primetime at the center space is
shared and we will continue to do this until center
Upcoming Events
• Saturday, April 13, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Volunteer Brunch at Crossings in Carlsbad to thank and recognize the tireless time and talent
bestowed on the Senior Center programs.
• Tuesday, April 16, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Emergency Preparedness “Go-Bag” Starter Kit Giveaway Event. Event will prepare customers for
the next natural disaster or emergency evacuation. In partnership with the Foundation for
Senior Wellbeing this event is a valuable resource for seniors. Participants will learn about types
of emergencies, how to make their own plan and what the community is doing to prepare. The
first 80 seniors who register and attend will receive a free emergency “go-bag” starter kit.
• Wednesday, April 24 & Thursday, April 25, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Seaside Singers Spring Concerts - This year’s program will feature not only two medleys of
songs from The Sound of Music and West Side Story, but also solo performances from members
of the group, as well as include patriotic music and several memories from the past. The
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Carlsbad Highschool Choir was invited to perform with the singers but the school schedule is a
conflict with the concert times.
Programs (attendance)
• AARP Free Tax Preparation Services………………..…….409
• Amazon Alexa Products…………………..………………………40
• Carlsbad Newcomers ……….………………………….…………,56
• Learn About North County Transit District…………….…10
• Good Maps Essentials……………………………………………….51
• Google Photos………………………… ……………………………….48
• Senior Prom……….…………….……………………………………...45
• Movie – Goodbye Christopher Robin…………………………31
• Morningstar Investment Lectures………………………………51
• Printing Your Photos………………………………………………….45
• Stress Overload Syndrome (S.O.S.)…………………………….12
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STATISTICAL REPORT
1809163700000000001693166319601790193320991789215217032001165216461770194822642023218121611929230019952020179417270
500
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2500
Congregate Meals
2019 2018 2017
101488400000000007095396967048969001013125595610159911018881884897782856982948103984786379611470
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Home Meal Deliveries
2019 2018 2017
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46140400000000003402983813664823573824623614503933774103744704004995233594413613822912970
100
200
300
400
500
600
Transportation
2019 2018 2017
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