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Date: 12/7/2021
LUDLOW/BELCHERTOWN – With winter approaching, many activities will continue as normal at the Ludlow and Belchertown Senior Centers, with some new additions.
Ludlow
Ludlow Senior Center Executive Director Jodi Zepke said there are plans to add more programming back during the winter months.
“All of our ongoing activities continue, after the New Year, we want to add some more exercise classes because we are at full capacity. We want to bring back our lunch and learns and some of our education stuff. We eventually want to get back to doing trips too, so if numbers continue to stay down, we will start doing our day trips again,” she said.
Among some of the activities set to return are the center’s movie night along with some new computer programs as a result of a grant Zepke said the center received.
“We try to entice people to come, we do have transportation and a huge parking lot. I understand that people are fearful, but we take what precautions we can and if people feel more comfortable wearing a mask, they can,” she said. “We still are setting our dining room for tables of eight and tables of four for people that want some more safe.”
One of the center’s most popular programs is the grab and go meal program which takes place every Wednesday.
“We have a lot of people that come through our grab and go program that are still hesitant, but they are still participating which is nice because we can check in with them. We are actually going to continue our grab and go because it has been so successful and allows us to keep an eye on people we worry about,” Zepke said.
While the holidays can be a tough time for some, Zepke said anyone struggling is welcome to meet with the grievance group.
“This is not a fun time for some people, so we encourage people if they are grieving to come to the group,” she said.
Zepke said one of the biggest events during the winter is the annual Christmas lunch.
“The holidays are always an interesting time; we do a big Christmas lunch, but we are doing indoor and grab and go because for Thanksgiving we had a little over 400 people between the two days. So, we do make people choose inside or grab and go, we cannot do both. We also have entertainment and Santa comes to visit while the elves hand out the grab and go,” she said.
On top of the Christmas lunch, Zepke said the center will also be hosting a lunch for New Years and participants are encouraged to dress in all black and gold for that lunch.
To sign up for either lunch, Zepke said to call the Senior Center at 583-3564.
Belchertown
Jessica Langlois, the executive director of the Belchertown Senior Center, said the center offers a variety of fitness, educational and other types of classes.
“We have been open fully since July, we have exercise classes including Thai Chi, yoga and osteo, which is a healthy bones and balance class that runs twice a week. We have cards groups that meet and play pitch, cribbage and bridge. Our crafters are here so they do knitting, sewing and crafting. We also have a decluttering support group that meets the first Friday of the month,” she said.
Langlois added that all classes are open to the public, anyone interested can sign in at the office in the Senior Center.
On top of the current programs, Langlois said other programs will also slowly start to return.
“Our other side of the building had been closed a while because they were redoing our sprinkler system but now that it is open, we have a thrift store that will be opening back up on [Dec. 7] as well as our billiards room and exercise equipment room,” she said. “One of our big bingo groups will be starting back up as well.”
Langlois said the senior center also offers a congregate and home delivered meal program.
“We do have a congregate and home delivered meal program. Home delivered meals never stopped during COVID [-19] and actually increased by a significant amount. And then our congregate has been open for Monday, Wednesday and Friday until we can get a handle on if we can get back to five days a week or not, it depends on what the Board of Health says,” she said.
For the congregate meals, Langlois said the center is limiting them to 24 people per lunch due to current COVID-19 restrictions.
On top of traditional activities at the center for fun, Langlois said the center also provides support to seniors in the community.
“Our Outreach Department is available for consults, and we have a private pay list of folks we can reach out to if they need help. We also offered a Sand for Seniors program in collaboration with police, fire and the district attorney so they can salt and sand their driveways. We also have a transportation program for anyone who needs a ride to the doctor or grocery store if they are unable to drive,” she said.
Langlois added COVID-19 restrictions will also be in place for the annual holiday dinner while plans are still in progress for a New Year’s celebration.
“Under normal circumstances we would have a large party of over 100 people, but we had to scale down because of COVID [-19] but we are offering a roast beef dinner here, but it is full because people have already signed up for it,” she said. “We are still figuring out things for January, but we usually do offer a bigger meal for New Year’s.”
Langlois added that the center tends to scale programming back during the winter, so seniors do not feel the need to drive to the center during a winter storm to make it to a class.
The Belchertown Senior Center is located at 60 State St. and can be reached by phone at 323-0420. The Ludlow Senior Center is located at 228 State St.