Salvation Army Senior Center holds health fair
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The Salvation Army held a health fair to help kick off its new seniors program at its Civic Community Center on Saturday, May 6.
The Salvation Army received a three-year $325,000 United Way Place Matters grant that it’s using for the new Senior Center and its Boys and Girls Club, which is also located at the center on New Walkertown Road.
Place Matters grants are designed to help select neighborhoods in the city with the challenges they face. They’re neighborhood-led initiatives, so the director of the new seniors program, Kelly Stellato, went to senior groups and gathering places in the area, and even door-to-door, to see what they wanted out of the new pro-gram.
“I want people to feel like it’s something they can shape and participate in,” said Stellato.
She said they asked for exercise classes, which resulted in the weekly Senior Stretch and Tai Chi classes that just started. There’s also lunch and learns held at the center, monthly craft activities, and day trips like the one next week to downtown’s Black Mountain Chocolate Factory.
Stellato said that a garden with raised beds that both the youth and seniors at the center can work on together is in the works. There’re also plans for teaming seniors up with kids for tutoring.
She said the health fair was a good way to introduce seniors to the new program and all the services that are available to them.
“There are so many services that are here already and people are not using them,” said Stellato. “I think a big part of what we’ll do is connect people to those services.”
Vendors at the fair varied greatly and included health care providers, insurance companies and nonprofits. Some were longtime, well known providers of senior services like Hospice and Palliative Care, the Shepard’s Center, the Alzheimer’s Association and the Piedmont Triad Regional Council Area Agency on Aging.
Other vendors included Winston-Salem State University, which conducted “health chats” on vital health indicators. The Winston-Salem Urban League informed seniors about federal SNAP food assistance and other services it offers. The YMCA of Northwest N.C. gave out diabetes information. The Forsyth County Health Department informed attendees about free cancer screenings and healthy eating. The fair was cosponsored by the youth mentoring and enrichment program GIDE (Guiding Institute for Developmental Education).
