Limited activities will soon be a thing of the past for seniors living in the Longview area.
A group of volunteers recently formed the Longview and Area Seniors’ Club to fill a social gap among the village’s elderly residents and they plan to get moving soon.
“The only thing that I know of that’s organized in the village right now for the seniors is a crib club in the library,” said Ivor McCorquindale, club board director. “We need to do something for our seniors. They’re a vital group in our community.”
The Longview and Area Seniors’ Club was formed after a group of volunteers went to 80 seniors’ homes in February with a survey asking if they felt a seniors’ club would benefit the elderly in the village and which activities they would be interested in.
McCorquindale, the village’s former mayor and a senior citizen, said the group received a positive response from 96 per cent of people surveyed.
“The responses were phenomenal,” he said. “We didn’t realize there were so many people that were interested in this initiative. The board realized once we got positive feedback from the residents we had to do something quickly.”
McCorquindale said the survey was an initiative of the Longview Arts, Recreation and Community (ARC) Society to reach out to the village’s senior population, which is estimated to represent about 35 per cent of the community’s approximately 300 residents.
The most popular activities identified were exercise, socials, information sessions, movie nights, day trips, hobby programs, a history group, horseshoes, quilting and card games, while some seniors surveyed suggested meals on wheels and bird watching.
McCorquindale said the board of directors will prioritize activities at its next meeting and get in touch with interested seniors with hopes one will step forward and take charge of each activity.
“There is no way the board can put all these programs into being in a relatively short period of time,” he said.
Doreen Kirk was surveyed and said she looks forward to getting involved with the Longview and Area Seniors’ Club.
“I think every community should have a seniors’ group because seniors are at home all day long,” she said. “I think it’s a good opportunity for people to get out and socialize with each other. Seniors are a very big and very important part of any community.”
Kirk said she grew up in Longview and returned 13 years ago to help care for her mother.
She has volunteered in the village and is looking forward to activities she can enjoy with other seniors.
“Even though this is a real small community I don’t know everybody in town and I feel bad about that because I should,” she said. “I think it’s really great because it shows that other people in town are interested in getting together and doing things as a group as well.”
Kirk said she is aware not all seniors get involved in the community, so this is one way they can do that.
“Any community, when they have something the seniors can get involved in, it makes seniors think they are included and not excluded,” she said. “When you’re young you go to dances, you go to the bar, you go to all different things like that and a lot of seniors don’t drive or they don’t drive that far. I just think it just keeps them in tune with the community.”
Kirk is spearheading a group that will plant flowers throughout the village. She’s also looking forward to participating in a bird watching group.
The Longview and Area Seniors’ Club is hosting its first event - a drop in coffee and dessert evening - on April 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Longview Community Hall, that will include shuffleboard, cards, cribbage and dominoes.
During the evening, the board of directors will highlight the programs it plans to initiative in the next few months, McCorquindale said.
“We’re hoping to do at least one activity a month,” he said. “In the summer we can do horseshoes, exercise program in the park or day trips.”
Over the next few months, McCorquindale said the board of directors will work through the process of becoming a society so it can host such fundraisers as a casino night. It is also applying for local funding through Longview Recreation Board, Family and Community Support Services and the Little New York Daze committee to help fund its programs and activities.
A one-time membership fee of $5 will be charged to members. Members have to be at least 50 years of age to join the club.
Once activities have been planned, they will be posted on the village office notice board and in ARC newsletters.
