The Senior Center may still be closed to visitors, but there are plenty of ways for Lynnfield’s seniors to stay active these days.
You name it, and chances are, the Senior Center offers it. From online exercise classes to lunch bunch to live Zumba to technology assistance to virtual travel, there is an abundance of options for Lynnfield’s senior citizens to stay busy — and help maintain sanity — as the state continues the reopening process.
Council on Aging (COA) Director Linda Naccara said the demand for many programs has been “huge,” so much so that morning exercise classes have had to be cut off at 100 people.
“I’ll tell you, we have put up just about every one of our programs virtually,” she said. “Almost our entire program is up online now and we are reaching so many people, it’s absolutely amazing.
“We are teaching live classes online, yoga, meditation and Pilates every morning. We have Zumba live every morning, our art teacher is now teaching his class live via Zoom and our photography teacher and Italian instructor are getting ready to put up their programs. We are trying very hard to do a lot of Zoom everything as much as we possibly can.”
The Senior Center is also offering Grab-and-Go meals on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. This week, an average of 60 meals were delivered.
“We ask them to put a box in their trunk and pull up in the parking lot where we take the $2 fee and leave the meal, and they’re off,” said Naccara, adding that meals must be pre-ordered by calling the center.
The lunch bunch program is meeting every Thursday via Zoom to help seniors stay connected.
“It’s so important to stay in touch and be able to talk to each other when we cannot physically be together,” Naccara said. “We grab a cup of coffee and we just chat. The other day we talked about what we used to do as kids to celebrate the Fourth of July, things like that, and other topics they want to discuss. It’s extremely meaningful to our seniors to know they have someone to talk to, someone who cares.”
COA is reaching out to seniors on a daily basis. Staff members spend a couple of hours every day making phone calls to check in with seniors and see if they need anything.
“We are also checking in on them to make sure they are safe,” said Naccara. “We all want our lives back. There is no substitute for getting up and getting out, but the feeling is everyone wants to stay safe, so we are trying to do all that we possibly can.
“I am happy to say that seniors in Lynnfield are doing well.”
It has yet to be determined when senior centers will be allowed to reopen, unlike adult day care programs.
At a recent Zoom meeting with area directors, a Massachusetts Council on Aging representative said the reopening of “adult day care programs in upcoming phases does not apply to senior centers.”
Naccara can only wonder what things would be like without the things we take for granted every day — cell phones, iPads, Zoom and computers.
“Thank God for technology. Honestly, I don’t know where we would be without it right now,” she said. “I can’t even think about even 15 years ago. I think about it every day how we are able to make a difference because we have all this technology that allows us to communicate and connect.
To sign up for an activity, call the Senior Center at (781) 598-1078, leave your name and number and the call will be returned.
