As local seniors anxiously wait for a decision to be made by Mission council regarding a new facility, activities at the current seniors centre continue.
The Mission Seniors Activity Centre, located at 33100 10th Ave., provides people age 50 and up with educational, recreational and social programs. The centre is also a place to socialize and share experiences.
Seniors are welcome to stop by any weekday to see what the centre is all about.
“I’ve been volunteering here since the place opened,” said Rosina Swyck, who is also a member of the board of the seniors society.
Volunteers are key to making the centre a success and Swyck said she enjoys lending a helping hand.
“It gives me something to do. I don’t have any family here. I like to volunteer. I come and make the coffee, get the cookies out. It’s a good, positive thing to do.”
It also offers some health benefits.
“You interact with other people and my doctor told me the best way to prevent Alzheimer’s is to socialize,” added Swyck.
While she helps out two days a week, Swyck said the centre needs more people to lend a hand.
“There aren’t a lot of volunteers.”
She said anyone who wants to volunteer, or just come in to chat or work on a jigsaw puzzle, can just show up and take a look around.
The centre offers many scheduled activities, including bingo, crib, line dancing, bridge, health and wellness seminars, and more.
There are also chair exercise classes led by staff from the Mission Leisure Centre and a makeshift library, where seniors can drop off and pick up books to read.
“Every day there is a lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., an inexpensive lunch that is made here. You just come in, order it and it is brought to you,” said Swyck.
And coffee and tea are always available.
Swyck said the centre is open to any new ideas or suggestions for other activities.
“Once we get a new centre, we’ll have more room to offer more stuff to do.”
While they have been waiting for years for a new activity centre to be approved, she said hopes are high that good news is ahead.
“We’re starting to believe now that it could happen in our lifetime. It’s getting closer.”
Until then, she’s going to continue to volunteer and socialize.
