Wilmot Active Living Centre helping seniors stay active, connected and engaged

Local seniors participate in a group weights class at the Wilmot Active Living Centre. Photo courtesy of the Township of Wilmot

By Galen Simmons

As Wilmot Township's senior population continues to grow, the Wilmot Active Living Centre is helping older adults remain active, connected and engaged through a wide range of recreational, educational and social programs.

Located inside the Wilmot Recreation Complex in Baden, the centre operates through a partnership between the Township of Wilmot and Community Care Concepts and offers free memberships to anyone 55 and older.

While the centre provides everything from gentle exercise classes and crafts to coffee clubs and guest speakers, staff say its true purpose goes far beyond programming.

"The core mandate for the Active Living Centre is to provide a safe space for active adults and seniors to belong in the Wilmot community," said Lacey Smith, Wilmot's supervisor of recreation programming.

The centre focuses on physical activity, recreation, education and social engagement, all of which contribute to what staff describe as preventative health care. The goal is to support seniors' physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing while helping them maintain connections within the community.

"The participants can get so much more than a safe place to socialize," Smith said. "They can make new friends, try a new activity or skill, and help shape future programming through their feedback and participation."

Popular programs include pickleball, SMART gentle exercise classes, the Coffee Club and a monthly congregate dining program where participants enjoy a meal together while hearing from guest speakers or entertainers. Demand for some activities has grown to the point where wait lists are sometimes necessary.

"We do reach capacity limits for the gentle exercises and Community Care Concepts usually has a wait list for the congregate dining programs," Smith said.

The township also offers a variety of programs geared toward older adults, including aquafit, lane swimming, adult skating, 55-plus shinny hockey, shuffleboard and support for the Wilmot Seniors Woodworking and Craft Centre.

Some lesser-known programs staff would like to see grow include the Active Living Centre's book club, garden club and Tech-Know technology support program, as well as the township's shuffleboard program.

The centre's success is built on a close partnership between the township and Community Care Concepts. Community Care Concepts oversees daily operations, develops monthly calendars, organizes speakers and activities, and staffs the centre throughout the week, while the township provides the facility, promotion, maintenance and logistical support.

"The partnership is fantastic," said Joyce Brubacher, supervisor of adult services with Community Care Concepts. "We would not have been able to run this program without them."

Both organizations say listening to participants is key to ensuring the centre continues to meet the community's needs. Programs are regularly adjusted based on attendance, participant feedback and emerging trends among older adults.

The township is also introducing annual Chat It Out forums, designed to give seniors a dedicated opportunity to share ideas, discuss concerns and help shape future programming.

"We want to make sure the voices of older adults in our community are heard," Smith said. "It's important they see that we're not just hearing them, we're actually listening."

The centre currently offers free memberships for residents aged 55 and older. Printed activity calendars are available at the Active Living Centre and the customer-service desk at the Wilmot Recreation Complex.

Staff encourage anyone interested in becoming more active, meeting new people or trying something new to stop by and learn more.

As Brubacher put it, the centre's success ultimately comes down to three simple questions: "What do you want? What do you need? What can we do more of?"