Guelph-Eramosa could be offering new seniors programs in Marden as early as September, provided it receives funding under the province’s Healthy Communities Fund (HCF).
The township is submitting an HCF application for $155,000 over two years to offer recreational, social and educational programs for older adults.
“The program is designed to engage community partners, community residents, and township staff to work together at bridging the gap of recreational opportunities for older adults within our township,” parks and Recreation Manager Robin Milne told council last week.
Partners in the proposed program, which will be called “Get Active,” include the Guelph Wellington Seniors Association, Guelph Township Horticultural Society, and the Village of Riverside Glen.
Milne explained the idea will be to offer formal lessons or introductions to Sports and recreational activities on a rotational basis at the Royal Distributing Athletic Performance Centre in Marden park. Then seniors can drop in to play the following two or three weeks.
Also offered will be more educational and low-impact activities such as strength training, chess, scrabble, yoga, Pilates, nutrition workshops, walking groups and more.
If successful, the grant will cover sporting equipment, volunteer training, marketing and costs for workshop facilitators and contract part-time staff, Milne explained.
The township will exceed its HCF-mandated 25% of total program costs through a contribution of about $248,400 – including $21,000 for staff wages and $227,400 of in-kind support through field, track and community room rentals.
Milne hinted the actual in-kind support could be considered less than that total, because the program will run during daytime, non-peak hours when the building would otherwise likely be empty.
Councillors seemed very much in favour of the proposal.
“It’s exactly what we just talked about,” Doug Breen, said, alluding to an earlier delegation about a study outlining the need for seniors’ programs in east Wellington.
Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the application and directing staff to proceed.
Milne said the application would be sent in by Feb. 14 and the township should hear back sometime next month. If successful, he said the township would conduct focus groups to see what programs seniors want and then launch a marketing campaign, with the goal of starting the program in September.
