Get to Know Your Local Community

     Of the three local public libraries and two academic libraries that I studied in the Wayland area, most of them are interested in activities for the aging.  For the local public libraries, none had formal information about seniors groups on their web site because the libraries don’t want to exclude anyone from the activities.  Three are three small libraries in the area, with two having space for meetings, and the third hoping to buy the building next door in order to have space to do activities for seniors.  Activities include Wii games, movies, book clubs, and more.  I wanted to answer the question what activities are in my local area for seniors already so as not to duplicate activities, and later fill in the needs of seniors in the area.

     An example of one activity in the area can be found at Leighton Township Library (Leighton) in Moline, Michigan, web site http://leightonlibrary.org/ . Citizens are invited to attend a lunch potluck followed by a movie.  Andrea, their director, stated that the potluck had many people going to it, but not many people staying for the movie.  They are thinking of changing the movie to something like bingo for this older group of people, or some other activity.

     More activities for seniors to tell others about are a little west of Leighton at the Dorr Township Library.  On their web site, http://dorrlibrary.michlibrary.org/ , they have advertised that they have a watercolor coloring class, a bus trip to Chicago for $35, and a coupon class.  When calling about the classes for seniors. Furthermore, the library will be starting “Wii Wednesdays,” where Nintendo Wii games and food will be provided for library customers.

     Where I work, Henika District Library (Henika) in Wayland, Michigan, has a web site as well, at http://henikalibrary.org/ .   Henika has a book club that meets once a month.  Members of this book club are all seniors, although they don’t advertise it that way.  This library is trying to buy the building next door, which would make a great place for seniors and other groups to meet.  If they get this building, there is a huge interest in putting more activities in place for seniors.  There is not enough room in the library at present to have Wii games, although they do have some room for activities.  They have movies, nutrition classes, and even a live jazz musician with wine and cheese, all free to the local public.  I foresee having an opportunity for many activities in the near future for seniors at this library.

     There are many universities in the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo areas, which surround Wayland, Michigan.  Grand Rapids is a little closer, so I looked at two Grand Rapids colleges, Grand Rapids Community College, and Grand Valley State University. 

     Grand Valley State University (GVSU) was the first of the academic libraries I explored. The building had no services for the aging that are not actual students of GVSU. Neither their web site at http://www.gvsu.edu/ nor a phone call to their library yielded information regarding this.  They do help their students one on one with research and advise other libraries such as by sitting on their boards.

     Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC), however, had a little of everything.  GRCC, which is under 30 minutes away from Wayland, has an impressive web site about their services for those 45 and over that can be found at https://learning.grcc.edu/ . There is so much to say about this award winning junior college senior program and the library that supports it.  First of all about GRCC’s library, there is recently purchased and frequently used software to help users learn keyboard skills.  According to the librarian nearly 50% of their students need a little extra help in reading, math and/or writing (or all three), which the school has classes to help.  The library also partners with the Disability office and the Older Learning Center.  The aware winning Older Learning Center is either for those 45 and older, or people interested in studying aging.  In the web site https://learning.grcc.edu/ec2k/Heading.asp?heading_id=47 classes include:

“Aging 101 - An Introduction to Gerontology; Caregiving 101; Certificate in Aging; Community Resource & Senior Volunteer Fair; Death, Dying, and Bereavement; Encore Reading Club; Fitness Program; Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Training & Luncheon; Health Club/Promoting Health Through Fitness; Healthy Aging & Chronic Disease Management; Life History Club; Lodge & Learn: Refining Your Future, Imagine It ORGANIZED; Retirement Series; Senior Leadership: The Health & Wellness Benefits of Volunteering; Strength and Stretch Class; Walking with Purpose Club; and Water Aerobics” (para. 2).

     Many seniors would be interested in seeing these downtown Grand Rapids activities extended to the south of Grand Rapids, such as in our little town of Wayland.  There are already activities in the area, but not enough.  The community resources on the web site are almost overwhelming.  They can be found at http://cms.grcc.edu/older-learner-center/community-resources.  I will comment on a few of the finer points. 

     There are governmental programs, such as Disability Network of Western Michigan, a program geared to help those with disabilities, including the aging group. The Disability Network’s web site is http://www.dnlakeshore.org, where they help with information and referral, employment, transportation, accessibility, nursing facility transition, veterans, and more.

     Another good program is Allegan County Commission On Aging found at www.allegancountycoa.org.  The website states they programs such as adult day care, home delivered meals, in-home support services and senior transportation.  Part of this group gives meals to five different areas in Allegan County including one in Wayland.  In addition to the library, additional foundations offer other programs. Wayland United Methodist Church runs a meal twice a week every Tuesday and Thursday. Also offered is a group activity where Euchre (a Michigan card game) is played after the meal.  The usual turnout is around 15 people, and they are provided transportation home at the end of the day.

     The various churches in the area are a great place to go for activities for the aging as well as volunteers.  Although there is sometimes a minimal cost, many of the activities are free.  For example, Moline Christian Reformed Church, where I exercise Monday through Friday with a group of ladies for free, has a seniors group that for a small fee goes out every couple of months to plays and musicals followed by dining at Russ’s (a local affordable restaurant) afterwards.  In Dorr, Holy Cross Antiochian Orthodox Church has many free activities during the week, such as bible study Wednesday mornings, services during the week, as well as a bible study for all ages at 5:45, and service at 7 pm every Saturday.  Finally, every Church in the area has something to do on Sunday.

     Most of the volunteers brought by the churches volunteer at Project Hope. This non-profit organization helps the poor in the area with many different services including food, clothing, and money.   They also partner with the Michigan State University (MSU) Extension to teach nutrition and cooking classes.  While they help everyone, seniors are just as welcome as everyone else.

     The libraries, especially the local libraries, can help promote the local senior activities, and the senior activities can in turn help promote the libraries.  The libraries can also help by having activities at the library that are run by the other organizations.  For example, the cooking class can be at Project Hope, but then we will have a nutritionist give a lecture at Henika District Library.  In sum, there is a wide range of activities for seniors to participate in at the three local libraries. For example, attending a book club meeting at Henika, having a potluck and a movie at Leighton Township Library or playing the Wii at Dorr Township Library, have lunch and cards at Wayland Methodist Church. Perhaps these can all be done in the same week or day.  However, there needs to be collaboration to make the activities flow for each person interested in them.

     The benefits of collaborating with the local community are numerous. There are more people already doing the work, but it must be organized so that there is no overlapping of programs.  In this way, grants and other funding can be used in collaboration with other groups already doing a great job, and more people can be reached both in the libraries and with the groups for seniors.  We can do much more together than apart.