Senior Centers: Live Strong!

by Constance Todd
NISC Director

On July 1, I will assume a new full-time position as an associate director for civic engagement at NCOA. I’ll also continue to serve as director of Wisdom Works, an NCOA initiative funded by the MetLife Foundation.

As senior center professionals have learned of my new role, several have asked if I have pearls of wisdom as NISC director that I’d be willing to share. Because I’ve worked with many innovative senior center professionals over the years and visited cutting-edge centers across the country, I have learned a few things.

What I know for sure is that senior centers work!

To work best, over the next several decades, centers will need to balance how they serve multiple generations based on age, ability, ethnicity, interests, and income. What’s new about that? The competition! The competition for this audience of mature adults--especially those with the most resources in terms of income, skills, and time--will be greater than ever before.

More and more organizations have recognized the market force of mature adults. Several have the money to research and create marketing techniques that have mesmerized this cohort and subtly persuaded them that young is good and old is bad.

These organizations adeptly appeal to the belief that it’s possible to be forever young if you call yourself something other than senior instead of living strong through all your ages.

Marketing that tells people, “Don’t call yourself senior, and you won’t contract the usual conditions that accompany normal aging.” Instead of messages that encourage people to face, manage, and prevent chronic conditions as they live strong longer!

Senior centers don’t have the money for huge marketing campaigns to combat or reverse the effects of these messages. Some mature adults won’t come to a senior center simply because it’s called a senior center and that has always been true.

But there will always be a significant portion of the mature population that wants a good return on its money. People who believe you’re as young as you feel and who want a place to connect with others their age. People who will look to the senior center to provide services that facilitate positive aging.

The future, therefore, is about choice.

Prepare your center so older adults will want to choose it because it has an appealing menu of strong services delivered in a “hip” environment. Continue to be innovative in your programming to meet selective needs of your community, create signature programs by identifying your strengths, and focus on presenting the strongest programs in those areas. Collaborate with non-traditional partners to expand your resource base. And create new avenues to contribute to the community outside the senior center walls.

One of the most perplexing questions I’ve been asked is, “If there is a rapidly growing population of older adults and the average age of a senior center participant is around 70, why do we need to appeal to baby boomers?”

I thought long and hard about this question, and my response is that we must change some of our operations because of attitudinal lag. If we allow boomers to think senior centers are bad until they’re 70 years old, they’re not going to suddenly change their attitudes. That could mean senior centers won’t have enough participants to thrive.

We must build bridges early on to reach those with the propensity to attend a senior center. A portion of baby boomers must see senior centers as a viable option for them at an earlier age so that when they are 70, their attitude won’t prevent them from attending. Already, many centers are attracting members at age 55 whose participation will support them for many years into the future.

Indeed, it has been a good time for senior centers--for those who work and volunteer in them, those who advocate for them, and those who benefit from the programs, services, information, and social connections they provide. Many senior center professionals have recognized that shifting demographics necessitate a need for change and an updating of facilities.

Although there is a way to go before there is a critical mass of centers offering sophisticated and strong programming across the county, many have made their mark, and others are on the fast track to make changes. Some professionals have organized to effect legislation to promote senior centers, and many are building new centers.

At the same time, some senior centers have faced budget cuts or stagnant budgets. Some are managed by short-sighted professionals who don’t want to change. For this reason, competition is good because those centers will be weeded out in the not-too-distant future. Remember … the work of senior centers is built on the shoulders of many before you--continue to develop your skills, so you may be the shoulders on which the next generation of senior center professionals stands.

As I grow in my position as an associate director of civic engagement at NCOA, I will broaden my thinking as to how different organizations can facilitate civic engagement to provide meaningful opportunities for individuals and teams to contribute to society and increase organizational capacity.

As I see ways that this can happen in senior centers, I will collaborate with NISC to get the word out. I also hope that you will keep me apprised of successful civic engagement opportunities in which you are engaged or learn about.

It has been a pleasure working with NISC’s delegate council and senior center professionals across the country to advance services for and with older adults. I look forward to future collaborations. Live strong through all your ages!

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