Abbotsford’s Seniors Fair

with their adult children and grandchildren through video chats, shared emails and photos, and they participated in fitness and yoga programs online. Some learned to do online grocery orders, video chats with their doctors and online art classes. Winter storms may stop some people from going outside but with the tablet knowledge they have gained, older adults will continue to connect, enjoy the company of others and continue to be active in their leisure activities in a virtual way. Abbotsford House is a vibrant community centre for adults 55+.

Abbotsford House is the community programs of The Glebe Centre Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization which includes a 254 bed long-term care home. Find out more about programs and services by dropping by 950 Bank Street in Ottawa, Mon- Fri 8:30 to 4:30 pm, phoning 613-230-5730 or by checking out all The Glebe Centre facilities and community programs on our website www.glebecentre.ca.

Karen Anne Blakely is director of community programs at Abbotsford House in The Glebe Centre.

By Karen Anne Blakely

On January 5, Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden joined the Abbotsford House team and local community members gathered at the Abbotsford Seniors Fair.

Abbotsford recently received a $96,300 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which has been used to connect older adults to online programs, family, friends and volunteers using tablets on loan from the Tablet Project. Said Harden, “The staff and volunteers at Abbotsford House did incredible work in keeping their programs going with proper COVID-19 regulations, and I am excited to see how they have used their Ontario Trillium Grant to combat the social isolation many seniors have felt throughout the pandemic.”

Powered by the grant, Abbotsford House has been able to rebuild and recover from the impacts and challenges of COVID-19. This was achieved by hiring staff and procuring 100 tablets for member use. This project started last May, and it gives older adults in the community improved access to online programs at Abbotsford House, reducing the social isolation that many seniors have experienced since the start of the pandemic.

Many older adults have found that using the tablets was not as hard as they first thought. With the help of Shirley Lee, the Abbotsford House program facilitator, seniors connected