ACTIVE SENIORS

By Tina Hicks Administrative Assistant

St. George's Active Life Center

As the light of a new day shines bright, we are immediately reminded of the things that truly matter most in life: relationships and spending quality time with one another. There’s a familiar sound of happy voices filling the rooms at the St. George Active Life Center as it reopens its doors to our community, reuniting friends that haven’t seen each other for over a year as they gather to play cards, put together puzzles and even play a friendly match of indoor pickleball. Formerly known as St. George Senior Center, the St. George Active Life Center changed its name about five years ago to highlight the various energy-focused activities being offered, from Zumba to Tai Chi, although bingo is still one of the most highly attended events. Other popular activities include line dancing, ballet, tap dancing, cardio drumming exercise, art classes, and pain management for arthritis. All courses are taught by volunteers who are trained experts in their field and teach these courses free of charge to participants, although they are welcome to donate a dollar for each activity they attend to help support these community offerings. There are also blood pressure and blood sugar tests available on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m.3:00 p.m. An exciting new addition to the St. George Active Living Center is their Senior Community Garden. The garden

boasts a shed, greenhouse, five grow boxes with more on the way. It’s fenced in and protected to provide quality produce for the senior community. The carrots and lettuce are looking great and they’re hoping to have pumpkins available this fall. Besides St. George, there are also Active Living Centers in Hurricane and Enterprise, all designed to provide a place where activities and resources are readily available to all those aged 60 and older. Bus transportation is available primarily for medical appointments, however the bus can make stops to the grocery store, hair salon, or home of a loved one to re-

connect after the social distancing and quarantines of the past year. The Active Living Centers provide meals during the “People need people.” week at $3.00 each (or no cost to those Jeanie Johnson in need) and will St. George Active Life Center Supervisor even deliver them to homebound seniors. On average, the St. George facility alone delivers about 400 meals in one day. For more information about the services provided by Southern Utah Active Living Centers, please visit coa.washco.utah.gov, where you can also access a monthly newsletter with the activities schedule. A printed copy of this newsletter can be picked up at your nearest Active Living Center.

LOCATIONS

ST. GEORGE

245 North 200 West (435) 634-5743 Hours of Operation: Tuesday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. HURRICANE

95 North 300 West (435) 635-2089 Hours of Operation: Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. ENTERPRISE

165 South 100 East (435) 878-2557 Hours of Operation: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Special thanks to St. George Active Living Center from the Southwest Utah Public Health Department for providing a place for us to hold vaccination clinics during the Covid-19 pandemic. We appreciate you and all you do for the community!

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