Charity Spotlight
The Walnut Creek Seniors Club Provides Many Benefits to those Over 50 By Frank Napoli, Resident since 1996
Thought life couldn’t get any better? Think again! Especially for Walnut Creek residents who are 50 and over and are members of the Walnut Creek Seniors Club. You might think that at age 50 people would be on the downslope of the bell curve. Not true. For over 2,500 residents of Walnut Creek things are just getting started. The WC Seniors Club (WCSC) is a non-profit organization with an Members of Senior Club take a Lake Walk Walnut Creek Seniors Club offers exercise classes Advisory Board and elected officers and has been around since 1952. For an Community Center for some socializing over myriad of activities. annual membership fee of $15 these residents enjoy participating Most recently, this service was augmented by the City’s affiliation in special events, and significant savings on local as well as with Lyft, which is used when the minivan service is unavailable international trips. or not operating. The seniors I interact with during my volunteer hours are a very special group, and I look forward to seeing them So, what exactly does the WCSC provide? each week. Through the Club’s monthly newsletter (which is also available online at www.walnutcreekrec.org), members find out about and can Staying social – It’s important! avail themselves of free social services, such as financial counseling, What all WCSC seniors have in common is their desire to remain blood pressure checks, medical insurance counseling, income tax social and interact with their peer group. Healthy relationships preparation, will preparation and legal advice. But that’s not all! are necessary at every age, but the importance of socialization for seniors is particularly important to keep them mentally, physically The Walnut Creek Seniors Club and City of Walnut Creek Recreation and emotionally fit and helps fend off the difficulties inherent to staff partner to provide a wide variety of social programs and isolation. More importantly, when these social interactions include services at Civic Park Community Center. The Seniors Club hosts the exercise groups as provided by the WCSC, the benefits of both “drop in” programs including Bridge, Bingo, Pinochle, Book Club are increased significantly. and movie showings. The Cycling and Hiking clubs seem to be very popular with the more outdoorsy members. So, what’s on tap for 2019? Coming in 2019, a new Wellness Trail will be marked in Civic There are also several social events and trips organized throughout Park allowing you to follow along for a quarter mile stroll through the year. Recreation staff oversee quarterly classes including the park. The popular monthly Market Days with local produce at Health & Fitness, Technology, and Personal Enrichment, as well as wholesale pricing will continue every second Tuesday of each month, overseeing partnerships with other service providers like AARP, and one-day volunteer opportunities are available quarterly through Meals on Wheels, and Contra Costa County Aging Services. They the Giving in Gratitude program. And look for new cooking, fitness, are responsible for the day to day operations of the Community and enrichment classes offered throughout the year! Center. A Volunteer tells all – spotlight on Hope Ford As a member myself since 2015, I’ve personally enjoyed the WCSC One of the front desk volunteers, Hope Ford, has lived in Walnut in two significant ways. First, I get to play softball twice a week for Creek for 27 years. She loves to help people who come in for various two teams as part of the WC softball league (The Creakers). In 2018 reasons; to join the club, sign up for special events, and answer the Creakers had over 230 players across 13 teams. The constant general questions about what activities are offered. ribbing is all in good fun and part of the atmosphere of camaraderie. For many Creakers it means turning back the clock and reliving Much of her enjoyment comes from meeting new people and some of those joyous moments experienced playing baseball as a kid becoming personally acquainted over time, which eventually – even if just for nine innings. develops into long-term friendships. Hope says the front desk suits her perfectly since prior to retirement she worked as a receptionist at Second, I’m lucky to be one of several volunteer drivers with the a real estate company and for a physician’s group – fielding calls from privilege of taking out a WC minivan for several hours on Thursdays doctors regarding appointments, and patients needing doctors. Hope to drive seniors to do grocery shopping, doctor visits, or down to the also did a stint in retail…..all good grounding to be a people person. 14
JANUARY 2019
