{"id":799210,"date":"2019-09-06T08:30:17","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T14:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=371096"},"modified":"2019-09-06T08:30:17","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T14:30:17","slug":"summit-seniors-get-after-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-seniors-get-after-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit Seniors \u2018get after it\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This sponsored content is brought to you by the Summit County Community and Senior Center and Summit Seniors<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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The Summit Seniors get together often for outdoor recreation and other activities.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Whether they\u2019re cross-country skiing, gardening, quilting, biking, playing cards or volunteering \u2014 seniors in Summit County participate in activities that enrich their lives and keep them on the road to longevity.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the Summit County Community and Senior Center, which works in collaboration with Summit Seniors, anyone over the age of 50 in the county has access to all they need and more in order to stay active, get quality medical care, socialize and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrow out any preconceived notions you might have about a \u2018senior center,\u2019\u201d said Don Gerstein, a member at the Senior Center. \u201cThis is a very active group of seniors. They get out and do stuff. Being active keeps you from feeling old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Age-Friendly<\/strong><\/p>\n

Summit County committed to be an AARP Age-Friendly Community in 2019. An age-friendly world enables people of all ages to actively participate in community activities and treats everyone with respect regardless of their age.<\/p>\n

And age-friendly environments include the AARP\u2019s eight domains of livability: 1) outdoor spaces, 2) transportation, 3) housing, 4) social participation, 5) respect & inclusion, 6) civic participation, 7) communication & information, 8) community support & health services.<\/p>\n

Summit Seniors\u2019 goal is to bring the community together to make Summit County\u2019s residents lives all-inclusive from ages 8 to 80.<\/p>\n

Get after it with local seniors<\/strong><\/h4>\n

For more information about the Summit County Community & Senior Center and Summit Seniors, call 970-668-2940 or visit http:\/\/www.co.summit.co.us\/93\/Community-Senior-Center<\/a> and http:\/\/summitseniorcenter.com<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

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Beside the social and physical aspects, the Senior Center offers help navigating the aging process including assistance with Medicare and Social Security issues, keeping up with technology and other issues.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A buzzing center of activity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Research from Blue Zones<\/a>, geographic areas whose residents have the longest life expectancies in the world, lists physical activity as one of nine healthy habits practiced by the world\u2019s longest living populations. The other habits include finding a sense of belonging, never overeating, eating a diet heavy in vegetables, putting family first, enjoying a glass of wine or two per day, having purpose in life, unwinding from stress and spending time with others who practice similar habits.<\/p>\n

In Summit County, which has the highest life expectancy in the country according to a 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the other healthy habits on the Blue Zones list are normal ways of life for local seniors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Summit County Community & Senior Center is a buzzing center of activity that harnesses our community\u2019s strengths to support local seniors in living healthy, fulfilling lives,\u201d said Lorie Williams, the Summit County Community and Senior Center\u2019s manager. \u201cWe host a wide variety of programs and services that support physical, social and mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sense of purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Summit Seniors group is among the most active volunteer groups around, raising tens of thousands of dollars every year for local nonprofits that protect the environment, foster the arts and provide human services, Williams said. She calls the group a \u201ccharitable powerhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having a meaningful sense of purpose in life may help us live longer, according to research published in the journal Psychological Science that found this sense of purpose predicted lower mortality risk in a study of more than 6,000 participants.<\/p>\n

Longevity might be the long-term bonus of feeling a sense of purpose, but the more immediate benefits are obvious in the attitudes of local seniors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never had time for volunteer work while working,\u201d said Sandy Bainbridge, past president of Summit County Seniors. \u201cHaving a way to give back to the community through the Senior Center has been very purposeful for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bainbridge said the seniors wouldn\u2019t feel nearly as young as they do without their involvement in the Senior Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly our social health is enhanced with the number of folks we have met at the Senior Center,\u201d she said. \u201cOur own neighborhood is very quiet with mostly absent homeowners. The Senior Center provides us with a neighborhood feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting after it<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Many Summit Seniors participants are able to enjoy a wide array of physical and recreational activities, but that shouldn\u2019t preclude those who aren\u2019t as physically able anymore from joining. The Senior Center also serves elderly seniors and those with special needs.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Many Summit Seniors participants are able to enjoy a wide array of physical and recreational activities, but that shouldn\u2019t preclude those who aren\u2019t as physically able anymore from joining. The Senior Center also serves elderly seniors and those with special needs.<\/p>\n

For those who can do more, many find they can do even more than they realized once they\u2019re part of the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be nearly as active  without the Senior Center recreational opportunities on our calendars,\u201d Bainbridge said. \u201cThere are so many ways to help with our fitness through senior programs, and have fun with new and old friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

A quick glance through the center\u2019s 16-page monthly newsletter reveals a veritable cornucopia of activities and programs. While skiing, hiking, bike rides and other outdoor recreation are part of the normal calendar, some less physically-demanding activities that keep in line with the Blue Zones\u2019 healthy habits include a book club, group excursions such as the annual Rockies game, Monday night dinners, group games like bridge and mah jong, yoga and more.<\/p>\n

Williams jokes that the local seniors \u201creally get after it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while fun and games is a huge part of what they do, the seniors also find support for other equally important tasks related to aging.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeside the social aspects, the Senior Center offers help navigating the aging process including assistance with Medicare and Social Security issues and keeping up with technology,\u201d Gerstein said. \u201cIt also provides aging services like Meals on Wheels and transportation to medical appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This sponsored content is brought to you by the Summit County Community and Senior Center and Summit Seniors. The Summit Seniors get together often for outdoor recreation and other activities. Whether they\u2019re cross-country skiing, gardening, quilting, biking, playing cards or volunteering \u2014 seniors in Summit County participate in activities that enrich their lives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-799210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 01:54:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}