Online classes boost morale for seniors
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This article was published 30/11/2020 (1809 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A pair of southwest organizations for seniors have set up Zoom classes to promote the power of positivity, among other offerings.
Both the South Winnipeg Seniors Resource Council (SWSRC) and Living Well at 55-plus at Crescent-Fort Rouge United Church are attempting to fill empty calendars for seniors who are used to being much busier than the pandemic will allow.
“A lot of people are telling us this gives them something to look forward to. One lady said her calendar is a big blank, except for the days she Zooms in with us,” SWSRC resource co-oordinator Martin Landy said. “Seniors have essentially been locked up for seven months. So we’re offering our programming online to help them through these challenging times.”
Sheila Grycki with Living Well at 55-plus said its programming also moved online to keep seniors engaged in topics such as healthy aging, crafts, nutrition and more.
“It’s so important to keep people engaged, especially if they’re in isolation by themselves,” Grycki said. “We can’t connect in person, so we’re doing what we can to help people keep learning and creating.”
The next online class for Living Well at 55-plus is being taught by Donna Fillingham on Dec. 10. Called Preserving Family Memories, the class will walk through how to turn boxes of photos and memorabilia into a family keepsake.
Fillingham first got interested in this when she put together a family memory book after her mother passed in 1994. “There were boxes and boxes of photos and other things. I was lucky enough that my mom’s sister was still alive, so we could write something about every person in the photos,” Fillingham said. “It started as something to share with the kids, and I caught the bug then.”
The River Heights resident went on to create more albums, including one for her husband Ian about his mother, including correspondence with a family friend back in England.
“For that, I created three albums, showing his parents courtship, their voyage from England to Canada, and one set here,” Fillingham said. “I tried to use her voice. She would write things like, ‘Those bratty kids shot me, and now I have to play dead.’ Things like that really bring history to life.”
Fillingham will show her method of using top-loading document holders that clip into a binder. “I like to tell people to set aside a place in their house to put all the materials, and then, if they have a computer and printer, to quickly type up descriptions using that. I also recommend making photocopies of important documents, rather than using the originals” she said.
The SWSRC council is offering an online class in promoting positivity and optimism on Dec. 2, 7 and 9. The free one-hour session is presented by Stacey Krueger with Canadian Mental Health Association in Manitoba.
“We have two types of Zoom sessions; a presentation where someone puts on a slide deck, and a discussion group where people can chat,” Landy said. “We try to offer each topic up to three or four times, with each session lasting one to two hours, depending on the group.
Landy said SWSRC is planning ahead for its online offerings in the new year, including sessions on cyber security, playing games like Scrabble online, and sharing vacation travelogue photos.
To learn more about SWSRC online sessions, send an email to resources@swsrc.ca or call 204-478-6169.
For more on Living Well at 55-plus online sessions, send an email to cfruc55plus@gmail.com or call 204-299-9919.