Seniors looking for a way to keep busy can tune into virtual Active Aging Workshops to have a little fun and stay informed.
The next workshop is called the Birdhouse Project and those 55+ who will participate get the supplies delivered contact-free right to their door.
Organizers have found the virtual format has offered a more inclusive environment.
"We are finding there's a new group now like those who are wheelchair bound and would never would have come to our field trip to Barkerville or anything like that before but now they're participating in our workshops because it's virtual," Erin Anderlini, MEd, RCC, Director of Health, Prince George Native Friendship Centre, said.
The Active Aging Workshops are available to everyone 55 years and older, she added.
So far 16 people have registered to join in the May 18 birdhouse project and there's always room for more, Anderlini said.
The virtual program is quite new, with only three events held before this one.
"We were waiting for things to go back to normal and then we realized they weren't," Anderlini said.
"So then we decided to see what would happen as we held the virtual meetings."
Once the project supplies have been delivered, participants can Zoom in as staff walk people through the process of decorating the birdhouse, Anderlini explained.
"And we'll visit and chat with everybody," Anderlini said. "So we will be delivering ready-built birdhouses and paint and stencils and bird seed to people who want to participate."
The virtual workshop scheduled after the birdhouse project is called Scams Awareness and will provide information about how clever scammers try to dupe the unsuspecting.
The Scams Awareness workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8 at 2 p.m.
Victim Services program worker Nicole King-Smith will conduct the seminar.
"There's already been quite a demand for that during the pandemic," Anderlini said. "Nicole has prepared handouts for elders and has had some phone meetings with elders because there's been so many scams out there during the pandemic."
Organizers want to keep the meetings as close to what they'd be like in person.
"So we're going to drop off a snack and a mug with tea or a hot chocolate mix and host people as we would at the Friendship Centre," Anderlini said. "We want to make sure it's as warm and normal as possible."
The Active Aging program has been in
Because seniors are most vulnerable during the pandemic, there are no plans for any in-person events at this time and programs will continue virtually for the foreseeable future.
Call to sign up at 250-564-4324 or email [email protected].
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