Banner Olive Branch SENIOR CENTER - located at 11250 N. 107th Ave, Sun City, is a very nice center. They have a calendar of fun events as well as meal programs. A great place to meet friends and enjoy a great day.
The one in Peoria is also nice for variety and allows you to sign in and eat on the same day on space available, and it usually is. http://www.peoriaaz.gov/NewSecondary.aspx?id=54281
My father used to go to the Peoria Senior Center -- twice a week -- years & years ago ! ! He loved the many activities they provided there, as well as the Big Band Music and dancing on Thursday afternoons. AND -- he enjoyed their delicious lunches ! Oh, memories of years gone by !:watermelon:
On Thursday afternoons - - Peoria Senior Center still provides awesome LIVE MUSIC - - BIG BAND entertainment - - Dancing also ! ! ! Get those dance shoes on ! ! ! ENJOY !
I've been meaning to step into this thread and elaborate on how much good is being done in Sun City by the Olive Branch Senior Center. In the past 6 months I've been to the Center several times as we are trying to rebuild the Sun City Foundation on a much broader platform than it currently serves. That of course is another topic for another time, but suffice to say it is both a daunting and exhilarating task. Ivy Glitzky, Center Executive Director, was sharing with me some of the staggering numbers from last year, I was stunned: * They have more than 360 volunteers. * Serve over 70,000 meals per year. * Picks up more than a million pounds of donated food per year with a value of ten million dollars. * Distributes food to 12,000 seniors, children and homeless through their Pantry Program. * Delivers more than 30,000 meals to the homebound. The list could on and on, but the reality is the work they do is often unseen. For many of us, we live in our own comfortable niche and often don't look beyond. I'm not saying that's wrong, but there is a side to aging that isn't glamorous and the Olive Branch Senior Center fills a huge void for those who need some help, friendship and a sense of belonging.
Speaking of Volunteers -- yesterday, as I am enjoying my life of leisure in the Bell Hot Tub, I am sitting next to an elder gent...He made a comment of how he just rarely got to the pool anymore...He used to go 5 or 6 days a week -- but now, he said he is lucky to go just once a week. :ambivalence: I was waiting for his explanation of maybe poor health, a sad event or bad experience happened in his life to make him stop going to the pool. :distress: He proceeded to say how many hours and days he spends volunteering at not only the Senior Center but Meal on Wheels, Hospital, some of the clubs.....WOW -- I was just amazed by his busy schedule. Then he said -" I might only be able to do this a few more years... I will be 90 next month." -- Bless his heart !:strawberry:
I think we all looked forward to those retirement years when we could keep busy with activities by choice, not by necessity. I wonder now how I ever found time in my life to work
Banner Olive Branch also offers a VIP group for those with visual impairments. They meet on Mondays and then stay for lunch. Sometimes they plan outings like going to the nature center and library at White Mountain or a trip on the light rail to Spaghetti Factory. The Lions sometimes assist.
