Senior Programs Geared for Those '55 and Better'

We're all getting older. It's inevitable.

Although you can't control aging, you can control how you spend your later years and finding ways to learn, have fun and socialize with your neighbors.

Here to help you is Carolyn Noori, the Whitefish Bay Recreation Department's new senior programming coordinator. Noori recently took the reigns of the part-time position from Joan Brenk, who retired last year after roughly 38 years.

One of the most popular senior programs is the monthly luncheon. Under Noori's direction, the luncheons now feature Whitefish Bay musicians from local bands such as Joe Ketchum (Sept. 11), The Bottom Line (Oct. 16), Five Card Studs (Nov. 6) and Whitefish Bay High School musicians (Dec. 11).

The musicians volunteer for the performances, which start at 1 p.m. after the noon lunch at .

Noori said she also would like to incorporate local Whitefish Bay businesses and organizations into the Rec Department's senior program offerings. On Sept. 29, Noori is organizing a group outing to eat dinner at then watch The Bay Players' .

She is also putting together a "seniors helping seniors" program, which brings together seniors to help each other with yard work, driving to the grocery store and other tasks.

Noori said she wants to utilize the skills, talents and interests of people in the community, including those that may be interested in leading programs or those that have a programming request.

"I want to be an outlet and a resource for everyone to come to," Noori said. "There are too many retired people who don't have anything to do but want to be active and engaged. We would like to offer them something fun and interesting that they can look forward to."

One person came to Noori and said they would lead a free bunko class in the afternoon, and someone else offered to have a sudoku program. Noori said those classes will be coming down the pike in the winter.

"I'm getting people who are coming in and willing to volunteer and donate their time to help out this effort," she said.

Noori said she also would like to get away from the typical notion of senior, opting instead to target individuals "55 and better." Although 55 is usually considered a little young for "senior" status, it is the age when kids go to college and parents are left looking for ways to be active and connect with the community.

"These people still want to be active and want to find other things to do with people in their age group," she said. "Some of the people in the 55-year-old age group never really knew they could have access to these programs."

If you have any senior programming ideas for the Recreation Department, you can contact Carolyn Noori at 414-963-3992 or carolyn.noori@wfbschools.com.