Just because the Enumclaw Senior Center is closed due to COVID-19 doesn’t mean it hasn’t been busy, and there are still a number of activities and events local seniors can attend to keep them entertained and connected through the pandemic.
First, a quick update: since the start of the pandemic in the spring, the Enumclaw Senior Center has delivered more than 10,300 frozen meals to seniors at their homes to keep locals health and fed, given that the regular hot meal program at the center had to be temporarily shuttered.
Additionally, the center has made more than 1,100 daily and weekly check-in calls to seniors in order to make sure they have the services they require to weather the times; those that want to enroll in the program to get a reassurance call can do so by calling the Senior Center at 360-825-4741.
Finally, more than 1,000 activity packets, filled with brain games, poems, and informational articles have been sent out to local seniors weekly to keep them entertained while they’re socially distancing.
However, all of these support programs are grant funded and will need additional grant revenue to continue.
The Senior Center has applied for a $25,000 grant through an Albertsons/Safeway video contest showing how the center continues to support locals during these times. To support the Senior Center, you can search “Enumclaw Senior Center” on YouTube (or head to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc_UsV3f-LA) and watch the less-than-2-minute video and aid the nonprofit through the grant process.
GRANDPARENT’S DAY
Grandparent’s Day is Sept. 10, and the Enumclaw Senior Center is planning on celebrating with a drive-by parade.
The parade is scheduled to leave the senior center at 10:30 a.m., with staff and volunteers decorating cars beforehand.
The communities the parade will pass by or through include the Mount Villa mobile home park (around 10:45 a.m.), Cascade Place and the Crystal Aire mobile home park (11:05 a.m.), Golden Elms and Living Court (11:25 a.m.), Emerald Court (off Garfield Street, around 11:40 a.m.), and finally, Highpoint Village (11:50 a.m.).
For more information, call the senior center at (360) 825-4741.
MONTHLY BOOK CLUB MEETINGS
Looking to socialize over a good book? The Enumclaw Senior Center’s book club is back in session after a COVID-19 hiatus on Sept. 22 starting at 2 p.m.
The book club is meeting over Zoom; you can contact the Senior Center or Cynthia Sable (925-305-8784 or cynthia.sable@yahoo.com) for more information.
This month’s book is “Furious Hours,” a documentary-style book by Casey Cep.
“The stunning story of an Alabama serial killer and the true-crime book that Harper Lee worked on obsessively in the years after To Kill a Mockingbird,” the Goodreads summary reads. “Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell’s murderer was acquitted–thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the Reverend. Sitting in the audience during the vigilante’s trial was Harper Lee, who had traveled from New York City to her native Alabama with the idea of writing her own In Cold Blood, the true-crime classic she had helped her friend Truman Capote research seventeen years earlier. Lee spent a year in town reporting, and many more working on her own version of the case. Now Casey Cep brings this story to life, from the shocking murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South.”
If you don’t have the book, you’re in luck — the Enumclaw library has several copies of “Furious Hours” already set aside for you to check out.
Library curbside service is from 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.
The Zoom Book Club meeting URL is https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75026379765?pwd=WE0weEtDUUVnMndJaFcydDBNdUg5QT09, ID number 750-2637-9765, passcode 9KvvhH.
MINDFUL MONDAYS, SUPPORT GROUP FRIDAYS
While the Enumclaw Senior Center has the bookclub and various online activities to participate in, the Auburn Senior Center has a whole host of Zoom meetings Monday through Friday for seniors to be able to connect, whether over Bingo, happy hour, or just want to see another person.
All classes are drop-in only expect for the Friday support group.
Mondays are all focused on mindfulness — relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, meditations, guided imagery, and more, with the class changing every week.
This class can be attended over Zoom or by phone. For the former, the meeting ID number is 842-5860-2806, password 466159; for the latter, call 253-215-8782.
Tuesdays are Happy Hour from 4 to 5 p.m., where staff and seniors get together to talk about certain topics, from travel to crafting and books. Use Meeting ID: 880 1830 8114; Password: 723459. You can also phone in at 253-215-8782.
Wednesdays are Game Day from 11 a.m. to noon. Games are on a rotating schedule and include Bingo, Pictionary, Scattegories, and more. Use Meeting ID: 897 2592 4956; Password: 530663
Fridays are all about supporting you and each other through these crazy times from 11 a.m. to noon.
The program was initially started through one-on-one phone calls to Auburn Senior Center patrons, but the center realized getting a group of people together could help cope with the loneliness and depression many seniors were reporting feeling.
This is the one program you have to register to attend; call Jennifer Hurley at 253-288-3146 to register or for more information.
