October Blog: Senior Dance

•  I volunteered at the Senior dance on October 23, 2014. The senior center holds dances every First and fourth Thursdays of each month for $6 per person. It is an interesting and sweet experience attending the senior dances and a youth. 

• I would say that the senior center dances are the dance clubs for seniors. This is where they come at night to dance and socialize. Most would think it is probably like this..

• But it looks more like this...

• What I learned
• Senior center employees talked to me about their recreational activities and why they are important, just like the dances. 
• They are important because seniors want to continue enjoying the things they used too and everyone enjoys music and dancing no matter what age. this serves as their entertainment.
• The dances also bring camaraderie through socializing, and nostalgia because the dance music is provided by a live band who play classic songs of the seniors' times. Usually music from the 1930's to the 1950's.
• I also got to experience the business and managing side of the center. I helped count the money collected and separate it based on the percentage the band had to be paid.
• The money goes to the City, so that means it goes to the center because it belongs to the City of West Covina.

• At the dance, the seniors also received some refreshments and cake. The center also conducts a raffle with discounts and tickets for other events. 

• A good amount of seniors attended, it was about 50 people. I thought it was a sorbable to watch the couple and seniors ask each other to dance. Some dance can dance and move very well for their age, they enjoy it so much. I realized that most dance are like this no matter what age. The  seniors dances have the same characteristics that I have seen at my school dances. I found that interesting.

• The band that played at this dance is called Sentimental Journey. You can see one of their performances below.
• Sentimental Journey Dance Band

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

1. What is your working EQ?

• My working EQ currently is - What is the most effective way to attract seniors to a senior center?

2. What is the possible answer to your working EQ?

• Senior Centers must offer services that cater to the needs of seniors such as healthcare, nutrition, education, and entertainment.
• Seniors must be informed of all the opportunities they qualify for, and about events created just for them. This should be done through advertisement.
• Senior Centers must create activities that cater to each generation of seniors.

3. What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?

• My most important source that has helped me answer my EQ is my mentorship. First-hand experience working with seniors has taught me a lot.  My local senior center has many aspects similar to a business, so I have observed how they try to attract seniors.  have also learned a lot from articles written by seniors.

4. Where are you doing your mentorship, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ? 

• I am doing my mentorship at the West Covina Senior Center. It relates to my EQ because I usually get to work at the front desk and I get to talk to seniors that have questions. Talking to seniors informs me on their perspective and what they look for at the center. I also get to prepare the intake forms, or applications to qualify for senior services in the Los Angeles County. These intake forms show me the many services currently offered to seniors. 

Independent Component 1 Approval

1. Describe what you plan to do of you 30 hours:

• First I plan to create a survey and distribute it at my senior center and others locally.
• The survey would collect information on seniors' generation, demographics, and what they like and would like to see at there centers
• The questions in the survey would be based from my previous research and reading on my topic
• Second, I will collect the data and create a plan for a new event, activity, or class that most seniors would like to see at their center, based off of the surveys.
• Third, I will speak with the manager at my center to pitch my addition to the senior center, based from my surveys.
• Fourth, I would be involved/ run with the organization and preparation of the event, class, or activity.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence:

• I plan to:
• Provide an example of an anonymous completed survey
• Provide my collected data (charts/notes) and other tools I will use to introduce my idea to the manager of the senior center
• Take pictures of the event, activity, or class

3. Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth:

• My essential question is: What is the most effective way to attract seniors to a senior center?
• My independent will help me start getting input from seniors on what they would like to see at their senior center. Also, it would tell me what works and what doesn't.
• This project would also help me test different ideas and apply them to my center to see their populartiy. 
• These ideas would be the class, event, or activity.

4. Senior Project Hours

September Blog: Boom Boom Pow

Who are the Baby Boomers?

• The population born Post World-War II between the years 1945 and 1964
• 76 million Boomers
• The "new generation" of senior citizens

 

The creation of the Boomers:

• Pre-World War II, couples were hesitant to have children and start families due to the Great Depression. After husbands came back from World War II, couples had faith in the future and that there would be a growth in economic prosperity. The economy did in fact "boom" with growing corporations, jobs, goods, all suburbs. All these factors led to the high rate of baby making and growing populations.

 

Growing up with the the Baby Boomer Genration:

•  The majority of the Baby Boomers grew up in during the 1960s-1970s, during the civil rights movement. This generations lived through the moonwalk, vietnam war, and civil rights movement.
• A lot of these boomers were considered "rebels" for being less traditional than previous generations. They had more liberal ideals, especially when it came to the sexual revolution, drug use, racial acceptance, and the environmental movement.

 

Accomplishments of the Boomers:

• This generation si known to be the largest, richest, and best educated.
• This generation were the first to have life changing technologies like computers, phones, and appliances.
• Some famous and powerful Boomers include Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, the Clintons, Oprah, Madonna, and Donald Trump.

Why it is important that senior centers prepare for the Baby Bomers?

• Life expectancy for seniors has grown by 12 years
• About 10,000 Americans turn 60 every day
• This new genration of seniors have different prefrences from the older ones
• They are the now and the future of centers, the boomers are comming, and they are coming quickly

What center activities and services do most boomers prefer?

• The reason for the increased life expectancy rate is for the lifestyle of the Baby Boomers. This generation is more cautious about their health. Health, nutrition, and physical fitness calsses asre quite popular amongst the boomers.
• They enjoy being more active compared to the older genrations who like to play cards. Many of these "new seniors" do not want to feel old. They choose to steer away from the stereotypes of senior centers that have "applasauce and bingo".
• A modern trend amongst the boomers is technology and social media. Classes to learn how to use technology are in demand. Apps made specifically for seniors are also quite popular.



 

 



Blog 6: Second Interview Preperation

• My mentor is Augustine Alvarado, the Program Recreation Leader at the West Covina Senior Center.

• My questions for this interview will be :
• What interested you to work at a senior center?
• What have you learned from working at a senior center?
• What skills are needed to work at a community center or with older adults?
• Have you had any experiences while working at the senior center that has stood out to you?
• How long have you been working with seniors?
• What differences have you noticed at the senior center since you first started working there?

Blog 5: Mentorship and Research Reflection

1. Mentorship Question: Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship.

• Over the summer I was in search for a place to get some community service hours, and my parents recommended that I volunteer at my local senior center.  I really liked the environment at the center. Volunteering was fun because the staff was nice and I had interesting conversations with seniors. I had such a great time that I decided to do my mentorship at the center. In June I was still undecided about my senior project. I never would have thought that my senior project would be on City Senior Center Services, but I am glad that I decided to volunteer at the center because I really enjoy it.

2. Research Question: What has been the most important article you have read so far?

• The most important article I have read so far is "The Evolving Role or Seniors in the 21st Century" by Ronald H. Aday Ph. D. Aday is a professor and has studied Aging and Social Gerentology. 

• This article was based on a study of several senior centers throughout the United States. The article provided information and statistics of these senior centers. There was information on the purpose of senior centers and the effect they have on seniors. There was also a section on the key to "successful aging". This article has helped me build a foundation on my topic so I can now decide on which area to focus more on. I now have an idea as to why senior centers are so important and what these centers can do to improve.

Senior Project Art Poster

• Senior Project Art Poster: For my art poster assignment, I decided to make the theme the movie "Up". This movie is about how an elder man completes his childhood dream. He didn't mind his age when he went after his dream of visiting Paradise Falls, which is drawn at the center of my poster. On the poster are two main characters Carl and Ellie Fredricksen, featured on the bottom corners of my poster. Above them are the childhood versions of themselves. I drew these characters because I wanted to address my quote at the bottom center, "Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional." I wanted the entire poster to represent the movie's meaning of it never being to late to follow your dreams, even if you are a senior.

• Golden Years: I relate the movie "Up" to my senior topic of City Senior Center Services, because I believe that senior services where created to help seniors live independently and enjoy their Golden Years, just like Carl Fredricksen did by achieving his goal in life to visit Paradise Falls. While mentoring at my senior center I want to help celebrate the lives and Golden Years of the seniors.

• Senior Center Menu: Personally I love art, so whenever the senior center employees let me write down the menu on the white board at the entrance of the center, I add drawings. Like Popeye and Olive above, I usually draw characters that the seniors might enjoy seeing. This week I drew Wilma and Fred Flintstone to advertise the senior dance. Everyone sees the board everyday to see what the center lunch program will be serving that day, so I like to add extra like drawings or quotes for everyone to see. I do this because I noticed that the center looks very plain and I want to brighten things up and remind seniors of happy childhood memories or  inspire them with a quote. Im taking small steps to make a positive difference.