The St. Joseph-Lincoln Senior Center is seeing increased attendance as word of mouth gets around and the county’s population ages. The center’s board president, Rick Freridge, gave some numbers to the Berrien County Board of Commissioners Thursday night. He said about 260 individuals use the center on Lincoln Avenue each day, with attendance going up by about 17 to 19% each year. Freridge told WSJM News that new software, installed after the county asked for attendance numbers, has enabled the tracking.
“Back when we first hooked it up, we were getting over 200 a day, and we thought, ‘Wow. This couldn’t be true.’ So we doubled checked the numbers ourselves. We actually went back and started counting some people, and sure enough, we were over 200. Now, we’re up to 260 a day.”
Freridge says the people who stop by have a lot of activities to choose from.
“There’s 20 different exercise classes that you can do. Then we have a computer lab, we have a library where you can just go in and read, a stitch and chat group which sows and makes things. We have a quilting group, oil painting class, a weight room.”
Plus, meals and trips to different attractions. There are seven senior centers in Berrien County, all made possible thanks to the county’s senior millage.
“82% of our budget is paid for by the milage, and then the other 18% we raise through fundraisers.”
Those include greeting card sales and bake sales. Freridge notes each of Berrien County’s seven senior centers offer different programs, many run by volunteers. Freridge said the St. Joe center has 170 of them currently active. You can find out more about the county’s senior centers right here.
