Seniors are getting active, socializing and stepping back into volunteering

After almost of year of limited exposure, they are back to their normal routines, whether it’s socializing during happy hour or getting some exercise at the morning fitness class.

The biggest thing during COVID-19 was for residents to get exercise, said Sam Lefaive, fitness center manager at the senior community. While the in-house television channel allowed residents to participate in their apartments, they were missing the social aspect that comes with group fitness.

“So, it’s nice to be able to have them back in here,”  Lefaive said in the auditorium where they enjoy their morning workouts. “A very large part of it is the socializing ... it adds more endorphins on top of the exercise, to give them that spirit of enjoyment and happiness coming here.”

It’s also good accountability when they get to see their friends every time, she said, noting a lot of the seniors come regularly.

“It’s a daily part of their life to come to class, get their exercise and then they’re set for the rest of the day,” she said.

Being able to remove the masks has also made a big difference.

“I feel like just seeing everyone’s face again and seeing the smiles, just changed the mood so much,” Lefaive said. “A large part of being around people is seeing smiles and ... the happiness just spreads from that.”

Feeling of community returning

Early this year, as vaccines were rolling out and being made available to older populations, Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners had many seniors returning to their volunteer roles at the Plymouth-based nonprofit.

“We still have smaller numbers of volunteers, but I think some of that feeling of community is coming back, which is really promising,” said Ashley Wyatt, community engagement coordinator, for the organization that provides food shelf and other emergency services to families and individuals in Hamel, Long Lake, Medicine Lake, Medina, Minnetonka Beach, Orono, Plymouth and Wayzata.

Prior to 2020, an annual average of 2,000 volunteers offered their time and energy to help Interfaith Outreach with its mission of providing community support through food, housing, education and employment services.

During the pandemic, the organization operated with around a third of its normal staff of volunteers. Most of those who did return in the middle of the pandemic were younger, Wyatt noted, due to the higher dangers of COVID-19 for senior citizens.

Among the many seniors who paused their work with the organization was 81-year-old Wayzata resident Anne Creed, who for years had been working three days a week at Resale Select. But when the pandemic hit, she decided her safest option was to stay home.

After more than a year, Creed finally made her return to Interfaith Outreach in May after being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and seeing rates of the virus decline across the state.

“Everyone here now has come back having gotten a vaccine,” she said June 2 while standing in one of the aisles at ReSale Select. “This is my third week back.”

With her senior living community now being mostly reopened, Creed said she felt safe to step back into the store and resume at least part of her pre-pandemic routine.

“It’s good to be back,” she said. “I’m a widow, so it’s wonderful to have an opportunity to be out and about.”

Creed’s focus at ReSale has been in housewares while others spend their time in departments helping stock clothing, furniture or sporting goods.

“I just gravitated to housewares,” she said, noting that she was once the co-chair of the department. “Anything we found in the back, which is where it’s all stored as it comes in, we would look through and find things that we thought would sell and bring them up.”

The best part, Creed said, about coming back to her volunteer position has been the social aspects of renewing acquaintances and seeing familiar faces.

“I’m seeing all kinds of old dear friends,” Creed said with a smile as she looked around the store. “Things are trickling back to normal.” 

Staying fit to enjoy life

At Trillium Woods, Lefaive's job is to help the residents stay fit so they can enjoy their life and daily activities. 

“I just want to make sure that they enjoy it as much as possible,” she said, noting that day was Fluorescent Friday.

“On Fridays we wear bright colors just to make it a fun happy environment. And so they come in very cheery and excited for a little bit of cardio before they finish off for the weekend,” she said.

Resident and class participant Gwen Ladner commented on the importance of exercise to maintain good balance.

“One of the biggest problems with all of us is the danger of falling,” she said. “[Sam] has got every one of our joints going and our muscles going and it makes all the difference in the world with our ability to balance.”

Resident Abbie Willis said it was hard to express her feelings of being back together again.

“We were in such isolation for so long and we had to find ways to keep ourselves occupied,” Willis said. “And once we got into those routines, to break those routines, was kind of an invasion.”

Slowly, but surely, things are getting back to normal, and they are getting used to socializing again. They are especially enjoying not having to wear a mask.

“It was just miraculous to be able to see the people’s faces,” Willis said, noting she is only just starting to not reach for a mask before leaving her apartment.

Resident Joe Ladner said he is excited to be able to sit as a group in the dining room, as well as the return of weekly happy hours and monthly birthday celebrations.

“Friday nights were always a big night to have happy hour and get grouped together. Now we can do that again,” he said.

More IOCP info

The Interfaith Outreach Resale Select store offers online shopping through a new website: resaleselect.mybigcommerce.com. To learn more about the volunteer opportunities, visit iocp.org/volunteer.

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