Senior centers are vital gathering hubs for older adults. It is recommended there be one senior center per population of 25,000, this generates to Colorado Springs needing 19 senior centers. The city historically has had one senior center, and it has been undergoing a rebuild for the past two years, leaving its biggest fans at a loss for connection and engagement.
September is Senior Center Month, so in this episode Judith McKay quizzes Tom Lathrop about the re-opening of the Colorado Springs Senior Center. This old friend definitely is providing some new trends and treats.
Colorado Springs Senior Center
1514 N. Hancock
Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
csseniorcenter.com
719-955-3400
Aging with Altitude is recorded in the Pikes Peak region with a focus on topics of aging interest across the country. We talk about both the everyday and novel needs and approaches to age with altitude – whether you’re in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida or Leadville, Colorado. The Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging is the producer.
Transcript
MELISSA MARTS:
Senior centers are reinventing themselves across the country. This month of September for Senior Center Month, dig into the innovative changes the Colorado Springs Senior Center is currently showcasing. We’re excited to have them in the studio today.
VOICEOVER:
You’re listening to Studio 809 Podcasts, the cure for common apathy and indifference. Reported side effects include a sense of being informed and engaged. Ask your doctor if Studio 809 is right for you.
MARTS:
Welcome to Aging with Altitude, a podcast providing information, advice, and resources for seniors, families, and caregivers to help you live your best life, Courtesy of the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging. We’re coming to you from the Studio 809 Community Podcast Studio at The Next Us, a professional cooperative environment for small businesses in downtown Colorado Springs.
I’m your host, Melissa Marts, with the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments’ Area Agency on Aging. Aging with Altitude is taking a moment to thank Beacon Senior News, one of our primary sponsors, and we appreciate them supporting and partnering with us on our Aging with Altitude podcast. This month, the Beacon acknowledges the opening of the Colorado Springs Senior Center, this past month, with its grand opening, along with 1500 other people. The Beacon notes that seniors can take a moment and make this spacious new building their home away from home, where seniors can create art, exercise, socialize, cook, learn new skills, and even tackle technology. In our podcast recording this month, we’ll focus on the welcome addition to the community that the senior center is providing to us.
The Beacon reminds us that if you live in Pueblo or Fremont County, they now have a dedicated section in the paper just for you. Typically inside the paper, you’ll find the local events calendar, question of the month, club and support group listings, fun after 50 activities, and more. Remember to pick up your Beacon free at Safeway, King Soopers, libraries, YMCA’s, and other Colorado Springs locations.
So today’s episode, I’m happy to be here with Tom Lathrop, the director of the Colorado Springs Senior Center, and I have a special guest also with us, Judith McKay. Judith is going to actually help do the interview today with Tom because she was at the grand opening for the Colorado Springs Senior Center and has some really interesting insights, questions, thoughts.
And with that, I’m going to turn this over to Judith to get us rolling and have a conversation with Tom. Thanks for joining us today.
JUDITH McKAY:
Thanks, Melissa. I’m looking forward to talking with Tom and having Tom bring us up to date on this incredible, wonderful new adventure in Colorado Springs, the new Senior Center. Hi, Tom, our operations director for the new Senior Center.
TOM LATHROP:
Thank you. It’s so happy to be here. There’s a lot to share about the new building I’m pretty excited about.
McKAY:
Do you want to give us a little bit of the history of the Senior Center?
LATHROP:
Sure. The Senior Center in 1986 opened, at the time it was a remodel of an older grocery store that was part of a strip mall that was actually built in the 50s. And so it got remodeled and became a senior center at that time.
And there are several people involved at that grand opening. Nancy Lewis is one of those that was running the senior center from that time going forward. And for those of you that know Mindy Putnam, she was also involved as well. She wasn’t the director right at the very beginning, but she was very much involved in that. So it was a great place that, you know, we’ve been serving seniors for more than 30 years and have really been able to make an impact with activities for seniors for folks that are over 55.
McKAY:
That’s exciting. And so now we have a brand new, incredibly beautiful building that just opened the 1st of September. How did that happen?
LATHROP:
So we’re so excited that the city saw that it was a priority that we would have a new building. Obviously, when you’re taking care of a building in that whole shopping center that’s built in the early 50s, it’s kind of hard to keep that up over time. There’s codes changes, there’s all sorts of things to keep up with that.
But the city saw that it was a priority to take some of the ARPA funding that they received and build a brand new building. But what’s really cool about it, it was built as a senior center, instead of a grocery store that got remodeled. So we got to look at all the different options of different senior centers all up and down the Front Range, and got several different ideas.
My predecessor, Lindsay, who was the director before, she got to go on several of those trips with the architect team, as they were dreaming and thinking about different ideas of things that would be so helpful. And of course, we got feedback from a lot of our seniors ahead of time to kind of get an idea of some of the things that they would like to see as well. And we did incorporate some of those things.
McKAY:
I’m happy to hear that. I heard about this grand opening. So I thought, well, I’ll just go and see what it’s all about.
Even though I had been to the old one, the old building in the same general location, but excited about this, because then I started going to the YMCA and the Westside Community Center in the interim. And I can’t believe I’m saying the senior center, I never thought that would ever come across my lips. However, it’s so exciting.
And there’s such a variety of people. It’s from 55 on up. And I mean, we are all young at heart. And with this new facility, it’s just making it even more exciting. It’s a new adventure.
LATHROP:
Certainly, we want to make sure everybody’s included.
McKAY:
I’m glad to hear that. So I went to this grand opening. And I thought, well, I would just walk in. I heard there was supposed to be a few hundred people. Well, I got there just a little after 10, shortly after it opened. Well, I drove up and down the streets and up and down the streets and all kinds of streets. And finally, I found a little tiny spot to sneak into. And I prayed a lot that, okay, I hope this works. And I walked and I walked and I walked. And then I was back at the end of the line on the side of the building. Anyway, eventually, I was able to get in. And you said there were how many people there?
LATHROP:
We had well over 1,500 people there. I was hoping for maybe five, 600 people. But, you know, we were just blessed with so many more.
I really focused on any media opportunities that I had to try to get the word out with the goal of having about five, 600 people there. But to have 1,500 was way more than I expected and could have ever dreamed of. But it was so wonderful to see so many people throughout the community all around Colorado Springs that came to the senior center to learn about us that had never come to the senior center before.
And so there was so much excitement. Of course, we ran through the food quickly. And, you know, people were not really organized in doing tours, just because when you get that many people in a 23,000 square foot building, it’s going to be everybody bunched up and it’s a little extra crowded.
But we had a great time. There were a lot of our sponsors there that had tables with all of their information. It was really a good time. And I think a lot of people had a good time there as well.
McKAY:
I think so. So it’s quite a beautiful place. So I did go back again, so I could really see it.
And so, yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it and excited about it. So just one little aside question, but very important question. Having gone to this grand opening, do you have any idea how many seniors are in Colorado Springs? The percentage, I mean. What does that even look like?
LATHROP:
I’m not sure how those percentages have changed, you know, over the last five years since there was data. But I know that it’s increasing over time. I know that Colorado Springs seems to be more of a hub than it used to be.
It’s getting closer to like one of those retirement community areas like you might see in Arizona, in Florida, in some of the southern states. So it’s only increasing as people want to come to the beautiful landscape that we have here in Colorado. And there’s a need for us to have, definitely, more than one senior center in Colorado Springs as well.
So I’m hoping that that would be something that would come to fruition at some point as well. But yeah, we’re serving the community and just getting people a place that they can be active and connect with other people, which is really critical, as you know.
McKAY:
Absolutely. So what is the real purpose of having a senior center? I know you’re talking about that, but could you just elaborate a little more and maybe include some of the types of classes that you are offering to support us?
LATHROP:
You know, it’s kind of a tagline that we have, which is connect, discover, and enjoy. Where it is important for folks to be able to connect, whether you’re a senior or not, obviously being around people is really critical. So we want to connect.
We want to discover new things. So it’s learning. You know, throughout our lives, we want to always be discovering new things, new talents, new ways to give to others, and then just enjoy, enjoy our lives. We work for so many years, and we retire at some point, and we wonder, okay, well, what’s next after that? And that’s where a senior center can be a place for people to make new friends, connect with others, and feel like they’re part of a community that, maybe they didn’t have because, no, they’re no longer going to a job where they kind of have that little bit of a community of where they work. That’s over. So maybe building new friends and building a new community becomes more of a priority.
So we want to be that place to offer anybody who’s over 55, even though the average is more like 75, because, as you would know, most people are still working into their 60s, and that’s okay.
But we just want to be that place for people to connect. There’s so many wonderful things you can do at the senior center, whether it’s the exercise classes that people are familiar with because of our association with the YMCA. But then there’s also art classes. There’s cooking classes. You can do wood carving. There’s lectures on different topics like history, or it could be financial questions, or Medicare.
There’s so many different topics that are interesting to people that we can have somebody come in in a one-off lecture, and folks can be a part of that. And there’s so many things that there’s no charge for, but then we might have like a $2 charge just to kind of get a good commitment from people to show up, really. So you might see that as well.
But really, the fees that people would see would be for like the long-term, like the multiple week classes, like the exercise classes or the art classes.
McKAY:
I see in the schedule that you have Silver Sneakers there also.
LATHROP:
Yeah, Silver Sneakers is a subsidy that people are given to be able to go work out in gyms and stay healthy. But then there’s, in the last few years, there’s this other one called Renew Active. So when you get to your Medicare, and you’re looking at all your different insurance options throughout using the Medicare insurance, they offer Silver Sneakers or Renew Active to keep people active.
So it’s an added benefit. So the way we look at that, because there’s no monthly membership to be a part of the senior center, we look at the Silver Sneakers or Renew Active and give people a 15% discount on our programs. But then we do have some Silver Sneakers classes that are 100% off because it’s a Silver Sneakers class.
And of course, when people scan their card, and they have Silver Sneakers or Renew Active, each time they do that scan, that becomes some revenue to the senior center because we get that money back to the senior center from those organizations as well.
McKAY:
Very important.
LATHROP:
Yes.
McKAY:
I have taken some of the classes there these these past couple of years. And, oh my goodness, I would say too, speaking for myself, for other people that I know, one of the things that I really like about it is I’ve always been very curious.
LATHROP:
Okay.
McLAY:
This is a nice place to go to, to continue being curious, that have that curiosity there, to keep learning and meeting new people learning a new subject that I never thought about, but it was being offered.
And so that’s one of the nice things I think about the senior center.
LATHROP:
So what were some of your favorite things that you like to do at the senior center?
McKAY:
Well, I took a line dancing class a couple years ago. And I have been dancing since I was went to cotillion. I mean, that’s talking about 100 years ago, but not quite. But anyway, so I’ve been dancing most of my life. So line dancing, I did that a long time ago, just for fun. But then a girlfriend said, I really want to go take a line dancing class. Well, okay. So I forced myself to go there. Yeah, that was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
LATHROP:
But you had fun, right?
McKAY:
But I had more fun because everyone was, I think, most of us were in the same boat. We were all having fun. It was a challenge, but we kept laughing and everyone was supporting each other.
And it was so nice to have that being offered. And the teacher was just totally incredible. And I’m glad to see that there’s other dance classes that are being offered.
LATHROP:
Yeah. Line dances, one of them you mentioned, we have ballroom dance classes, but other different types of dance as well.
McKAY:
I’m glad to hear that.
LATHROP:
Tap dance. There’s over 200 different options for that four month span, you know, in our schedules. There’s so many different things that we could talk about.
McKAY:
There are. And I did another class that I’ve never done before, but I thought I’ve done this all my life. It was a juggling class.
LATHROP:
Oh yes.
McKAY:
And I thought, oh my goodness. I jumped into that thinking, oh, okay. So I learned a lot about that too. That’s a lot of fun. And that’s being offered again too.
So again, there’s just such a huge variety. And I think as you also said earlier about having volunteers to come to the senior center to offer a special class, one-on-one, that’s important too, isn’t it? Whether it’s a one-on-one or whether it’s a group session.
LATHROP:
As far as volunteer instructors. Yeah. So we have, you know, whether they’re a YMCA employee and they’re an instructor, or they’re by contract, you know, they would send us a bill and then we would pay them, or we have many different volunteer instructors. They could be art instructors or just teach other lecture classes and other things that we would do on a regular basis. So yeah, there are volunteers that are also involved in the senior center that help make everything work.
McKAY:
But you are again connected with YMCA. So some of the classes that the YMCA offers, are they, they are in connection with the senior center or vice versa, or if you wanted to, you know, be involved in the senior center, but there was a class being offered at the Y, is that connected somehow?
LATHROP:
Well, in that we’re owned by the city and then operated by the YMCA. So we’re all YMCA employees, but because we have a completely different business model and no monthly membership, and then when you go to a YMCA branch, of course you’re paying for a membership and then you get access to the whole facility, as well as the exercise classes that they offer as part of your membership.
But with us, it’s more of an a la carte system, where you’ll pay for the individual classes separately. And then, because it’s run by the YMCA, we’re also connected in ways that we can also offer some programs at other YMCAs, as we have done in previously. We certainly did while we were waiting for the new building to get built.
So for us to have our classes available at the Downtown YMCA, but then also over at Westside Community Center for that time. Once the new building was done and over the last two weeks now, we’ve been in our new building and so we’re not offering classes outside of there. But who’s to say that may, that could happen at some point later in the future as well.
McKAY:
One of the other classes that I took, that I can hardly wait to get back into it and can’t say enough about it, is the cooking classes. The senior chef and Lisa, who is the senior chef teaching these classes, just can’t say enough wonderful things about her and the classes being offered.
LATHROP:
Yeah, we actually had a cooking class this week. What’s unique about the senior center is that we have a stove that’s out there in the lobby area. That was really the brainchild of Lindsay, who was the previous director. She wanted to have that as an option where we can do cooking classes or cooking demonstrations out in the lobby so that everybody can feel like, hey, this is something I want to be a part of. And so we did have a class out there, right in the lobby, about 16 people all around the area where Lisa was instructing and showing about how she’s making certain foods. And then, of course, everybody got different samples at the end.
So it was definitely a big hit. And I would say that that class and the classes that she teaches, sell out quickly. So I don’t believe that even through the rest of this year that there is an option for somebody to jump in at this point, because as soon as we started offering those, they sell out pretty quickly.
McKAY:
I did get lucky. I’m in the two December classes.
LATHROP:
Excellent. We’ll get to see you there.
McKAY:
Me too. I can hardly wait. All right. You also have a computer room.
LATHROP:
Yes.
McKAY:
With computers that people can come in anytime. Is that correct?
LATHROP:
Yeah, we have a technology hub. And there are, I think there are eight computers that are in that space. In our previous center, we had a room that was a computer lab that had seven computers in there. And so we got one extra than what we had, which is nice. So people can just stop in there and get on a computer. We don’t have a printer, but at least they can look up things.
And then also, we’ll have technology classes in there. So there’ll be some workshops where people are learning how to work on a computer or learn about apps or different things that Senior Planet offers. So we have a partnership with AARP and their Senior Planet program. And we have instructors that are also volunteer. And all of these classes are free. And so people would sign up for those. And we’ll have those in some afternoons in the technology hub area as well.
McKAY:
I’ve taken a number of those tech classes, and thank goodness that they are being offered.
LATHROP:
Yeah.
McKAY:
And those are important, I think, today to keep learning about technology as it keeps changing almost daily. So thank you for doing that. Another question is about the partnerships in town.
You mentioned that earlier, that you are still reaching out and connecting with having partnerships in town. One of those was Pillar Institute that I heard about.
LATHROP:
Yeah. We did connect with Pillar. The conversation was, we wanted to be able to offer some history classes. And we know that that’s really been a strength of theirs. And so we chatted about it and said, well, how can we partner together and maybe utilize some of the instructors that they also have? And so we are splitting the income that comes in from people paying for the class. And then they’re helping us with the instructors and then the topics. And so we just started that out just for the fall to kind of see how that works. And maybe we’ll be able to expand that into next year, which we’re hoping that we can.
But as we’re open now and we’re seeing the demand for our classes is way up, which we kind of expected that. It’s really helping us get a gauge on the kind of things that people want to sign up for and pay for. So that really gives us an idea of the fun things that we can do in the spring as well.
McKAY:
Exciting. So for people that are interested in learning more about the senior center, how they can sign up for classes, how and where they can contact you, and if they want to volunteer, if they want to offer classes, how do they go about that?
LATHROP:
Yeah, so we do have a website, and that’s csseniorcenter.com. We’re still working on the website, as it’s new for us and also all the other YMCA branches as well. But we’re working on making it easier for people to find where the classes are so that they can either sign up online or be able to look at them and then give us a call.
Our phone number is 719-955-3400. That’s our main number. As you would guess, with opening a new building, our front desk is so busy. We have three workstations at the front desk to try to help people as they line up and everybody’s coming in. A lot of new people, which is great, but sometimes the phone rings a bit and we can’t get to it. So just bear with us if you are trying to call us and we’re not picking up immediately.
But I know that that will slow down just a little bit where we’ll be able to answer the phone every time it rings. But you can call us and then over the phone, we can help answer questions that you have and then sign you up for classes. But you can certainly sign up for classes online as well.
The only caveat I would say to that would be if you have Silver Sneakers or Renew Active, which you would get a discount on some classes. There’s just not a way for you to give yourself a discount. So if you sign up for a class, you’re just not going to be able to do that and give yourself a discount. So you’ll want to call us so that we can make sure that you can use that discount in that way.
McKAY:
And so also, if people wanted to volunteer or offer classes, do they contact you the same way? I mean, aside from coming into the building?
LATHROP:
Yeah, they can come into the building and we can connect with, it’s me or Krista, our program director, and we can set a time to get together and chat about some possibilities of teaching a class in the future. It really is Krista that puts together those schedules. So whether you’re calling our main number or coming in, you’ll be able to get connected with us.
And at some point, we can have that conversation and see what those possibilities would look like.
McKAY:
What is your address and what is your hours?
LATHROP:
Thank you for asking. 1514 North Hancock, which is the same exact address that it was before, which is awesome. And we’re open Monday through Friday, eight to five.
Sometimes we’ll have Saturday events, like this weekend, we have a yoga retreat, but there’ll be a few of those throughout the year. When we have our arts and crafts sale that we do, we’ve been doing it, I don’t know, 36 years, I think this will be the next, but that’s the first Saturday in November. And that’s usually nine to three.
So that’s something that a lot of people come to. It’s eight or 900 people come and it’s where you can buy handmade arts and crafts. So it’s fun.
McKAY:
Wonderful. I noticed when I went there for the grand opening, that you had a big auditorium, and then there was a band on stage. Tell me about that.
LATHROP:
So we do have performers from time to time, whether it’s like a Tunes on Tuesday event, or maybe other days as well. But one of the things that we will do, starting next week, we’re going to have our Thursday dances, where we have live performers. And we’ll have a dance and we’ll have refreshments, and we want to have a lot of people start attending those.
Those used to be very well attended previous to the pandemic, where we would see anywhere from 75 to a hundred people there every Thursday. And it was a great place to meet others and have a good time, get some refreshments and listen to some really good music. So we do have some bands that we’ve had in rotation for a while, and some new, and we want to continue to expand on that and really make that a thing.
So I’m going to, personally, I think with my background of being involved in music, that was something that is near and dear to my heart. Let’s play some fun music and start moving into the 60s and 70s, because I know we kind of tend to go more in the 40s and 50s, but we’re going to do that and really create a lot of excitement around that. It’s Thursday and it’ll be from 1 to 2.30 every Thursday.
McKAY:
Now, do you have to call and sign up for that?
LATHROP:
Nothing to sign up for. You just come on in, you scan your card and you tip the band. That’s the fee.
So there’s no cover charge. You just tip the band because you want to support the band, of course. And then just come in and enjoy the refreshments.
And then we’ll have different sponsors that are providing the refreshments, and of course stop at their table and find out about all the great things that they do. And we want to make it just a fun time for everybody on Thursday afternoons.
McKAY:
You are amazing, Tom.
LATHROP:
No, the senior center is. I’m just a spokesperson.
McKAY:
Among other things. I’ve noticed you go out and say hi to the people there. You don’t just sit behind the desk. You are a person out there in the moment sharing.
LATHROP:
I’m excited about what I do. It’s a way for me to give. And I understand the cause of how we’re making a huge impact for seniors in the community. And I want to be a part of that. And I know that there are so many people that have great things to share that we need to hear. And I want to be involved in their lives as well.
McKAY:
And your staff, too. You have an incredible staff.
LATHROP:
I have a great staff. Small, but we have a great staff and a lot of volunteers as well.
McKAY:
So volunteers are always very much needed. So please keep that in mind to reach out to the senior center and volunteer your wonderful time and expertise.
LATHROP:
Just come on out, see the new building. It’s an amazing place. Thank the city. If you know of any city officials and say, thank you so much for making this a priority and building a new senior center for the community. It was important and it was really a special thing to have and to be able to reach so many seniors in the community. So certainly thank them, whether it’s the mayor or your council person or whatever.
McKAY:
Absolutely. Come out and be excited and have that curiosity going to keep meeting new people and learning new things and Aging with Altitude.
LATHROP:
Yes.
MARTS:
Thank you, Judith. I appreciate you doing the interview today. This was wonderful.
Great to hear from Tom again. And congratulations. I know it’s been a work of love and connect, discover, enjoy. Colorado Springs Senior Center.
That’s the show. Thanks to all of you for being with us today. Aging with Altitude is created by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments’ Area Agency on Aging. Visit us at ppacg.org and click on aging services for more information about the programs of the Area Agency on Aging.