Known by members as a large center with a small center feel, the Cheektowaga Senior Center features staff who pride themelves on getting to know members well, building great relationships, and helping to foster a “family feel” so everyone feels welcome.

Unlike most senior centers in the Western New York area, who depend on their County Offices for Aging for their case management work, Cheektowaga Senior Center "can take care of much of our own members’ needs" because of its two full-time Outreach Coordinators on staff who serve as case managers and advocates for local older adults, said Kerry Peek, the center's director.

What is the history of Cheektowaga Senior Center?

Cheektowaga is a large suburb of Buffalo, New York, with a population of about 86,000 people—of which about 30%+ are adults over the age of 60. Before 1982, recreation programming for older adults was part of the town’s Recreation Department, and programming took place in local churches, community centers and schools.

"At that time a grassroots organization of senior citizens petitioned the Town Board to build a senior center they could call their own," Peek said. "The doors to the center opened in early October 1982, and we just celebrated our 42nd anniversary."

The Senior Center is the hub of the Cheektowaga Senior Services Department and is funded by the municipal government (via town tax dollars) along with various grants and program dollars from Erie County and New York State.

Who visits Cheektowaga Senior Center?

Cheektowaga Senior Center services local residents ages 60+ and older adults from neighboring communities who can attend programming as non-resident guests. Each year, over 12,000 Cheektowaga older adults are served in some capacity by senior center staff.

"Many of our members call us their second home and spend multiple days per week with us, and some seniors come just a couple times a year for specific services like vaccine clinics or income tax assistance," Peek said.

What activities take place at Cheektowaga Senior Center?

"Similar to many senior centers around the country, our center offers older adults opportunities for recreation, nutrition, wellness, transportation services, socialization, and lifelong learning," Peek said. "We often say 'we have something for everyone, you just have to come see for yourself.'"

In partnership wtih the County Office for Aging, the Cheektowaga Department of Senior Services offers three Stay Fit Dining Nutrition Sites where older adults can come for lunch each weekday for a suggested contribution of $3, as well as a Frozen Meal Program, Farm Market Produce Truck, and a Home Delivered Meal Program.

Ongoing daily programming at the center includes:

• Crafts such as ceramics, beginner watercolor, quilting, acrylic painting, and woodcarving
• Needles, Pins & Hookers (a crochet & knitting club)
• Zumba, Fitness & Chair Fitness, Corn Hole
• Men’s Club
• Tai Chi, Yoga & Chair Yoga
• Yoga in the Park
• Movie Matinees
• Games such as Euchre, Cribbage, Pinochle, Train Dominoes, Chess, and Mah Jongg
• Bingo, Men’s Golf League, Scrabble, and Scattergories
• Funny Friday, Lunch Bunch, and outdoor summer concerts
• A Wii Bowling League that has been in existence for over 15 years

The Cheektowaga Seniors Travel Club offers year round travel opportunities, both day trips and overnight tours, to destinations all over the area, the state, the country, and the world.

"We offer educational seminars on various topics relevant to our members’ lives," Peek said. "We have graduated three classes of NCOA’s Aging Mastery Program, and most recently, hosted a Better Bone Health Seminar offered to us by NCOA.

"We host University Express Classes in partnership with our Office for Aging—lifelong learning classes that are VERY popular with our members," she said. "We recently started a 'Good Grief' support group and we have a Silver Pride Coffee Hour each month hosted by a local LGBTQorganization who wants to be sure older adults from our community know the senior xenter is a welcoming, safe place."

The center hosts health-related seminars and screenings and vaccine clinics and offers special monthly events that usually include a meal and entertainment.

In partnership with theOffice for Aging—Erie County Senior Services —the center runs five vans every weekday (one of which is wheelchair accessible) for older adults needing to get to doctor’s appointments, grocery stores, medical treatments and other necessary appointments.

"In addition we have a Thursday Shuttle Van bringing seniors from their homes to our center to enjoy all our Center has to offer," Peek said. "We hope to expand this shuttle to additional days so we can service more of our older adults who no longer drive or have no means of transportation."

What makes Cheektowaga Senior Center unique?

Because the center's two Outreach Coordinators exclusively serve Cheektowaga older adults, "they can dig deeper into seniors concerns and needs and offer more in-depth assistance," Peek said. "This means any entitlements seniors qualify for, any housing issues/questions they may have, really any concerns at all, can be addressed more completely.

We aren’t just a referral resource, we can actually 'do the work' for our members: we fill out the applications with our members, we help them get through any challenges with support all along the way."

The center is fortunate to have the Cheektowaga Senior Citizen’s Foundation, Inc.—a 501 3c, non-profit organization whose mission is to support the work of the Cheektowaga Senior Center through fundraising and to help build community connections who will also support the work of the center. The Foundation has funded fitness room equipment replacement and other improvements.

A few other examples of the center's offerings, according to Peek:

• Sunshine Club sponsored by the Senior Foundation. "They provide the funding for our Outreach Coordinators to plan and escort 4-5 outings per year for their senior clients," Peek said. "They have done trips to the zoo, local train ride, apple picking and hayride, Miss Buffalo Boat Ride and lunch at a local restaurant, lunch and a movie at the Imax Theater, just to name a few."
• Senior Foundation-funded “Sending Rays of Sunshine” Program. "The foundation purchases greeting cards that our senior volunteers write out and send to our senior center members who can no longer be with us at the center," Peek said. "Some are in nursing homes, others have moved away, and others are just not well enough to come to the center any longer, but we still want them to know we 'think of them' and wish them well…that they are still part of our senior center family!"
• SOS (Seniors Offering Service) Group: "Each month our members are invited to either do some sort of hands-on community service out in the community or contribute to a collection of some sort we organize to benefit a local organization in our community," Peek said. "Past recipients have been local food pantries, animal shelters, schools, soup kitchens, the local police department, and many others."

What does modernization mean to Cheektowaga Senior Center?

"As our members interests change and their need for more in-depth assistance grows, we will continue to grow with them," Peek said. "Our programming offerings are a direct reflection of what our members have asked for and say they need/want. We will repurpose rooms in our centers for new and different programming, and we will call on more community partners to help us with our modernization."

Still not a member of the National Institute for Senior Centers? Join today, membership is free. 

If your center has completed a recent study or assessment or is trying out some new programming approaches, we’d love to hear about it. And if you haven't already, we'd encourage you to join the National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC). Free to all senior centers (and their personnel), NISC supports senior centers with best practices and innovations in programming, as well as networking and training opportunities. Ask for help, leverage NISC resources, or share your successes like Cheektowaga. Find out how you can become a NISC Affiliate today. 

Photos courtesy Cheektowaga Senior Center