SOWEGA Council on Aging offers grants to expand ‘Senior Centers Without Walls’

ALBANY — The SOWEGA Council on Aging is looking for partners to provide activities for area senior citizens and will reward them with grants for those programs.

Government and nonprofit agencies that offer services will be eligible for up to $100 per month for each class that serves seniors for a maximum amount of $1,000 per month.

The grants will supplement the Senior Center Without Walls initiative through which the organization offers off-site meals and activities in the community rather than a senior center setting. The move to that initiative began in April 2020 due to COVID-19, which caused the closing of centers throughout the region.

“We do a lot of virtual events, distance events,” SCOA Director Izzie Sadler said. “We’ve heard from several of our communities that they want to do in-person activities. What we’re trying to do is we’re trying to make it very simple for anybody currently doing these services.”

Some of the groups currently providing services for seniors include area Family Connections programs and the YMCA, Sadler said, but the grants will be available to any not-for-profit group, including churches.

The grants could cover traditional activities such as exercise or crafts but are not limited to those.

“We want them to be creative,” Sadler said. “That’s one of the things we’re excited about. They might come up with something new. It’s pretty open.

“Of course we’ve got to approve the calendar of events.

“Generally, we want them to be creative in getting senior citizens together to do some activities.”

Information about the mini-grants, including eligibility requirements and deadlines, can be found at https://sowegacoa.org/mini-grant-application-for-senior-recreation/.

The grant program will extend through the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends in June 2022.