Seeking activities for elderly parent
My 76-year-old stepmother lives in central Berkeley near Martin Luther King Jr. Way and I'm seeking activities to which she could walk or take a short bus ride. We've explored the local senior center, but she seems disinclined to go very often. A volunteer position (that is not physically taxing) or a book club for seniors would be great. I'm looking at the adult literacy tutoring at the library and that's a possibility. I haven't found a book club for seniors that is local. She is shy and very well-educated, loves reading, gardening and music and is a retired programmer. Health issues have impeded her activities. Any suggestions for book groups, volunteering or other activities are most welcome.
Sep 25, 2017
Parent Replies
You might take a look at Ashby Village. The "Villages" are non-profits with the mission to keep seniors in their homes and engaged in their communities for as long as possible, and the Ashby Village is one of the most successful in the country. She would join as a member--most have social memberships (cheaper, with access to events) or full memberships (in which volunteers can help her with stuff around the home, give her rides, etc). It's a wonderful organization--I've worked with several of them around the Bay Area. URL is strange but below (or Google "Ashby Village," since I wouldn't click on that link from a stranger either).
http://av.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=748044&module…
She might enjoy tutoring English with international students or visiting professors through the the YWCA on Bancroft. I worked with a professor from Barcelona recently. As long as she's close to the campus, they could meet in a nearby coffee shop or other location.
Have her go to the Website MahJongg for everyone.A lovely woman teachers MahJongg in Berkeley and has monthly brunches for people who know how to play.It is fun and helps keep our minds sharp.
She should look into UC Berkeley's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. OLLI Berkeley offers about 90 classes per year in downtown Berkeley -- many of them taught by retired Cal faculty -- and there are a lot of social activities as well. https://olli.berkeley.edu The lunchtime lecture series starts next week; it's a good way to get a taste of the program without committing to a class. https://olli.berkeley.edu/programs/events/speaker (Full disclosure: I work there.)
The Albany YMCA has wonderful exercise classes for seniors. Pull up a chair and healthy heart. the instructors are wonderful. The groups tend to become friends. I think the number 18 bus would get her there. A membership in the YMCA would be good for Albany and Berkeley YMCA which have joined forces recently. There are good classes via Albany Recreation center. She could tutor in Berkeley schools - a good program is Writer coaching.
When my elderly mom moved to the area several years ago, I learned about the organization Reading Partners for similar reasons. It didn't end up being a good fit for my mom (mainly because she was just too intimidated by the whole move I think), but maybe it would be for your stepmom. We went to visit a site and I was very impressed with their whole program. Check out their website here:
https://readingpartners.org/location/sf-bay-area/schools/
King Middle School needs writing coaches! Here's a description:
Coach a student - empower the voices of the future! Volunteers are needed to coach King students on critical thinking and writing skills so that they might succeed in school and the workplace. Anyone can be a volunteer coach - if you enjoy working with young people and want the best for them, then investing your time as a coach with WriterCoach Connection is for you! The volunteer commitment is 1-2 hours during the school day, 2-4 times a month. Come to an orientation to learn more about the program prior to signing up for one of our trainings, where we'll give you the strategies and skills to be an excellent coach. To sign up for an orientation, go to: http://www.writercoachconnection.org/volunteer-orientation---sign-up-here.html
New dates are added regularly but get in soon - coaching starts in October. King coaching will be on certain Tuesdays and Thursdays from October through May. There are seven teams of volunteers, and each team will generally work with two classes for a total of 18 dates, averaging 2-3 times a month. Click here to sign up for one of our WriterCoach Info Nights to learn more. Please feel free to contact one of your King WriterCoach Co-Coordinators with any questions. June & Shauna June Pangelinan & Shauna RabinowitzWriting Coach Co-coordinatorsKing Middle Schooljune [at] writercoachconnection.org (june[at]writercoachconnection[dot]org)shauna [at] writercoachconnection.org (shauna[at]writercoachconnection[dot]org)WriterCoach Connection
A friend of mine volunteers as a reading tutor with Reading Partners, and they placed her at Sankofa in Oakland (so an easy bus ride from central Berkeley/MLK). She loves it and has developed a close friendship with the child she tutors.
These are all just wonderful and thoughtful suggestions, and I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to answer. I will definitely look into each of them. Thank you so much!
Daytime classes at the Berkeley YMCA have many seniors and the level of many of them would be appropriate for someone with physical limitations. Some of the women who use Grace's Pool are retired engineers and academics. She would also see people at a range of ages which might be more of what she wants than the senior-center population.