The Niagara Dailies shared a local collaboration between Welland seniors and NC Recreation Therapy program students. The Welland Seniors’ Centre Without Walls (SCWW) program, which seeks to help Welland seniors fend off loneliness, wrapped up their pilot which ran from March to mid-June.
Three days each week, NC students were available by phone to offer seniors a variety of programming “including yoga exercise and stretches to more cognitive programs such as trivia to stimulate the mind.”
Debbie Fender, professor in the School of Community Services and lead SCWW program manager, speaks about the way the program connects seniors with the community during pandemic restrictions.
“I love the programs with the Niagara College students because, while students are sometimes nervous joining in, our seniors are so welcoming and supportive that by the end of the phone call, the students leave with a new sense of confidence. It’s a mutually beneficial outcome for both the seniors and the students… They feel that they can conquer it all because they’ve gotten the support and encouragement of our seniors, so I really look forward to the student-run programs,” said Fender.
