EXPANDING YOUR SENIOR CENTER PROGRAMMING ~ Part 1

The Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies

on Agingwelcomes you to the

TOOLS FOR THE TRADEWebinar Series.

Aging PositivelyRennie Cohen

Presented by Mary Catherine Dabrowski

“It is not necessaryto change.

Survivalis not

mandatory.”

~ W. Edwards Deming

Deming was an American statistician, educator, & consultant .

Ask . . .

Does this look like YOUR senior center?YOUR

Does this senior center lookBoomer friendly

?Boomer friendly

Bingo, Cards & Congregate Lunch . . . Oh, My!

Cards& Congregate Lunch . . .

93

63

73

83

“If you do what you've always done, you'll get

~ Tony Robbins

what you’ve always gotten.”

From Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! by Anthony Robbins, American self-help author & motivational speaker.

How . . .

RecognizeRecognize

INTERESTS

Bring others into this process—staff, volunteers & members

Recognize

INTERESTS

Ask what is most important to your center’s purpose & programming.

IdentifyIdentify

VALUES

Recognize what are important interests in your community.

Identify

VALUES

Think in concrete terms.

AssessAssess

Who do you serve now?

Assess

NEEDS

Who do you want to attract next?

Identify what other programs exist in your community.

Assess

NEEDS

What do the other programs offer? To whom? And how?

CraftCraft

GOALS

Craft

GOALS

What do you hope to achieve?

Make your goals specific.

Craft

GOALS

Prioritize.

Set targeted timelines.

Craft

GOALS

Break large goals down into several smaller, attainable goals.

AssessAssess

Assess

RESOURCES Do you need an instructor… or a leader… or a team?

Do you have space?

Assess

RESOURCES Do you need equipment… or supplies?

Will there be costs?

Assess

RESOURCES

How will this impact staff time?

Do you have partners in your community?

Assess

RESOURCES Do you need to adjust your targeted timelines?

More . . .

“When it's time to change,

we must look for bright spots –the first signs that things are working, the first precious As and Bs on our report card. We need to ask ourselves a question that sounds simplebut is, in fact, deeply unnatural:What's working

and how can we do more of it?”

Start . . .

• Bring other voices into the conversation.

Your TO-DO List

START NOW!

• Make your space more usable—more inviting—more awesome!

• Look around your space with new eyes.

• Find ways to cover costs of new programming

Costs . . .

Charge Fees for Programs?

• Keep free programming.

• Charge $1 or all NEW programs led or directed by a Volunteer.• There are costs to every activity in your center.

Charge Fees for Programs?

• Class fees collected should cover your Instructor’s fee.

• More $ = more New Programs

• Actually, fees should cover the

Instructor’s fee + 10%.

“I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”

~ Thomas Edison

The story goes that Thomas Edison failed more than 1,000 times when trying to create the light bulb.

Thank you to P4A for this Tools for the Trade Webinar!

Aging PositivelyRennie Cohenrenniec@mac.com

610-724-0903

IMPROVING YOUR CENTER’S BOTTOM LINE

GROWING A MEMBER SUPPORT TEAM

ASKING FOR MONEY IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK!

THE ROLE OF ARTS & CREATIVITY IN YOUR SENIOR CENTER

EXPANDING YOUR SENIOR CENTER PROGRAMMING ~ Part 2

This presentation, EXPANDING YOUR SENIOR CENTER PROGRAMMING ~ Part 1, and the following will be archived on the P4A website.

Photo Credits

• Question by tj scenes• Dinosaur by ianturton • Seniors Talking to Seniors Kick-Off Events by Barack Obama • Line Dance Show and Picnic by Old Shoe Woman • Lunch at Senior Center by MikeJamieson(1950) • Pinochle by RiverRatt3 • Foxwoods High Stakes Bingo Card by mas90guru • Beans Lots of Beans by Caro Wallis • one is the loneliest number by horizontal.integration• Social Media Club Mid-Columbia meeting by Matt McGee • number 2 by Leo Reynolds• West Chester, PA, USA by 350.org• number 3 by Leo Reynolds • Smithfield Senior Citizens 001 By dalancarter• Senior Centers by Neighborhood Centers• YMCA Phase II Facility Expansion Grand Opening by eagle102.net • Library by ellen forsyth• 4th Street Yoga by inky • arts center sign by tango.mceffrie • 4 by mag3737 • changed priorities by hockadilly • Building Blocks by libertygrace0 • classroom by evmaiden • School Supplies Pencils Erasers August 07, 20103 by stevendepolo timeclock by brian hefele • 5 by svenwerk• awesome to-do list by Kyle Steed • Money, Mississippi by davebarger • Light Bulb by jnpoulos • Questions? by Rajiv Patel (Rajiv’s View)