Greenwood Neighbourhood Place (GNP) officials and West Country Centre (WCC) officials are partnering to provide field trips for Sundre seniors.
WCC officials applied for a Mountain View County grant this year to be spent specifically on senior transportation, and this isn't the first time they have received it.
According to WCC president Ed Wicks, it is an annual grant they have applied for several times in the past. They typically receive about $5,000.
“They (GNP) were short of funds for their trips, so we had the extra money and they typically cater to seniors, so I thought that would be a good fit,” said Wicks.
Kim Free, outreach coordinator for GNP, said the field trips will be within Central Alberta, and seniors are able to choose where they would like to go.
After a brainstorming session with interested seniors, a few ideas were brought to the table, including a visit to the museum of machines near Cochrane, the Red Lodge Guest Ranch, Rosebud Theatre, Heritage Park, the Calgary Zoo and the museum in Drumheller.
She believes it is important for seniors to get outside, stay active, and meet other seniors.
“Oftentimes we find that seniors, you know, their family or their friends are not in the same area as them, or their closest friends have passed away and so they might be feeling lonely,” said Free. “So this is a great way for them to get out of their homes and meet new people and just stay active.”
They are hoping to run monthly field trips and have been recruiting volunteers to attend them.
“Most of the work is actually before the trip takes place. So they'll have to choose a destination and then pick a date and make phone calls and then of course book the bus,” explained Free.
There are a few different transportation options available to suit the needs of each trip, she noted, including a bus out of Didsbury, the Sundre Community Van and Carol's Country Shuttle.
The charge to seniors will depend on each individual field trip.
The idea is similar to last year's mystery tours coordinated by GNP officials.
“We found that those field trips were really quite popular and so this is a bit of an attempt to continue those,” she said.
“I think it will be really great to plan these field trips also through the winter because the winter months can be hard for anybody,” she said, adding the grant money must be spent by June 2015.
“It's more challenging to get out and to get some sun on our faces, and the winter months can be quite depressing really. So I'm looking forward to offering the seniors an opportunity to get out in the winter months and experience something fun.”
