By Allison Perrine
MIDDLETOWN – The township recreation department is adding a splash of fun to the summer for its seniors with its new weekly Seasonal Surprise Bags program, free of charge.
As part of the program, Middletown Recreation will prepare and deliver activity bags to seniors each week through August and September with items and challenges sure to keep participants active while having fun and exploring their creativity. Anyone enrolled in the Middletown Senior Center is eligible.
“With the Middletown Senior Center remaining closed for the foreseeable future, this program will allow senior residents to connect with friends, old and new, and try some new activities they hadn’t considered before,” said Kourtney Davis, senior center supervisor. “With so much variety in each bag, there is a little something for everyone to enjoy.”
The idea for the new senior program came from the department’s Camp in a Box program, said Janet Dellett, recreation director, which was created for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Department members were looking to provide children with the fun of camp while still adhering to social distancing measures and the closure of traditional camps for the time being.
But instead of the prompts encouraging participants to do things like fossil or scavenger hunts, the Seasonal Surprise Bags will include supplies like origami paper, playing cards, puzzle books, writing prompts to journal with mindfulness, bingo cards and watercolor supplies, all wrapped in brown bags with the department logo on the front.
The bags will also include virtual or online components, allowing seniors to chat with one another during “coffee talks” or take live art lessons with the Middletown Arts Center, participate in virtual bingo and trivia, a book club and craft tutorials, said Dellett. Fitness workouts will also be included and can be modified for people of all abilities.
The program will be paid for with Title III B funding from the Monmouth County Office on Aging. However, additional funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act will likely allow the department to run the program seasonally for at least a year, Dellett said. And once the COVID-19 pandemic situation improves and restrictions loosen, the department may look to modify the program with some safe, in-person activities.
“If we can bring them in, we can modify the event,” she said, for example, potentially having the book discussions in person under tents.
The department is currently bundling 125 bags for the first week of the program, but as representatives examine the participation rate, that number can increase. There will be pickup times for people to get their bags in a drive-thru style; anyone who does not have the ability to do so can have the bags delivered to their homes.
Mayor Tony Perry said he is happy that the department was able to come up with a safe way for the seniors to stay busy. “Because our senior center is closed and has been closed since the very beginning of COVID-19, we’ve been keeping tabs on those who visit our senior center frequently to make sure that they have things to do,” said Perry.
“This seasonal bag will be able to provide our seniors with arts and crafts projects, games and things they can do virtually with one another. Just the same with young people, it’s the same with our seniors – social interaction is so important,” he added.
The article originally appeared in the August 6 – 12, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
