Valle: After 42 years, York Township Senior Center still going strong

Forty-two years ago this month, the York Township Senior Center held its first outing.

On Aug. 4, 1976, the outing started at the new Township Hall at 1502 S. Meyers Road in Lombard with a luncheon at 11 a.m. After lunch, transportation was provided to Arlington Park Theatre for a performance of the Neil Simon comedy "The Sunshine Boys," starring Milton Berle and Jack Gilford.

Also in August 1976, York Township began publishing The Senior Sun newsletter for its senior center members.

It is my privilege as supervisor of York Township to inform you that township programs and services are still going strong after all these years.

The Senior Sun, in which this column appears, is still being published 10 times a year, and the York Township Senior Center is still organizing outings. This month, we saw the musical play "Forever Plaid" and a White Sox versus Kansas City Royals baseball game.

But the York Township Senior Center is more than just occasional trips and a newsletter. The center provides a variety of activities and services for seniors in order to help improve their quality of life.

Our members enjoy weekly bridge and pinochle card games, wood-carving and quilting clubs, and yoga, art, line-dancing, Zumba, tai chi and yuan ji classes. Other services for our seniors include a barber, beautician, income tax preparation and twice-monthly free blood pressure checks, as well as free internet access in our library. Almost every Tuesday there is a free movie with free popcorn.

We have many one-day trips and host in-house parties. We also have many informational seminars and referral services including Legal Aid, Rules of the Road and Smart Driving classes.

We help our seniors with applications for assistance programs such as the Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program and the Benefit Access Program.

We have a senior health insurance coordinator who can help our seniors with various Medicare issues they might have.

We also operate an extensive senior nutrition program in conjunction with DuPage Senior Citizens Council, including our community dining center and Meals on Wheels.

If you'd like more information or you have questions about our programs and services, please feel free to contact the Senior Center at 630-620-2424.

John Valle is supervisor of York Township.