January 31, 2025
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Bradley Public Library Wits Workout program aims to help aging adults

By Shaw Local News Network
A voter arrives to the polling precinct at the Bradley Public Library on Tuesday morning as rain falls across the area.

A voter arrives to the polling precinct at the Bradley Public Library on Tuesday morning as rain falls across the area. (Tiffany Blanchette)

The Bradley Public Library is offering a program to help adults as they age.

The Wits Workout Program was developed by the University of Illinois. It is also a program a part of the Catholic Charities Diocese of Joliet.

The program can help build friendships while exercising the mind.

“We love to provide that in the community to encourage socialization,” said Natalia Verdoza, Community Health Worker at Catholic Charities Diocese of Joliet in Kankakee, “The root of it is to work on memory.”

The workout is not physical but rather a mind workout. The program is free for adults 60 and over.

Participants in the program have made a lot of friends, she said.

“Aside from the benefits of strengthening memory, it’s really good for engagement and strengthening that connection among aging adults,” Verdoza said.

The group gets together then has a conversation. There are memory games the group will do as well such as fun puzzles and trivia. The games were developed by the University of Illinois to help keep minds of older adults sharp.

“It’s a good time,” she said.

The program runs from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 296 N. Fulton Ave. every Monday and Friday now until March 31.