MP announces 100K for seniors groups

By Chris Lewis | Vol. 32 No. 10 (May 22 2019)

Seniors groups in the Holyrood area are set to receive money from the federal government.

The Holyrood town hall hosted representatives of the groups who were on hand to hear the announcement by Avalon MP Ken McDonald.

The New Horizons for Seniors program aims to improve the quality of life for seniors across the country. It does so by providing grants for programs that make some sort of difference for senior citizens.

The funding for five groups in the Holyrood area amounts to some $96,549. The groups include the Marina Golden Age Club, the Forever Young Seniors Club, the St. Mary’s Bay North Regional Development Association, Yesterday’s Youth Club, and the Royal Canadian Legion in Riverhead.

“In small, rural communities, and in small towns, it’s very difficult to find appropriate amounts of funding to provide the services and programs that we would like to for seniors groups,” said Marjorie Gibbons of the Town of Holyrood. “The resource base is just not there – we don’t have the big businesses in our small communities, or the groups that we can approach for funding to help us provide these services, So, because we don’t have these things to tap into, then we need to make sure that we make use of programming such as the New Horizons program to get the funding to do these things. That’s why it is so important.”

Sadie King, a councillor with the Town of Holyrood, is the chairperson of the Marina Golden Age Club. She outlined what the club will do with its $17,881. It will go principally towards upgrades to the seniors room, ensuring activities can be provided, and events can take place, in a safe space.

“The club is indeed happy to receive this money, to make much needed improvements to our club room, which is in the basement of the community centre. That’s in dire need of money in order to bring it up to standards,” King said.

Currently, the Club is being hosted in a single room that can house some 36-people. The Club has 98 members. “The grant we got today is going to make our current space more liveable,” said King. “We’ll have a new entrance door, first of all. It’s going to give us new flooring that hasn’t been done for many years. It’s going to make improvements to our bathrooms and help the handicapped people who are coming there. It’ll also give a facelift to the walls, so it’s clear how badly this money was needed for the Club.”

McDonald said part of the thinking behind the program is to ensure seniors can not only retire, but retire with dignity after the contributions they make during their working careers.

“Today, one in six Canadians are over 65. By 2030, we’re projecting there will be 9.6-million seniors who will account for nearly a quarter of the Canadian population. This is good news – it means Canadians are living longer, but it also means we need to lay solid groundwork for the future.

We need to make sure we have the programs and policies in place to meet their needs,” McDonald said. “Seniors who are lonely, isolated, or generally disconnected from their community cannot lead healthy, active lives. This social isolation can lead to a whole host of health problems. That’s why we made it our mission to promote social inclusion.”

In addition to the Marina Golden Age Club, the breakdown of monies includes:

$19,778 for the Forever Young Seniors Club in Holyrood for its Empowering Engagement program, which looks to enhance programs available to club members.

$20,800 for the St. Mary’s Bay North Regional Development Association’s ‘Empowering Seniors’ program.

$14,000 for the Yesterday’s Youth Club in St. Mary’s for enhancements to their current programs.

And $24,000 for the Royal Canadian Legion in Riverhead for its ‘Building Enhancements for Seniors Participation’ program, which will see electrical upgrades to their building.o some $96,549. The groups include the Marina Golden Age Club, the Forever Young Seniors Club, the St. Mary’s Bay North Regional Development Association, Yesterday’s Youth Club, and the Royal Canadian Legion in Riverhead.

“In small, rural communities, and in small towns, it’s very difficult to find appropriate amounts of funding to provide the services and programs that we would like to for seniors groups,” said Marjorie Gibbons of the Town of Holyrood. “The resource base is just not there – we don’t have the big businesses in our small communities, or the groups that we can approach for funding to help us provide these services, So, because we don’t have these things to tap into, then we need to make sure that we make use of programming such as the New Horizons program to get the funding to do these things. That’s why it is so important.”

Sadie King, a councillor with the Town of Holyrood, is the chairperson of the Marina Golden Age Club. She outlined what the club will do with its $17,881. It will go principally towards upgrades to the seniors room, ensuring activities can be provided, and events can take place, in a safe space.

“The club is indeed happy to receive this money, to make much needed improvements to our club room, which is in the basement of the community centre. That’s in dire need of money in order to bring it up to standards,” King said.

Currently, the Club is being hosted in a single room that can house some 36-people. The Club has 98 members. “The grant we got today is going to make our current space more liveable,” said King. “We’ll have a new entrance door, first of all. It’s going to give us new flooring that hasn’t been done for many years. It’s going to make improvements to our bathrooms and help the handicapped people who are coming there. It’ll also give a facelift to the walls, so it’s clear how badly this money was needed for the Club.”
McDonald said part of the thinking behind the program is to ensure seniors can not only retire, but retire with dignity after the contributions they make during their working careers.

“Today, one in six Canadians are over 65. By 2030, we’re projecting there will be 9.6-million seniors who will account for nearly a quarter of the Canadian population. This is good news – it means Canadians are living longer, but it also means we need to lay solid groundwork for the future. We need to make sure we have the programs and policies in place to meet their needs,” McDonald said. “Seniors who are lonely, isolated, or generally disconnected from their community cannot lead healthy, active lives. This social isolation can lead to a whole host of health problems. That’s why we made it our mission to promote social inclusion.”

In addition to the Marina Golden Age Club, the breakdown of monies includes:

$19,778 for the Forever Young Seniors Club in Holyrood for its Empowering Engagement program, which looks to enhance programs available to club members.

$20,800 for the St. Mary’s Bay North Regional Development Association’s ‘Empowering Seniors’ program.

$14,000 for the Yesterday’s Youth Club in St. Mary’s for enhancements to their current programs.

And $24,000 for the Royal Canadian Legion in Riverhead for its ‘Building Enhancements for Seniors Participation’ program, which will see electrical upgrades to their building.