Care Connection celebrating 45th anniversary with special senior center events

Care Connection for Aging Services El Dorado Springs Senior Center will celebrate the agency’s 45th anniversary with five days of festivities beginning Oct. 1.

Care Connection, a non-profit area agency on aging serving people 60 and older, was founded on Oct. 1, 1973, under the federal Older Americans Act.

The agency operates 23 locations in 22 communities within 13 West Central Missouri counties, including El Dorado Springs in Cedar County.

In El Dorado Springs, the senior center at 604 S. Forest will celebrate with these events:

• Monday, Oct. 1, a Build-Your-Own Ice Cream Treat, Pennies in a Jar Guessing Game with a prize for winners.

• Tuesday, Oct. 2, Bring-a-Friend Day. 45th person gets a prize, and a discussion on volunteering with RSVP Coordinator Kristin Fisher.

• Wednesday, Oct. 3, “Who is This?” Guessing game with 1970s photos from staff and participants.

• Thursday, Oct. 4, Timed word search and puzzle contests with prizes.

• Friday, Oct. 5, Birthday party, with decorations, cake, clown, assorted games and square dance exhibition. Also, a flu awareness discussion.

The events are part of celebrating the agency, which throughout its 13-county area, prepares more than 550,000 meals for more than 11,000 individuals annually. Other services include education, transportation, tax help, care management, information, assistance in the home, Medicare counseling, telephone reassurance, legal services, the Missouri SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol), long-term ombudsman program, and advocacy to people 60 and older and their caregivers.

“As we celebrate our 45th anniversary, we continue to expand operations to serve an increasing aging population – with an eye toward consumer-driven services,” said Care Connection Executive Director Diana Hoemann. “We are evolving to meet the needs of older adults, who are remaining in the workplace longer and living more active retirement lifestyles than ever. At the same time, we remain committed to serving the homebound adults with meals and other services to help them live independently.”

Seniors can get access to these services through El Dorado Springs Senior Center. Hot lunches are served daily at the center and delivered to qualified homebound older adults. Call Center Coordinator Toni Sabol at 417-876-5574 to learn details of the anniversary week celebration or visit goaging.org for more information.

Care Connection has a vision that the people its serves will live with maximum independence, respect and dignity. Its mission is to provide resources and services that empower people to create healthy aging experiences.