News and Information
January 29, 2020
The below-freezing temperatures in Fairfax on Tuesday, January 21 didn’t stop residents from lining up bright and early in front of the Mott Community Center. They were there to register for the winter session of the Burke/West Springfield Senior Center Without Walls program, a community/volunteer-run partnership that provides activities for older adults in areas that do not have dedicated Fairfax County Senior Centers.
Burke/Springfield is one of two communities offering this program, which gives residents easy and economical access to exercise, fitness, social events and continuing education. Nearly 200 people attended the winter registration, hoping to secure spots in classes such as ballroom dance, hula dancing, self-defense, Zumba, ukulele, guitar, Tai Chai and more.
The most popular classes, like line dance and yoga, fill up quickly – which is why eager participants often arrive several hours early to be first in line. To accommodate those waiting, Mott Community Center staff gave each person a number and offered plenty of seating, snacks and coffee. Seniors enjoyed chatting with old friends as they filled out their registration paperwork and waited for their numbers to be called.
Senior Center Without Walls is community- and volunteer-run with support from Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services. Classes run from one to two hours and are held weekly at the Mott and David R. Pinn Community Centers as well as community space offered by churches and other organizations. The cost is just $5 per class for the entire eight-week session (for county residents) and $10 for non-residents.
Burke/West Springfield Senior Center Without Walls programming focuses on exercise and fitness, while a second program, Great Falls Senior Center Without Walls, focuses on social gatherings and continuing education.
For more information or to register for the Burke/West Springfield Senior Center Without Walls, call 703-278-8605 or e-mail burkewestspringfieldcwow@fairfaxcounty.gov.
To learn more about Great Falls Senior Center Without Walls programming, visit https://greatfallsseniorcentergfsc.wildapricot.org.
January 22, 2020
There’s a lot going on at the Herndon Senior Center, including a new weekend pilot program called the 50+ Weekend Clubhouse. As of January 3, the center began staying open an additional four hours (through 8 p.m.) on Fridays and Saturdays to accommodate members who work during the day.
On a recent edition of the Fairfax 50+ podcast, Monica Koppelman, assistant director of the Herndon Senior Center, and Jennae Asborno, an operations manager for the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, discussed the new program and other center news with host Jim Person.
Herndon is one of 14 such Senior Centers in Fairfax County catering specifically to adults ages 50 and over. The center offers over 450 social and recreational activities each month, and registered members enjoy a diverse program that includes fitness, art, technology and many special interests.
“We want our older adults to be able to age in place and stay in their communities as long as they possibly can. We have seniors who are 90+ years old who are still participating in activities,” stated Asborno.
A unique component of the Herndon Senior Center is that members speak 42 different languages. That diversity allows center staff to celebrate many different cultures and plan special activities related to the rich backgrounds of the members.
The Herndon Senior Center is located at 873 Grace Street in Herndon and is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fairfax County Senior Centers welcome prospective members to try out the facilities with a free visit. Senior Center membership fees for Fairfax County residents range from $24 to $48 annually based on household income. Non-county residents may purchase memberships for $100 per year. For more information, call 703-464-6200.
Listen to the full conversation in the Fairfax 50+ Podcast or find a Fairfax County Senior Center near you.
January 9, 2020
The Sensory Room's bubble tubes offer visual, audible and tactile stimulation through gentle vibrations.
Light, color, texture, sound, fragrance, motion… These can all be used to calm or arouse the senses. They are also core elements in the Sensory Room, a unique therapeutic space at Providence Community Center in Fairfax. Opened in 2015, the room is dedicated to Deputy County Executive Patricia D. Harrison, who played a key role in its inception.
As a certified Snoezelen® Multi-Sensory Environment, the Sensory Room promotes stress-free engagement and physical and intellectual development, particularly for individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities. Coined in Holland in the 1970s, the term Snoezelen is a contraction of the Dutch verbs “snuffelen” (to seek and explore) and “doezelen” (to relax).
According to Bekah Stone, the Inclusion Specialist at Providence Community Center, “Our purpose in sharing this special Snoezelen multi-sensory room with the community is to improve quality of life for people of all ages. By providing a nurturing environment and structured interaction, we can help individuals relax, learn, communicate, focus, improve memory, and develop social skills.”
Upon entering the Sensory Room on the second floor of Providence Community Center, visitors are greeted by low lighting and soft music. With colorful images projected on the walls and floor, the trickling sound of water emitted by bubble tubes, and the soft glow of fiber-optic light strands, the room feels like an otherworldly oasis. Its immersive elements are Wi-Fi enabled, allowing themes, images, sounds and colors to be customized for individuals using the space.
Some of the room’s state-of-the-art features include:
An oversized circular remote that makes it easy for people of all abilities to control colors and sounds. This promotes inclusivity, choice, control and accessible learning.
Interactive wall panels and a large floor mat that can be used passively as visual stimuli or to play games teaching cause and effect and color recognition.
Bubble tubes offering visual, audible and tactile stimulation through gentle vibrations.
Swinging chairs to provide needed vestibular stimulation for individuals with balance and sensory processing issues.
The Sensory Room is open by appointment only to all registered members of Providence Community Center (membership is free for Fairfax County residents and open to others for an annual fee). All programs are led and/or supervised by full-time Inclusion Specialist Bekah Stone, who is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, and Kevin Aly, a Therapeutic Recreation student and part-time activity facilitator at Providence.
In addition to one-on-one and group sessions, the Sensory Room offers a full slate of weekly programs including a meditation and open relaxation station for adults; an adaptive seated yoga class for people living with mobility concerns; a sensory program for children 3 and under and their parents; and open time for teens to connect and explore.
The Sensory Room also partners with Fairfax County Public Schools and the SACC program to offer weekly and monthly field trips, as well as the Infant and Toddler Connection to assist families of young children experiencing developmental delays.
For a weekly programming schedule, view the Providence Community Center activity calendar. For more information on the Sensory Room or to schedule a visit, call 703-865-0534.
