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 Chi 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.