Sharon Oatway, Ann McSweeney, Judy Bedell and Kathy Ryer, part of the exceutive team that runs the Good Companions Centre, say they hope to expand the centre’s membership.
The Good Companions Seniors’ Centre is celebrating its 55th anniversary this month, and its officials are paying tribute to the centre’s past while looking toward the future – including new plans to recruit more 55-plus clients born about the same time as Good Companions was.
Inside the centre a “wall of memories” serves as a constant reminder of the history, while a blank wall next to it remains to be filled in the future, says executive director Ann McSweeney.
The centre has changed over the years, but the goal remains the same.
“It’s about helping seniors age well,” says Judy Bedell, community support services director.
As the centre moves into the future, a major objective will be to attract younger seniors, especially those around the same age as the centre itself.
Although membership is open to anyone 55 years or older, the average age is 72.
“At 55, people consider themselves too young to be at a senior’s centre,” says McSweeney, “so we need to stimulate that age group and merge programming for younger and older seniors.”
President Beryl McKale says the centre must invest in its future by engaging younger generations.
“We need the older ones to remind us of our history, and the young ones to carry on the tradition,” she says.
Founded in 1955 by an Anglican priest and a few volunteers, the Good Companions grew out of a community need for activities and assistance for older citizens.
From its humble beginnings in a church basement, the organization moved to its current location in 1957, and has since expanded to six times its original size.
Demand continues to grow and the Good Companions is now the largest seniors’ centre in Ottawa.
It offers more than 100 programs and services to some 1,000 members, mainly from the Centretown area.
Despite its growing size, the centre preserves its personal touch.
“We like to say hello to our members by name and I spend my lunches meeting them,” says McSweeney.
“We try to keep it feeling small even though it’s huge.”
According to the City of Ottawa, by 2020 more than one in six Ottawa residents will be older than 65 and the fastest growing part of the population will be people 80 and older.
“People are living longer, so there is a need for services and resources to help them stay healthy,” says Bedell.
In January, federal Transport Minister John Baird and Liberal MPP for Ottawa Centre Yasir Naqvi announced a $514,000 grant to enhance the centre's accessibility and improve functionality.
Naqvi notes the important role the centre plays in promoting the “vibrancy of the senior’s population by ensuring that they remain engaged and involved in the community.”
Nonetheless, the Good Companions staff is familiar with the challenges of an aging population and a lack of resources.
“As a non-profit organization, we always have to try to do more with less,” says Bedell.
The centre is funded by the United Way, the Champlain Local Health Integrated Network and the City of Ottawa, but relies largely on internal fundraising to supplement its resources.
“We never know that our funding will be approved each year,” says McSweeney, “and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a fundraising niche of our own.”
Despite these challenges, the centre continues to focus on its future.
A new logo featuring multi-coloured hands joined together with the tagline “Supporting a Vibrant Community” symbolizes the centre’s welcoming attitude to seniors of all ages and ethnic backgrounds.
The Good Companions is a trendsetter among senior’s centres in Ottawa, according to McSweeney, because it offers innovative programs such as Zumba classes, a modern style of Latin dance.
The centre now supports the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer community of Centretown, with initiatives such as the Rainbow Coffee Drop-in for GLBTQ seniors to meet and interact with each another in a supportive environment.
With one eye on the centre’s past, and another on innovations necessary to meet the needs of a changing population, McSweeney says the centre has done an excellent job of merging its history with the direction it is going in the future.
“We have come a long way, but the fundamentals of who we are remain the same as they were back then. They had it right 55 years ago.”