MADISONBURG — The Penns Valley Senior Center “can be anything the seniors want it to be,” said its manager, Paula Snyder.
The senior center is located at 102 Leisure Lane in Madisonburg and is operated by the Centre County Aging Office. It is open to anyone over age 60. Funding comes from the Aging Office and from grants from various community groups.
Snyder manages both the Madisonburg facility and a smaller center located in the Centre Hall fire hall. The Madisonburg facility is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the Centre Hall facility is open the same hours on Tuesdays only.
On Fridays, Snyder assists seniors on shopping trips, helping people get to grocery stores and appointments.
“It was created as a place to be social, as well as a resource center,” said Snyder.
Current morning activities include a men’s coffee group, low-cost lunches, health and nutrition sessions, social time with a variety of game options, monthly blood pressure checks, weekly shopping trips to State College and a garden project in the summer. In the afternoons, other groups of seniors use the center to play monthly rounds of card games, and there also is a mah-jongg group.
Snyder said that seniors need not own or drive a vehicle to travel to the center, and that many participants use the Centre County van service to travel to the center.
There are also events that offer low-cost trips to places seniors might not go otherwise due to cost or not being able to drive. Bus trips have been made to see shows at Eisenhower Auditorium on the Penn State campus, Corning Glass Works, Atlantic City, Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster and several other places. Groups have traveled to Belleville, Lewisburg, Altoona and Mill Hall. Some have even tried kayaking at one of the group’s picnics.
“The group tells me what to plan,” said Snyder.
The center supports lifelong learning classes and offers information on Medicare, help with income taxes, flu shots, and safe driving classes, among other services. The center also delivers meals to seniors in the area who are homebound, and it offers information and support to family members.
The center is equipped with Wi-Fi and a computer, as well as a TV. For physical fitness, there are treadmills and an elliptical machine. Snyder said that future plans include a poetry class, to be taught by Abby Minor, who has led a similar class at Salem Hill Haven, near Spring Mills.
“We love new people and ideas,” said Snyder. “I would love to get more seniors out of the house and socializing, laughing and trying new things.”
For more information, call Snyder at (814) 349-8188.
