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West Vancouver Seniors’ Centre West Vancouver, B.C. www.westvancouver.ca


Owner: District of West Vancouver


Size: 3,000 sq. ft. Members: 4,000; age 55+ Opened: 1981


Number of staff: 5 permanent full –time, front desk and maintenance staff, and 1,000+ volunteers


Annual fee: $37


Equipment: adjacent to the West Vancouver Community Centre with a 7,000 sq. ft. weight room


Programs: 24 group exercise classes, with 3 levels of fitness; 18 wellness classes, including yoga and Tai Chi; 4 active outdoor cycling groups, hiking groups, trips and outings, pelvic floor conditioning workshops; keeping- connected programs for seniors’ at risk; annual seniors expo


28 Fitness Business Canada Spring 2019


Older adult fitness–#5 on canfitpro’s top ten fitness trends for 2019–is an area earmarked for certain growth due to increasing demands from baby boomers looking to lead healthier lifestyles.


Seniors’ Centre will soon be launch- ing a dementia-friendly café. It will be a venue where persons living with Alzheimers and their caregivers can discuss their challenges and learn about resources. Together with its nextdoor neigh-


bour, the West Vancouver Community Centre, the Seniors’ Centre is devel- oping a niche in the area of fitness re- habilitation with programs such as Healthy Hearts, Stroke Rehab, Joint Replacement, Parkinson’s and Cancer Thrivers. The programs typically offer weekly movement classes, including yoga and fitness, bi-weekly education- al sessions and social activities.


Volunteers make it all possible All of these programs and services would not be possible without the community’s incredible commitment to volunteerism. The Seniors’ Centre


Kelli Ann Hinchey


is almost solely operated by 1,000 vol- unteers with a small staff of five full- time programmers and front desk and maintenance support. “We have 85 volunteer shifts per


day, including instructors, kitchen, coffee bar, shuttle bus and front desk operations,” says Witala. There are also intergenerational work opportunities and work opportunities for people with special needs. As the older adult population con-


tinues to grow, and as more seniors come through the doors there will likely be a need for a new and bigger centre. In fact, the Centre’s five-to-10- year Emerging Vision Plan, developed by the West Vancouver Community Centre Society, envisions a new facility that is three times its current size. FBC


Tiffany Moffatt is a health and fitness programmer at the West Vancouver Seniors’ Activity Centre. Contact her at tmoffatt@westvancouver.ca.


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