May 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 55

Are Seniors a Core Target Audience for
Your Programs and Services?
here was a time in the nottoo-distant past when senior services were offered by the private
sector or the social service agency in a
community. The Council on Aging fostered clubs, church groups, and civic associations to become involved in leisure
activities for those who were retired but
still physically active. Where senior centers did exist they were usually small
buildings where seniors could meet and
socialize-and perhaps get a meal or share
in a potluck at the same time.
Things have changed a lot over the past
25 years. First and foremost among the
changes are the seniors themselves. Where
once retirement defined one as a senior, it's
not uncommon now to see 55-year-old retirees and 70-year-olds still working. Older
adults are defined more by their physical
activity level than in the past. The onceage-segregated senior centers are giving
way to multi-generational facilities that
serve the entire community. This combined
approach has benefited many communities: They fill off-peak hours at their recreation centers by offering seniors discounted
hours of use.
Even in those communities that have
a high number of retirees, senior centers
are no longer geared toward small meeting room spaces. Now they contain fitness centers, therapeutic pools, walking
tracks, multi-use spaces for social activities such as dancing and drama performances, and variously equipped spaces
for arts and craft clubs and related activities. Many even have sales centers where
center participants sell the products they
make in their clubs.
Yet, there is another group of seniors-
people who are less physically capable,
travel only during the daylight hours, and
may depend on provided meals to make
ends meet. They are generally in the older

52 Parks & Recreation M A Y

become more reliable for decision-making.
As of this April we know the following information about senior programs.
The 2011 results from PRORAGIS indicate
that slightly over 70 percent of all respondents have programs for seniors and almost
41 percent operate senior centers. Of those
offering senior programs, more than 27 percent offer meals to seniors. Characteristics
of the senior meals include annual data on
the number of meals served and data on the
number of seniors served weekly.
The median number of meals served
during the year is 9,550 or 183 seniors
served per week. Note that NRPA may
be able to use this information to seek
grants to help your agency with your senior meals program.
If yes, how many meals are served annually?

ages of retirement (75 and above) and
once again find themselves isolated in
ways that their more active peers are not.
More and more, park and recreation departments are providing program services
for this group and finding ways to deliver
meals during the weekdays.
Most of the above information is derived from analysis of senior demographic
changes and observation of senior program services and the development trends
in recreation facilities. One of the values of
PRORAGIS is that we can collect and certify trend data that will help you make
decisions based on sound information. Although our number of respondents (38) is
rather low, we hope, as we increase participation, to see the trend data improve and

2 0 1 2 w w w . N R P A . O R G

Number of Responses

Lower Quartile

182

Median

9550

Upper Quartile

15075

If yes, how many seniors are served
per week?
Number of Responses

Lower Quartile

Median

183

Upper Quartile

330

If you currently have a PRORAGIS profile, thank you for participating. If you do
not yet have a profile and wish to build a
profile please visit our new webinar weries at www.nrpa.org/Proragis. You can
also join NRPA Connect - PRORAGIS to
find a support group that will address
any questions you might have.
For further information, please call Bill
Beckner, Research Manager at 703-8582142 or Hayley Jackson, Research Assistant at 703-858-2173.

thinkstock

By Bill Beckner

May 2012 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2012 - Parks & Recreation