The Monroeville Senior Citizens Center has many new and exciting programs for adults ages 50 and older to enjoy as 2024 approaches.

“We’re always trying to expand our programming to be able to provide the most that we can for our community,” department head Tara Gresock said. “One of the big things that we’re working on for next year, that we’ve already started this year, is expanding our evening programming. In the new year, we’re looking forward to offering informative health classes, craft classes, and all different kinds of programs.”

Evening dinner dances are among the events debuting in the spring at the center.

“We’re trying to have one big event on a weekday/weekend evening where it’s open to the community. A main goal for us is that we want more people to know we’re here,” Gresock said.

To that end, the senior center will host a free holiday open house on Dec. 16 to help spread the word. Membership is not required to attend. The event will feature a holiday concert by the Penn Trafford Community Band, a Santa meet and greet, holiday selfie stations, and a hot cocoa bar.

Gresock said that she hopes to dispel the notion that the senior center addresses only the needs of the elderly.

“I think people have the misconception that the senior center is like a nursing home, and we’re far from that. We have a fully functional fitness center with top-notch equipment,” she said.

All daytime and evening classes are free for Silver Sneaker and SilverFit members. The center also offers monthly clinics to help educate people on improving their overall fitness.

“We just put all new cardio and strength training equipment in our fitness center, as well as new flooring in there. All of this work is in an effort to try to make sure that it’s all user friendly for the older members that do use our facilities,” Gresock said.

She thankedher team and the municipality of Monroeville for the support for the center over the years.

“I’m grateful to have such an amazing staff, we all work really well together. We do offer a lot more and we’re able to offer a lot more than most senior centers because we’re fully operated by the municipality of Monroeville. We’re fortunate that the Monroeville municipal council understands what we have to offer the community and support us every year in their budget.”

Now more than ever, people are coming out to exercise and socialize at the center. Gresock stressed the importance of staying active in mind and body.

“I think people realized how important fitness and health and wellness practices are to their quality of life during covid. Our fitness center is accepting new members every day. Our exercise classes are becoming so popular that we’ve had to add more to our winter schedule to accommodate the amount of people coming in. Seeing how the center has bounced back and how many people turn out to use our fitness center every day has really affirmed that for me,” Gresock said.

The Monroeville Senior Citizen Center is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.monroeville.pa.us/191/Senior-Center.

Maria Sosso is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.