The new year is off to a strong start for the LOFT Community Services team who are currently making their way through the StrongerU Senior Fitness Instructor Course and preparing to launch the program to the seniors they serve soon!
LOFT, which stands for Leap of Faith Together, has been helping those in their community that have faced and struggled with conditions that challenge their well-being by providing folks of all ages with counselling, recreational programming, and accommodation support. Their mission has been to provide those most in need with the resources to grow into their healthiest selves with the freedom to enjoy their lives to the fullest capacity.
“LOFT supports seniors who face complex challenges, which include a combination of absence of family support, social isolation, cultural dislocation, poverty, mental and physical health issues, dementia, addictions and/or behavioural changes,” explains Christa Gatto, Coordinator of Life Enrichment at LOFT. “Regular exercise is one of the most powerful and beneficial ways to manage these challenges and improve our clients’ quality of life… our top priority is to make regular physical activity available to all clients in a safe and welcoming environment.”
Christa applied for a Seniors Community Grant where organizations can receive from $1,000 up to $25,000 to improve their ability to provide opportunities for greater social inclusion, volunteerism and community engagement for older adults. Their approved application gave them the funds to certify 14 of their team members as StrongerU Senior Fitness Instructors, buy equipment, and more. LOFT is the 3rd organization to receive funding from the Seniors Community Grant Program to certify their staff. H.J. McFarland Memorial Home receive funding to certify 4 of their staff and Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care received funding to certify 24 of their staff.
Life Enrichment Worker Lisa Tate is a seasoned professional in her field. As she went through the StrongerU Instructor Course, she was pleasantly surprised about the amount of new information she was learning.
“I found the course very easy to follow along with and although I am quite an active person, it was very helpful to read more about some of the specific challenges our seniors may be facing when it comes to starting their fitness journey or navigating some common physical challenges they may be experiencing,” she shared. “As mentioned in the course, safety is of the utmost importance and the course really provided me with the tools I need to feel more confident leading my seniors on their fitness journey.”
Countries across the globe are seeing a significant increase in demand for resources not only for their aging populations, but of communities who struggle from complex mental and physical health issues. It’s critical now more than ever to ensure that the organizations who serve these populations are well-equipped to meet said demand. Our mission at StrongerU Senior Fitness has been to provide professionals and organizations with the tools necessary to improve the lives of those they serve and to anticipate the needs of both instructor and class participant.
“Our LOFT Life Enrichment Workers see the StrongerU certification not only as an incredible opportunity to develop their skills and improve the quality of our fitness-based programs, but most notably, it gives our staff the ability to make life altering enhancements to our clients’ quality of life… Partnering with StrongerU supports and enhances several core values held by Life Enrichment staff,” Gatto says.
Learn more about StrongerU Senior Fitness and what we offer by visiting us at: https://www.strongeruseniorfitness.com/
To learn more about LOFT Community Services, visit: https://www.loftcs.org/
Applications are now open for Seniors Community Grants. To learn more about the Seniors Community Grant and apply, visit: https://www.ontario.ca/page/information-seniors-organizations Application close March 6th 2023 and approved projects are anticipated to start by July 2023.