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Plans for a Lakeland senior center are a step closer to reality, with organizers selecting a 5,000-square-foot location near the intersection of Harden Boulevard and Beacon Road that they expect to open next June.
Carole Philipson, board chairman of the nonprofit Lakeland Senior Hub Inc., announced the location and projected opening date Thursday afternoon during a Candid Conversation on Healthcare and Aging event sponsored by LkldNow, Lakeland Vision and Age-Friendly Lakeland.
Why it’s important: Advocates have been working since 2010 to establish a central hub for senior services where older adults and their families could go for information, education, exercise or just to socialize with others.
“We have many good programs in our city,” Philipson told Lakeland city commissioners in July. “The issue is they are fragmented and you don’t know how to access them.”
More than one-fifth of Lakeland’s 112,640 residents are 65 or older, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Location, location, location: “We set the location on Harden Boulevard because it was a main thoroughfare, bringing you from south Lakeland or from north Lakeland,” Philipson said. “So Harden becomes Sikes (Boulevard) and then it becomes Kathleen Road, so you pull from all parts of the city. It also has available public transportation.”
Programs: In a recent Lakeland Vision survey answered by more than 800 Lakeland residents, 92% said they support creation of a senior center. Their top five desires for programming, in order, were:
- Education, including technology
- Fitness
- Arts and crafts
- Hobbies
- Entertainment
“We have been talking with an organization to bring in a prevention and wellness program,” Philipson said.
Inspiration: Philipson said organizers have looked at Sarasota-based Senior Friendship Centers for inspiration for daily programming.
“Every day at one o’clock, they have retired musicians come,” Philpson said. “Oh, it was amazing. They love it, the music and the dancing.”
Other events on the Sarasota center’s daily schedule include Bingo, a technology assistance class, chair yoga, games, mindfulness and meditation, keeping your memory working, a discussion group, bridge, a French class and a Spanish class.
Finances: The Lakeland City Commission last month agreed to grant $100,000 to help the senior center open, but the center’s organizers must match that in order to receive the funding.
Philipson said Lakeland Senior Hub Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is still trying to reach that goal. Donations can be made via checks payable to the Lakeland Senior Hub and mailed to: Lakeland Vision, P.O. Box 1582, Lakeland FL 33802-158.
Organizers are also exploring grant funding, corporate sponsorships and selling memberships to the center.
Lakeland Senior Hub’s presentation
Note: The document below was prepared in August. Proportions on the Revenue Snapshots page are outdated; the document is based on a higher share of funding from the city of Lakeland than was ultimately approved.
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