FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: February 5, 2008

The board of directors of the Council for Older Adults has adopted a name for its new facility at 800 Cheshire Road at the southern edge of City of Delaware. The new facility has been christened the Center for Older Adults of Delaware County.  Bob Horrocks, director of the Council for Older Adults said that because the facility serves so many diverse functions and people, the board wanted a neutral name that represents who the building serves. “This center serves both a very frail population who will never come to the facility, as well as very active, very engaged older adults who are using the facility to stay fit, stay involved and to serve others”, he said. “The board also wanted to underscore that the facility serves all of Delaware County so Center for Older Adults of Delaware County seemed to fit”.

In addition, the Council’s board also recently named the facility’s Café “Jj’s Café” and the banquet facility the “George A. Radebaugh Banquet Room” The café is open daily 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to the public and serves a variety of hot and cold specialty drinks, soups, sandwiches and deserts. The banquet room was named in honor of George A. Radebaugh whose estate made a substantial contribution toward the facility.

The Center of Older Adults houses a state of the art Activity Center for older adults which is managed by Senior Citizens Inc. of Delaware County, a nonprofit organization and partner of the Council for Older Adults.

In the first two months since the Activity Center has been open to the public over 500 new members have joined. This is far more than was expected because the facility opened in the dead of winter. “I think that all the activities, the pleasant environment and the availability of really great food is what is drawing people in”, said Horrocks. The Activity Center’s Fitness Center opened this week and has been getting rave reviews. Sometime in the spring construction of the warm water exercise pool is scheduled to be completed and with warmer weather coming soon even larger crowds are expected in the future.

The new Center for Older Adults of Delaware County also serves as the Social Services headquarters for the Council for Older Adults which is responsible for planning, developing, coordinating and providing services for older adults throughout Delaware County. The Council also manages Senior Choices, a one stop resource for information, assistance and in-home services for older adults and their families.

The new facility is also home to the Council’s Food and Nutrition division which produces nutritious lunches and dinners for the county-wide Meals on Wheels program and for four dining centers throughout the county. The production kitchen also services Jj’s Café and in-house catering for various events in the Activity Center.

The public is invited to drop by the center and tours are available every day during the week. For details about the Activity Center and related programming call 740. 369-5133. For information about in-home, nutrition or other community services call 740.363-6677 or 800.994-2255.

You may also visit the Council’s website at www.growingolder.org for more information.