Senior Health Fair At Railroad Park April 26

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Railroad Park will kick off the Senior Fit classes with a Senior Fit Health Fair on Thursday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to noon. Attendees will receive free blood pressure screenings, free healthy snacks and drawings for prizes. The Senior Fit Health Fair is free and open to the public. Participating organizations include the Birmingham Fire Department, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Collat Jewish Family Services, Freshwater Land Trust, Jefferson County Senior Citizens Services, Lakeshore Foundation, Senior Corps, and United Way of Agency on Aging.

In addition to the health screening, the Get Healthy on the Railroad program will demonstrate a new class it has added to its lineup of free exercise and cooking classes at the park. Senior Fit Class will have exercises and instruction tailored to the senior population and the health challenges they face.

The new Senior Fit classes will be held each Tuesday at 8 a.m. from May through September. Get Healthy’s evening exercise classes, including Jazzercise, bootcamp, Zumba, yoga, Family Fun Fridays, take place at 6 p.m. now through October. All classes are led by expert instructors and are free to all participants.

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“The team at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama were the ones to suggest adding some outreach to the senior community, and we’re so glad they did,” said Camille Spratling, Executive Director, Railroad Park Foundation. “We’ve been fortunate to build onto Get Healthy almost every year, using feedback from the year before. In 2016 we folded in nutrition education with the cooking class element. Our friends at Jones Valley Teaching Farm and Urban Ministry return this year to teach us how to make healthy recipes using fresh, local produce. Last year we added a class designed to help families be active together. This year we get to expand to serve our active seniors with a class organized just for them. Whether they’re learning how to adapt and continue their active lifestyle or how to create one, this class is designed to strengthen and build endurance.”

Free cooking classes begin May 6, with a class taking place the first Sunday of every month through September. The first 100 attendees to sign in receive a parcel of free ingredients to recreate that week’s recipe at home.

Photo from Railroad Park

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