Senior Center Honored for Breakfast Club Program

Beverly, MA - The Beverly Senior Center was recently recognized by the National Council on Aging’s National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) as one of its 2015 Programs of Excellence for its highly successful Senior Breakfast Club. The annual recognition honors outstanding efforts made by senior centers across the nation to offer innovative, creative, and replicable programs for older adults.

“We are honored NISC chose to recognize the success of The Senior Breakfast Club,” said MaryAnn Holak, Director of the Beverly Senior Center. “We are always looking for the best ways to support seniors, while providing the best programs possible.”

The Senior Breakfast Club is an intergenerational, social/educational program that fosters positive relationships between senior citizens and high school seniors. The purpose of the program is to provide older adults with the opportunity to share their post high school and career experiences with high school seniors who are actively planning their post-high school career paths. The senior citizen participants listen as the students share their plans and dreams, and often provide friendly advice.

They meet monthly and alternate their gatherings between the Center and High School. This program brings High School seniors together with senior citizens once a month to share time together over breakfast. The idea for the program came from Beverly residents and retired High School teachers Tony Witwicki and Claire-Marie Hart, with program modeling, and implementation performed by the Council on Aging Director Mary Ann Holak and her staff as well as support from Mayor Cahill’s office.

“Beverly’s Senior Breakfast Club has been a huge success,” said Mayor Michael Cahill. “Multiple generations connecting on a regular basis benefits everyone involved. Thank you to the Council on Aging team for making this program a reality.”

The next meeting of the Breakfast Club will take place on February 25th from 8:15-9:15am at the Beverly Senior Center where participants will be recognized for receiving the national award.

“Baby boomers and older adults across the country are looking for new and exciting programs from their local senior centers and each of these winners reflects their willingness to innovate to meet those needs,” said James Firman, president and CEO of NCOA. “We congratulate the Beverly Senior Center for their creativity, while continuing to provide the crucial services that help older adults stay active and engaged in their communities.”