Getting information from a trusted source is always important, but when it comes to health and wellness, it’s critical. That’s why Habersham County Senior Center Director Kathy Holcomb organized a health fair for the seniors of northeast Georgia, where representatives from trusted organizations could give seniors the wellness resources they need.
“What was most important to me is finding vendors who can really benefit my seniors,” Holcomb said last week. “Not just somebody trying to convince you to change this program to this program, it was important to me to find people who can make a difference in their life.”
Thursday, the senior center’s wellness building was jam-packed as seniors from Habersham and surrounding counties took advantage of free information, samples and health screenings to improve their physical, emotional and mental health.
“It’s been awesome, everyone has been so nice,” Holcomb tells Now Habersham. “This is our first time doing this and it was a little kind of crazy. And I said, ‘Everybody bear with us,’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, you did great for your first time.'”
She says she was happy to see the turnout and number of seniors engaging with the resources provided to them.
“Everybody started coming in, and it just feels so good,” Holcomb said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out.”
Holcomb invited senior center directors from all over the region to participate, and members of the senior centers in Banks, White and Stephens County enjoyed an outing to Habersham for the health fair.
“Kathy was kind enough to share information with all the directors of other local senior centers about this event,” White County Senior Center Director Barbara Overton said. “It was just a great opportunity for some of our seniors to get to see people from LegacyLink, from MedLink, from disability services—It was just really a great one-stop-shop to get to do a lot of things.”
Banks County Senior Center Director Tracie Hammond says that she was “excited” to share the resources the wellness event provided with her seniors.
“We wanted to come up and support the health and wellness fair for seniors because we feel like it’s so important that they realize they can start exercising at any age,” Hammond said. “It does so much good for their health, their wellbeing, their mind, diabetes, all the different elements that health and wellness help.”
Wellness from all angles
While many booths focused on physical health, mental and emotional health were also at the forefront of the information and opportunities shared with seniors. Representatives from local nonprofits, like Circle of Hope, FAITH Powerhouse for Kids and the Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Arts Center were there to answer questions about their programs and provide seniors with volunteer opportunities.
Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Arts Center Volunteer Coordinator Kat Stratton encouraged seniors to get involved with their local arts community.
“We’re here to help people know that there are places that they can go to be part of a community,” Stratton says. She shared a brochure with some of the health benefits of volunteering and being engaged in a community, saying social relationships are part of long-term health. “I think that’s important for folks as they get older.”
Directors, representatives and attendees all agreed that the event was a success.
“It was very good, and it was very informative,” says Elaine Maxwell, who attends classes at the Habersham County Senior Wellness Center with her husband, Ross Maxwell. “I was really surprised, it had a good turnout— I was pleased with it.”
