NAVIDAD VALLEY COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
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Mission Statement
Senior Connections is a gathering place for active seniors. Our mission is simple: to provide quality of life for the members we serve.
About This Cause
Senior Connections is a community-based non-profit organization serving the elderly population of Fayette, Colorado, and Lavaca Counties. Established in 2014, our Center is located in Schulenburg, Texas. We are the sole open and thriving Senior Center within Fayette County and the nearest facility for seniors residing in Colorado County. Our weekly programs address the unique challenges seniors in our community face by promoting healthy aging through social interaction, mental stimulation, and nutritional meals. We pride ourselves on offering warm home-cooked meals four days a week. Our meals and membership are at no cost to our participants. Knowing that many of the seniors in our community are on a fixed income, our primary focus is to offer enriching programming without allowing financial barriers to hinder our members' participation. Those who can and wish to contribute to our program do so through a free-will donation. Our program is sustained by grants, community support, and our New Year’s Eve fundraiser. OUR PROGRAM Our Schulenburg Center is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We create an environment where social interaction is second nature. MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY: Our members play table games while enjoying spirited banter over coffee. These table games exercise short-term memory, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking, improving their overall cognitive health. Around 11:30, we serve a warm, nutritious home-cooked meal consisting of a lean protein, starch, vegetables, and mixed salad. After lunch, we host our “Lunch & Learn Speakers Series,” which brings community leaders and business owners into the Center to interact with our members directly. Once we wrap up the Lunch & Learn Session, our final activity of the day begins - BINGO! Bingo provides entertainment and excitement for our members. The thrill and anticipation of potentially winning a prize while enjoying the game’s lively atmosphere makes bingo the day’s highlight! Our bingo callers are staff from local businesses who join us over their lunch hour and often support our program by providing our bingo prizes. FRIDAY ARTFUL SENIORS: On Fridays we partner with Arts for Rural Texas for “Artful Seniors”. Their art instructor provides our members with beginner instruction in a variety of arts and crafts. Our members explore their creativity and develop their artistic skills. This practice enhances their fine motor skills and supports overall physical dexterity. Our Programming concludes with a light lunch. MEMBER OUTINGS: Once a month, we have a fun-filled group outing! Seniors from all three locations are invited to join. By exploring new places like the Van Gogh interactive exhibit, George H. W. Bush Presidential Museum, and other urban attractions, our members experience cultural enrichment and the chance to create meaningful memories with peers outside of their rural communities. SATELLITE LOCATIONS EXPANSION: We recognized that distance and lack of access to public transportation continued to hinder seniors’ ability to access our programming in Schulenburg. While public transportation is accessible in neighboring towns in Fayette and Colorado Counties, they will not extend their services to bring seniors to our Schulenburg Center. To address this issue, mid 2024, we began offering identical meal-based programming twice monthly in two neighboring towns. The participation has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the importance of our offerings. With additional support, our goal is to expand these program days and extend our reach to other underserved communities. MEALS ARE THE HEART OF OUR PROGRAM: Since 2022, we’ve seen tremendous growth in the number of members served, and meals are undoubtedly the catalyst. We've grown our membership from 45 to almost 300 and served more than 4,700 meals in 2024 -- a dramatic increase from 1,700 just two years before. This growth is more than numbers, it’s a testament to the difference the programming we offer has made. With 1 in 6 seniors affected by food insecurity, our goal is to serve over 20,000 meals annually to seniors in our rural community by 2027. By expanding our satellite locations and program days, we aim to significantly impact the health, well-being, and quality of life of vulnerable seniors, reducing food insecurity and fostering a sense of community and connection. This expansion will not only address the immediate nutritional needs of seniors but also provide long-term support for those at risk of isolation and malnutrition.