A new partnership between the Goderich Legion and the Gateway Centre for Excellence in Rural Health will bring two new seniors programs to Goderich.
Amy Sturgeon, Research Assistant with the Gateway Centre, says the first of the new programs is called Legion Learning, with a focus on technology literacy.
"We're gonna have one to two keynote speakers a month on various topics. So a specific one to look out for is June 3, we have an OPP officer coming to the Goderich Legion to talk about online frauds and scam calls. It's open to anyone, you don't have to be a legion member, you just have to be 55-plus," Sturgeon shared.
The other new program is called Legion Lounge, a hangout style coffee house and arcade.
"We've brought in a pinball machine, skee-ball, a golf pad, a Nintendo Switch with things like bowling and tennis, as well as a driving simulator, which allows everyone to get comfortable behind the wheel. It also has a VR headset that makes you fully immersed in the driving experience, but if you get motion sickness you can still do it without the VR headset," Sturgeon pointed out.
Sturgeon says with the legion and Gateway Centre already being neighbours, this type of programming made sense.
"Looking at all of our population numbers and knowing that Goderich specifically has a 32 percent population of 65 years and older, we knew we needed to do a program for our senior community, and what better way than to put it right next door at the Goderich Legion as part of a great partnership," added Sturgeon.
The programs run Mondays and Fridays from 1-4 p.m. at the Goderich Legion. You can visit GatewayRuralHealth.ca for more information.