Our mission is quite different from many others in that our programs are designed almost entirely to bring seniors out of their homes for friendship, recreation, and mutual support, not to provide such services as food assistance, home needs, or transportation. Selected highlights include:
– The BSC joined with Gramatan Village for a presentation on Artificial Intelligence at the Bronxville Library and a lecture recounting the history of Jonas Bronck by NYC historian Brian Andersson.
– The BSC hosts the annual Mary B. Turino Art Show, open to all local seniors; some 200 people attended its accompanying public lecture and reception this past October.
– We partner with ECAP to provide Thanksgiving dinners for families in need.
– TSC continues to foster its connection with the Icon Foundation for its continued support as well as with such community organizations as Eastchester and Tuckahoe Lions Club, the Chapel School Select Choir, the Tuckahoe Garibaldi Lodge, and the Eastchester High School Players Club.
– Both center directors work with the local schools to foster connections between members of different generations, as well as with the governments and police departments of our villages.
– The Covid-19 pandemic put a damper on meetings with our Community Advisory Board, but we were thrilled to host a well-attended CAB meeting in December, where new and old members of the group engaged in lively discussions that should strengthen our current collaborations and lead to additional group efforts going forward.
Our centers are open two days a week, each staffed by a professional director. In addition to classes in bridge, exercise, tai chi, yoga, line dancing, and art, regular activities include lectures, luncheons, bingo, mahjong and other board games, cultural and musical programs, birthday celebrations, day trips, and a variety of health-related activities, such as Medicare advice sessions. Members also volunteer to serve on various committees, such as mailings, fundraising, and other activities that benefit the groups.
“Each day begins with our members gathering at the tables to enjoy coffee, conversation, and breakfast treats that members bring in to share. We have a warm and welcoming environment made up of members who have been with us for years and others who have just joined recently — they all merge as one united family each meeting day (we average approximately 45-65 members per day).
Our monthly calendar offers fitness classes twice a week (averaging 45-55 members/class), encompassing cardio, strength training, yoga, and Zumba, all geared to the senior population. We also offer art enrichment classes including painting, crafting, and jewelry making to engage their creative minds.
We play BINGO twice monthly and enjoy regular afternoon game times, where members play and teach each other various board and card games — a time for being together and enjoying common interests.
Our members enjoy in-house and off-site themed and holiday luncheons, off-site trips, specialty workshops, and special speaker presentations. We are blessed to be known as a place where all are welcomed and where we have the support of the surrounding community.”
“The BSC is a lively place! Members enjoy a full schedule of activities that promote their social, physical, and mental well-being. We offer a wide variety of classes, including exercise at a variety of levels, dance, chair yoga, Zumba, line dancing, tai-chi; weekly bridge classes for beginner and advanced players as well as mahjong and canasta on a regular basis; our book club meets monthly for lively discussions.
We enjoy monthly luncheons at local restaurants or at the center, catered locally. This year we took educational day trips to historic sites, including private tours at Caramoor in Katonah, NY, and the Met Cloisters in NYC, as well as to a Neil Diamond and Barry Manilow tribute concert in Paterson, NJ. A return trip to Paterson for a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tribute concert and luncheon was planned for June 2025.
As part of BSC’s 50th Anniversary this year, we hosted a community fashion show in the Spring, featuring local leaders as models.
Rotenberg, S., Fritz, H., Chippendale, T., Lysack, C., & Cutchin, M. (2021). Out-of-Home Activities and Health in Older Adults: A Scoping Review. OTJR : occupation, participation and health, 41(4), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/15394492211023192
The Senior Citizens Council (SCC) works on the premise that aging is a normal developmental process and that seniors need peers with whom they can interact to thrive. Health, happiness, and an active lifestyle are key ingredients we all want for ourselves and our older family members, friends, and neighbors. Social isolation and loneliness are the leading causes of poor health, depression, substance abuse, and suffering in our senior population. American and British researchers have concluded that simply enabling people to get out and about eases loneliness and increases life expectancy.
The SCC funds the Tuckahoe Senior Citizens (TSC) and the Bronxville Senior Citizens (BSC), whose respective centers create supportive and welcoming communities that educate, encourage, and energize local seniors. We have been a grassroots organization for more than 50 years. In fact, the SCC was in full operation before any Westchester County or other local municipal Office for the Aging had been established.