BOZEMAN — With Christmas coming up, some senior citizens may feel lonely without friends or family. But at the Bozeman Senior Center, they're trying their hardest to make every senior feel special this holiday season.
“There's a lot of people that come here and certainly this is their community,” says Bozeman Senior Center member, Ron Johnson.
Johnson and his wife would come to the Senior Center on a regular basis together until she passed away from Alzheimer's last year.
He says the center has given him relationships he needed.
“For the older people here, it's not a nursing home, but it provides a community and a fellowship that's really very needed,” says Johnson.
The Center hosts many different activities such as exercise classes, bingo, meals, and more.
Nutrition Program Coordinator Michele Letendere says the center not only ensures people who come in will have a good holiday, but isolated seniors at home feel special too.
“We work with people who don't have family, and they're the first priority,” says Letendere. “People who are shut-ins and they are homebound, we have a special meal for them.”
Director of Marketing, Development, and Fundraising Kristi Wetsch says she works hard to make sure everyone knows how much the center cares about its members.
“Thursday when we have our lunch, I'll put out bags of goodies and little gifts, like little lotions. That means the world to them. That didn't cost much, but we thought about them, and that showed we cared,” says Wetsch.
Letendere ensures that new members are welcome.
“We would love the community to know we exist. We're the best-kept secret in town,” says Letendere.
For Johnson, a place like this gives him fulfillment during the holiday season.
“I'd much rather be totally involved, just bringing life wherever I possibly can and here's a good place to do it,” says Johnson.
