Something to Do for Senior Citizens Who Don't Have a Lot of Money

My parents live in St. Louis and they do lots of stuff. They are active in their community at their church and library. They go to a bible study, which is not affiliated with their church and have met people that way.

Where I live there are Adult Education classes at the park district which are a small fee and they have cooking classes, scrapbooking classes, exercise classes and much more. There are lots of people in my area who hang out at the YMCA as well as do lots of volunteer work.

I'm sorry I don't have more specific information, all I have to go off of is my parents (they are in their mid 70s) who I've been told are "not the norm". My mom plays tennis once a week, my dad walks every day, they go to about 50 baseball games a year, go to the theater, just basically live it up. If I lived there, I still wouldn't see them!

When my daughter was in the NICU, there were women who were "cuddlers". Basically they were older women who came to the hospital during the day and cuddled with the little preemies..especially when there were multiples.

I also notice that at the malls in the morning, there are lots of senior citizen walking clubs. They walk the mall and then sit and drink coffee. It might be something to look into!

How about volunteering?

My mother is 69, and all she does is play bridge and volunteer. She is so busy that she isn't available to babysit.

She met all her bridge buddies volunteering....

I don't know where your mom lives, so specifics are a little difficult. I would definitely start with her local park district. Most offer things for seniors. also, the local community college has offerings. Another choice is many of the local banks have programs for seniors. some involve different trips etc. I know there is some type of senior resource in Kendall county. I think it is based in yorkville. Libraries are also a good source of networking. most have reading groups, library friends and special gatherings. hope this helps.

what about the red hat society. my mother-in-law was a member and she LOVED it. They have parties, go on trips, go out to dinner. just an idea.

Yes, my grams belonged to the Red Hat ladies and they had great fun, did tons of trips, etc. As to volunteering, if she loves animals, she could volunteer a day or two a week at the DuPage County Animal Care on County Farm Road in Wheaton. How about volunteering at a local food pantry? There's one in Glen Ellyn at a church there. Or a local wildlife rehab center? There's the Willowbrook Wildlife Center. She could be a tutor for young kids at the local school. She could become a volunteer at a local nature center. Does she go to church or know of a local church who needs visits to shut ins? What aobut meals on wheels? The park district offers classes and the DuPage County Forest Preserve District has an events calendar that's great - tons of walks, tours, birdwatching - all free or cheap. Here's a link to their calendar of events: http://www.dupageforest.com/events/events.html.

Oh - what about meetup.com? Is she web savvy? Meetup.com is a national free Web site - it costs nothing to join, but you put in your zip code and can find all sorts of groups who meet up around similar interests - scrapbooking, dancing, wine tasting, dining out, pet lovers - anything you can imagine.