By Vivian Collings

Aging Together as Community (ATAC) presented their holiday social this past Sunday to encourage connection and offer a look into some of the programs that keep minds and bodies moving in the Highlands.

Under the theme “Stay Upright and Be Active”, the social included a Tai Chi demonstration and speakers from Sit to Fit bodies, BE Health, and the Alzheimer Society.

With 55 in attendance, organizers were pleased with the enthusiasm that filled the Haliburton United Church for the three-hour social on Dec. 2.

“Today really combined a lot of useful information around the importance of movement and exercise at the same time as the socialization aspect when people get together in a group,” said organizer Bonnie Roe. “It was just a snipping of each program to bring awareness to the community of what is out there and the importance of both movement and cognitive stimulation.”

Roe said it was an excellent way to send off ATAC’s 2023 year.

Minds in Motion with the Alzheimer Society

Jennifer Stubbert and Melissa-anne Foster are coordinators for the Minds in Motion program in the County with the Alzheimer Society.

“The program is for anybody who has any form of memory loss with their care partner to attend together,” Stubbert said.

It incorporates one hour of exercise with one hour of cognitive stimulation and social interaction for eight weeks at a time.

“It’s a great time. We leave the memory loss at the door, we come in, we have fun, socialize and do trivia, brain games, bingo, anything that gets people laughing and active,” she said.

The program has been in operation since 2017.

“We’ve had such a great response. The groups are getting bigger and bigger,” Stubbert said.

Minds in Motion runs once a week for eight weeks. It will next be in Haliburton County in March.

Stubbert has worked for the Alzheimer Society for 20 years.

“It’s my passion. We love what we do and have a lot of fun. It’s really rewarding. A lot of people don’t get to go to work and say they get to hang out with their family, because they really do become family,” Stubbert said.

ATAC conference

Aging Together as Community will host its first full-day conference at Pinestone Resort on Jan. 27, 2024 called Inspiring Creativity, Empowering Change.

“As we move into 2024, we’re so excited about our conference. We’ll have some amazing keynote speakers and there’s an intergenerational component which will show how younger generations view aging,” Roe said.

More information about ATAC’s New Year conference will be available in the coming weeks.