Take Healthy Steps To Stay In Motion

I am not a fan of heights, so my awareness that falling from a great height is dangerous has kept my back to the side of a lighthouse when up on the rim and has kept me back from the edge of walking bridges with glass sides. I would like to point out that I was able to walk in those areas, just with a great deal of trepidation, and I am even proud to admit that I did go ziplining with my son once and felt the effects of adrenaline overload for hours afterward.

However, even falls from ground level can wreak havoc on a body, especially among the elderly. My co-worker’s icy fall this past winter broke several bones in her body, and she is much younger than I am. So why are we not more concerned about falls even on the ground? Maybe some of us are. How can we prevent such falls?

Those of us of the upper-age persuasion can join Healthy Steps in Motion, an evidence-based fall prevention exercise program designed for people age 60 and better of all fitness levels. One-hour sessions are held twice a week for four weeks and are taught by certified instructors through Diakon Community Services, a private nonprofit organization based in Pottsville.

Diakon conducts several different health and wellness programs for seniors under contract with the Schuylkill County Office of Senior Services, with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Aging.

Healthy Steps offers a fall risk screening and a guidebook, all at no charge. Participants enjoy the benefits of improved balance, strength and flexibility.

Sessions will be held from 11 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 8 through July 31, at Crossfire Youth Ministries, 1139 Centre St., Ashland. Space is limited. Call Jenny Wagner at 570-624-3017 to register by July 1.

This program may evolve into an ongoing exercise club at this new site, so some new volunteers may be needed. Call Wagner for more information.

Actors Guild features Red Hat Gnomes

You’re invited to the Actors Guild of Schuylkill County’s fourth annual Fairy and Pirate Festival, “Infestation of the Red Hat Gnomes,” from noon to 6 p.m. June 28 at the picnic grove of Good Will Fire Company No. 4, 114 Nichols St., Pottsville. The grove can be found past the fire company at the end of Water Street in Pottsville’s Jalappa section.

The event includes a festival storyline and costumed characters all day throughout the grounds, as well as vendors, games, crafts, dances, songs and more. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids, and children under 3 are free.

The Actors Guild of Schuylkill County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing quality live community theater to the area. Since 1999, the guild has performed many well-known shows in various locations throughout the county, and many talented residents have participated.

Visit www.agosc.org for more information and ways to support the guild.

Volunteer Information

Any nonprofit organization looking for volunteers or wishing to promote an upcoming public event is invited to contact Darla Troutman at 570-622-3103, ext. 1752, for inclusion in this weekly column.

If you are age 55 and better and are interested in volunteering in dozens of possible ways throughout the county, contact Troutman, coordinator for both Make a Difference Day and the Senior Volunteer Program, or SVP. SVP is a program of the Schuylkill County Office of Senior Services and the County of Schuylkill.