Day Club fosters community connection, friendships, healthy ageing

This is sponsored content for Goodwin Aged Care Services.

Meet Ina, she's the first ever member of the Queanbeyan Day Club which started 10 years ago.

After moving to the area to be closer to her daughter Ina wanted to find something that would get her out of the house and give her the opportunity to meet new people.

"I enjoy every aspect of the club and I've made lots of friendships over the years," Ina said.

If being part of the club for a decade wasn't enough of an endorsement, Ina highly recommends the club to anyone in the area.

"I come two days a week and I always look forward to it," Ina said.

"The lovely staff do everything they can to make it more enjoyable for us. I recommend Day Clubs to anyone to come along."

The club fosters a welcoming environment for seniors to make connections and form friendships, be part of the community and stay healthy.

Participants can attend the club on any weekday with around 12 to 20 people attending each day and almost 70 different people coming over the course of a week. Don't worry, there is always space for more members if Goodwin Day Club sounds like something you would enjoy.

Aside from getting together to socialise and meet new people the club enables seniors to participate in light exercise and other activities like puzzles and outings to support healthy ageing.

"We provide a welcoming space for seniors to come and visit to make connections to build friendships and be involved in the local community and join social activities," Queanbeyan Day Club coordinator Jacoba said.

"There are many friendships formed within the club and many people who meet at the Day Club end up spending time together outside of the day club too."

To further support healthy ageing, nutritious food is provided during the day including morning tea and lunch.

"There is always a good mix of foods and that's part of the joy of the day," Ina said.

There is also transport available to pick up and drop off participants if they can't or don't want to drive themselves.

There is currently room for more participants in the Day Clubs with interested people encouraged to drop into the clubs to learn more, go to the website or call (02) 6175 5650.

The Queanbeyan Day Club has recently moved to a new location while there are two other clubs across Canberra including Crace Day Club and Monash Day Club.

The Day Clubs are operated by Goodwin Aged Care Services and can be accessed via the Commonwealth Home Support Programme or by joining independently at any time as a standalone service.

Day Clubs run from Monday to Friday with the structured day designed to create meaningful experiences allowing for genuine connection and to foster healthy ageing for participants.

Learn more about the Day Clubs here, call (02) 6175 5650 or email community@goodwin.org.au.