In a room overflowing with Evergreen-area seniors and park board staff, Seniors4Wellness officially dedicated its new home June 26 at the Buchanan Recreation Center.
Surrounded by those who helped bring the Bristlecone Lounge to life, Seniors4Wellness President Mary Tribby cut a red ribbon signifying its official opening to applause and cheers.
Area seniors have been without an official home for five years, since the former Seniors Resource Center at The Yellow House on Highway 73 closed. In its absence, local senior Vince Ventimiglia founded the nonprofit Seniors4Wellness in 2021, and he, Tribby and others negotiated with Evergreen Park & Recreation District to open a room in Buchanan.
“We’re so thankful they gave us this space,” Tribby said. “Since The Yellow House closed, there really has been no gathering space for seniors.
“Even if we don’t have an event scheduled here, it’s a place for them to gather as friends.”
Even without a dedicated space, Seniors4Wellness has stayed relevant for area seniors, hosting multiple events each month in various community spaces.
Aging population
The new space will serve far more than the area’s existing seniors, said Seniors4Wellness founder and executive director Vince Ventimiglia. Evergreen has a median age of 46.3, higher than the 37.5 median age of the metro area. Statistics gathered by the county showed that by the year 2040, about 25% of its population will be over 65 — with almost 10% of those over 80 years.
“It’s the largest growing age segment within the community,” Ventimiglia said. “We’re all aging, each one of us every day. So we’re hopeful we can continue to build a robust Seniors4Wellness that will eventually benefit all of us, helping us grow healthier vs just getting older.”
Calming space
Like Tribby, he expressed gratitude to EPRD and others who helped Seniors4Wellness.
“I am so thankful we’ve been able to accomplish as much as we have through the effort and energy of other organizations who recognize the need for paying more attention to a very important segment of our community,” he said.
Seniors who came for the grand opening said they plan to use the space regularly.
“I think it’s beautiful,” said Marilyn Brown, who lives in nearby Rocky Mountain Village Estates. “We can walk down here if we want to, which makes it that much nicer.”
Evergreen artist Chris Krieg painted a mural that stretches across an entire wall of the room, depicting a bristlecone pine, a snow-topped mountain and evergreens at sunset.
“I wanted to help create a calming space,” he said. “I didn’t want to make it too complicated.”
Seniors4Wellness provides not just social connection for area seniors, but also resources and transportation.