Chelsea Community Center establishes new programs
The Chelsea Community Center expects to see a crowd on weekday evenings and on Saturdays. Earlier on weekdays, however, the building is underutilized. Jane Ann Mueller hopes to help change that.
Mueller was hired as programs director for the community center, a newly created position, in February. Since that time, she has worked to bring new programs to the building and to reach more groups throughout the community.
“We’ve figured out there’s some downtime between 9 [a.m.] and 2 [p.m.], when the building is not as utilized,” Mueller said. “So my job is to find programs, bring them to the community center and offer them during those other times. We’ve identified some needs in the community, of different groups that I need to target.”
Those groups include home-schooled children and their parents, mentally and developmentally handicapped individuals and senior groups. While there is already a strong senior group that meets at the community center from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Thursday, playing board games and hosting a potluck lunch, Mueller said she has also received requests for other senior activities.
“I’m listening to those needs through emails, through our suggestion box, through phone calls and networking with people, and we’re seeing they want things like gardening, they want things related to the arts,” Mueller said.
She is working with the Shelby County Arts Council to develop new senior activities and has added a new senior workout class to the community center’s schedule. An arthritic exercise class, which centers around a chair exercise, started in April and will be offered on a weekly basis.
“We’re doing that in conjunction with the M4A, assisting all ages at all stages, group here in Shelby County,” Mueller said.
She has also worked with home-school groups and plans to offer a “recess” for home-schooled children at the community center. The facility will be blocked off for an hour or two, twice a month, and the home-school students will be able to use the gym, walking track and breakout rooms.
“The parents have been thrilled because a lot of them come on their own and maybe bring two or three kids to play ball or walk the track or something,” Mueller said. “They’ve said, ‘If we knew it was something on the calendar, that we all planned on teaching around, it would make it so much more convenient.’”
The students also benefit, Mueller said, because it allows a chance for socialization, as well as physical activity.
Multiple programs geared toward mentally and developmentally handicapped individuals will also be offered, in conjunction with The Arc of Shelby County.
“The Arc has a lot of programs people in Chelsea need, but they have to go to Pelham at this point,” Mueller said. “They can’t match their schedule to get their kids there in the timeframes. Their words to me were, ‘We have all these programs, but we just had nowhere to offer them.’”
Classes will include a “Mommy and Me” class for moms of handicapped children, ages newborn to 3 years old, and a job readiness program for adult children and their parents.
“We’ve got employers here that are ready to hire these young people, and we want to get them ready so they’re confident when they go into that role or business with their skill set appropriately matched,” Mueller said.
In her role as program director, Mueller will also work to spread the word about other community events and the community center’s availability as a rental space. To suggest a program or find out more about the community center, call 677-2052.