Centre offers boomers new skills

There’s an old Latin proverb that goes: “you’re never too old to learn.” That has been the driving idea behind the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors (CJCS) since it was established seven years ago.

The CJCS recently set up a new division in Dollard des Ormeaux, and is now looking to bring some of its educational programs geared towards the 50+ community to the West Island.

The CJCS’s Lynn Gordon explained that, in the past, people wanting to participate in the courses would have to make their ways downtown.

“Now, we’re trying to bring it to them in their own community,” Gordon said.

Some of the courses on the Fall 2007 schedule include healthy eating, yoga, make-up application, Mah Jongg, and scotch tasting. The CJCS’s popular Mini Med School will also hold four sessions in the West Island on topics like emergency medicine, infectious diseases, cardiology, and endocrinology and diabetes. Participants of Mini Med School will learn about different health issues from professionals, and will also have the opportunity to ask questions.

“(Mini Med School) is to educate the public so they’ll feel more comfortable speaking to their doctors,” Gordon said.

All courses will be run out of various West Island locations including the Hampton Inn and Suites on the Trans Canada Highway, the Fairview Shopping Centre in Pointe Claire, West Island Pilates in Dollard, and the CJCS’s Prime Time division at Federation West Island.

The CJCS is a non-profit, volunteer association that is the result of a February 2000 merge of the Golden Age Association (GAA) and the Jewish Support Services for the Elderly (JSSE). The CJCS has since been offering people 50 years old and up various courses and programs, as well as social services like Meals on Wheels, transportation and accompaniment, and short-term counseling.

According to Gordon, the CJCS’s courses give people the opportunity not only to learn something new and meet people, but also to do something good for themselves.

“It’s very important to stay healthy, both for the body and the mind,” she said. “I think there’s something also in having an opportunity to do it with others, socializing and challenging yourself.”

Registration for the CJCS’s Fall 2007 programs on the West Island begins this Monday Aug. 20. Anyone interested can register in person at the Federation West Island, 96 Roger Pilon in Dollard, or by calling Lynn Gordon 514-342-1234, ext. 7240, or Ellen Tock at 514-342-1234, ext. 7255. For more information on the CJCS, visit www.cummingscentre.org.