Letter to the editor: Help Lincoln boomers build community

To the editor:

On any given day, a visit to Bemis Hall will find it buzzing with activity and bursting at the seams with people socializing, participating in programs, volunteering, seeking counsel and more. And it’s about to get a lot busier, if a newly formed group of self-described “boomers” has anything to do with it.

In classic Lincoln fashion, the inspiration of one has turned into an ad hoc discussion group of how to introduce more baby boomers to current community offerings, especially those offered by the Council on Aging at Bemis Hall, and how to evolve and enhance existing programs to meet new and growing needs without compromising the valued programs and critical services currently in place. While some boomers have been enjoying COA programming, many are not. And the newly formed group is out to find out why…and to come up with strategies to help more boomers to find their way to Bemis.

At the first gathering of this new group, much discussion focused on “branding” and how that influences perception. Questions were raised as to how to better reach out to communicate the range of community activities that currently exist at Bemis and throughout town. Several saw their interests and needs as variations of the current COA and Parks & Recreation programming. This group of boomers, looking into the future, saw the benefit of a true multigenerational community center that could accommodate the needs of all and reinforce a sense of coming together as a community.

The work of this new group—yet unnamed—will benefit from previous work done by the COA in 2013, where many similar questions were explored, and by the more recent work of the Community Center Study Committee. The energy, enthusiasm, and creative thinking of this group may well take things to the next level and test the limitations of Bemis Hall beyond the challenge posed by existing programs and services. This is not a bad thing—this is a reflection of the natural evolution of a vibrant community growing and changing over time. In fact, this is a cause for celebration—ingenuity and grass-roots initiative is alive and well in Lincoln.

The next gathering of the unnamed boomers ad hoc discussion group is on Tuesday, June 16 at 8:15 a.m. in Bemis Hall. They are spreading the word to encourage others to join them to think of creative ways to introduce community activities for all.

Sincerely,

Sara Mattes
71 Conant Rd.

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