Medway & Millis August 2019

Page 14 Medway & Millis Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com August 2019
Millis Council on Aging Opens Age-Friendly Fitness Room
Thanks to $15K Donation from Middlesex Savings Bank
On Friday, June 28th, the Millis
Council on Aging dedicated
a new age-friendly fitness room,
made possible through funds
from a $15,000 donation from
Middlesex Savings Bank.
The Age Friendly Fitness
Room will be available to Senior
Center visitors and provide
an age friendly space for those
seniors who want to use lowimpact
fitness machines that are
easy to use and gentle on aging
joints and muscles. This gym will
provide a supportive atmosphere
that is comfortable for senior
adults and will keep them coming
back.
“We are happy to be able to
provide a program that encourages
senior adults to be physically
and socially active in an effort to
maintain their health” said Patty
Kayo, Director of the Millis
Council on Aging. “We are very
grateful to the Middlesex Savings
Bank in assisting us with this program.
Without their assistance,
we would not be able to offer this
On Friday, June 28th, the Millis Council on Aging celebrated the opening of its age-appropriate fitness room. Exercise equipment for this room
was purchased with funds from a $15,000 donation from Middlesex Savings Bank.
wonderful opportunity to our senior
residents.”
“With this gift, we want to
recognize the honorable work
that senior centers and councils
on aging do in our community,”
said Mike McAuliffe, president
and CEO of Middlesex Savings
Bank. “We hope the funding
helps support these organizations
provide on-going quality programs
for our local seniors.”
The $15,000 gift to the Millis
Council on Aging is part of a
cumulative gift of $1.4 million
that Middlesex Savings Bank distributed
to 84 non-profit organizations
including senior centers,
libraries and food pantries within
the Bank’s retail branch territory.
Through its charitable foundation,
Middlesex Savings made
donations in all towns that have
its bank branches – $50,000
apiece, with $20,000 to each
town’s food pantry, $15,000
to public library groups and
$15,000 for town senior centers.
Towns were free to spend the donations
in any way they needed,
no strings attached, said Carol
Brown, Regional Branch Manager
for Middlesex Savings Bank.
“We tried to benefit a wide range
of groups,” she said. The groups
chosen benefitted a large population
in each town.
“Our bank is doing well.
We’re a strong, healthy bank, and
the community is a huge part of
that,” said Brown. Supporting
the community, she says, is part
of the bank’s mission, “and we
wanted to thank our customers
and the community.”
Millis seniors can join the fitness
room for $100 a year.
“The best thing about it is
the electronic access,” says Patty
Kayo, director of the Millis Senior
Center. “As long as town
hall is open, people can use that
room.”
In addition to the equipment,
the room has a television and will
be air-conditioned. Although seniors
do need to have a health
clearance from their physician to
use the space for liability reasons,
they will have free range over
their workouts.
“Only four out of 351 senior
centers offer an unsupervised
fitness room,” says Kayo, who
notes that the room is for exercise,
not physical therapy sessions.
An added benefit, typical
of any senior center, is that not
only will Millis seniors be able to
keep fit, but they will also be able
to socialize with other seniors.
“That, I think, is the biggest
part,” says Kayo.