Not many people have been involved with the Ridge Meadow Seniors Society as long as activity coordinator Carmen Tischer, and it's a fact she wears like a badge of honour.
Tischer was one of many hard-working seniors society staff and volunteers who helped organize the group's 25th-anniversary celebration at the Pitt Meadows Seniors Centre on Oct. 10.
Although she hasn't been with the organization since the start, she has spent the past nine years working to help seniors in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
"A friend who had been working as a casual for the society said that they were looking for someone to work at the Pitt Meadows centre part-time," said Tischer. "I had been a caregiver for my father-in-law for just about 25 years."
It was this time serving as her father-in-law's caregiver, especially when his condition worsened and he was forced to transition to long-term care, that made her realize she enjoyed helping elderly individuals.
"He was very hard of hearing, so only one person could interact with him at a time," she explained. "So when my husband would come along on the weekends, I would go scout out other people who seemed like they needed a connection. I realized I wish I could have a job where I could do some admin, do some connecting with seniors who need connections, and get paid for it. Then this opportunity presented itself."
Tischer started out as a facility attendant and quickly rose to her current position of activity coordinator.
"It's been amazing working with the people here," she said. "We're all very uniquely gifted and have very diverse personalities that work really well together."
Tischer explained that in her nearly a decade with the seniors society, she's personally seen countless times just how important it is to the seniors in the community.
"It's great to be able to come in and take a break from home, whether you're coming in for a fitness class, or tech help, or a line dancing class, or meeting a friend for coffee, or whatever else," she said.
She's also seen the membership grow like crazy, especially within the past few years.
"We've now surpassed our pre-COVID numbers," said Tischer. "Our membership is currently over 2,300 members between the two centres."
A lot of these members were at the Pitt Meadows Seniors Centre on Oct. 10 to play games, socialize, and grab some tasty cake as part of the seniors society's 25th-anniversary celebration.
