Oxford Seniors brings services and social scene to older adults

Every Friday, Janice McLaughlin heads to Oxford Seniors for lunch.

The senior center has a tradition of serving potluck meals to end each week, and McLaughlin makes sure not to miss them. She first heard about Oxford Seniors in 2013 when her husband was in need of medical equipment. The nonprofit provides donated wheelchairs, crutches and walkers to locals in need.

McLaughlin's husband has since passed away, but she's only gotten more involved since then. From volunteering in the kitchen to attending weekly yoga classes on Tuesdays and creating mosaic stepping stones in the building's stained glass workshop, McLaughlin keeps herself busy each week. She's left her own mark on the center, too, taking care of the plants that line the window sills and adding her own orchids to the collection.

For McLaughlin, Oxford Seniors is an important community for her in retirement. And she knows it makes a difference in the later years of the friends she's made there, too.

"It's amazing how many people are in their 90s that still come to exercise and do things," McLaughlin said. "A number of people, I figure they just age out to the big senior center in the sky."

Not just for the retired community

Oxford Seniors, founded in 1953, offers a number of social events and services to the community. It's name might suggest a focus on retirement-aged people to some, but Executive Director Emily Liechty says they welcome members starting at age 50.

"We have tons of volunteers," Liechty said. "We have people who are still working at Miami who come and volunteer at their lunch break to help serve lunch. That's usually where our younger older adults come – as volunteers."

Often, Liechty said that the organization's youngest members come initially to support their own older parents before becoming a part of the community themselves. Oxford Seniors is trying to encourage "younger older adults" to join in with events later in the day, as well as the center's resources like a stained glass studio, woodworking shop, pool tables, library and more.

Stephanie Southard, 61, joined Oxford Seniors with her wife last August to participate in the Masters Games, Oxford Seniors’ take on the Olympics. If she’s in town again this September when the games return, Southard said she’ll definitely take part. Even though people don’t often think of “seniors” as multiple generations of people, Southard said Oxford Seniors’ wide age range makes it feel intergenerational.

“Playing bridge was embarrassing,” Southard said. “Euchre I did better at, but even then they kicked my butt, which is always refreshing, to realize there’s so much to learn from people of a different generation.”

Outside of the games, Southard is in the senior center practically every day to use the stained glass studio.

Southard said she still feels like an adolescent, and the stained glass studio gives her an opportunity to play with color and be creative. She’s not as good with patterns, but she’s made about 30 abstract pieces so far. Often, she has the studio to herself, and she said she wishes some of the center’s more creative resources like the glass studio, woodworking room and sewing room saw more use.

“It’s totally underutilized … There’ve been four, five people over the past couple months that I’ve seen [in the stained glass studio],” Southard said. “It really is nice … we need more creative people in here.”

Providing essential services to older adults

Bob Raues, 93, has been coming to the senior center for more than two decades. Each Friday, he brings his own tray for the potluck meal to keep his food separate. On Mondays and Thursdays, he comes in to play cards.

"My wife, she's been gone almost 10 years now," Raues said. "When she was here, I didn't come that much. She played cards, and once in a while I'd take her places."

Now, Raues even participates in the Masters Games each year, especially in cornhole and shuffleboard. This year's Masters Games, the 35th anniversary, will run Sept. 9-20.

Oxford Seniors uses the senior center as a gathering place for the community, but much of its work goes beyond the building. The organization coordinates Meals on Wheels, runs transportation vans for people who struggle with mobility every Monday through Friday and coordinates an adult day service in Faith Lutheran Church.

Liechty says the day service provides a place for adults with dementia or other health needs to go when family members might not be able to care for them for a whole day. The program starts at $41 per half day and provided the equivalent of 1,152 days of service between January and June this year.

The transportation vans, meanwhile, provided more than 4,000 rides to 190 people in the first half of 2024. Liechty said that includes everything from medical appointments and grocery shopping to dialysis.

"Oxford Seniors will take you door to door," Liechty said. "If you're in a wheelchair, you don't even have to get out. We will roll you into our accessible vehicle and we will take you to that front door of the dialysis."

While the organization suggests donations of $1.50 for each ride and $2.50 for each meal, and members pay $25 per year to be involved, Liechty said Oxford Seniors works to make sure money isn't a barrier for people. The organization has a dedicated outreach and marketing coordinator who coordinates with social services to find other resources, too.

And of course, the organization is there at the end of many members' lives.

"As far as staff goes, that can be very challenging, because we do quite literally have people that we get to know as drivers and Meals on Wheels delivery volunteers ... and then they end their time with us in the adult day service," Liechty said. "It's inherently going to be sad ... but it's also really good that we know them in full and we were able to make sure that their life had purpose and meaning and quality."