Director's Note
If you know someone who is interested in all that our lifelong learning community has to offer but hasn鈥檛 become a member yet, please let them know about these two special opportunities that allow them to experience all that we have to offer before making a commitment. Our Bring a Friend benefit allows you to invite someone who doesn鈥檛 know about or has not yet become a member of OLLI to join you for a course鈥攆or free! Plus, don鈥檛 forget that we offer course scholarships, so if you or someone you know would like to participate but could use a helping hand, please encourage them to call our office at (269) 387-4157.
Warmly,
Toni Woolfork-Barnes, Ed.D.
Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at 澳门六合彩官网直播
Curriculum
These October courses still have open seats 鈥 before it鈥檚 too late!
- Photovoice: A Life Well-Lived Kalamazoo鈥擩eri Love, Tues. 10/1 through 11/5, 1 to 3 p.m. at Friendship Village, Keystone Room
- Visual Facilitation: Planning for Your Best Life as You Age鈥擜llison Hammond, Thurs. 10/3, 9 to 11 a.m. at CHHS Room 1035
- The Ear: Anatomy and Contribution to Falls鈥擱obin Criter, Thurs. 10/3, 1 to 3 p.m. at CHHS Room 1035
- Contested Presidential Elections: An American Tradition鈥擳om Dietz, Fri. 10/4 through 10/25, 9 to 11 a.m. at CHHS 1035
- Intro to Ableism: Everything You Think You Know About Disability is Probably Wrong鈥擬ax Hornick, Mon. 10/7, 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Portage Zhang Senior Center, LLAR
- The 2024 Presidential Election鈥擩ohn Clark, Thurs. 10/10 through 10/24, 10 a.m. to Noon at CHHS Room 2010
- Solvitur Ambulando: A Labyrinth Meditation鈥擱ev. Debbie Eisenbise, Fri. 10/11, 10 to Noon at CHHS 1087
- The Art of Ethnography鈥擠r. Ann Miles, Mon. 10/14 through 10/28, 3 to 5 p.m. at CHHS Room 1087
- GIGY: Estate Planning鈥擩essica Brandow, Tues. 10/15, 10 a.m. to Noon at Milestone Senior Services
- Gerrymandering: Past and Present鈥擱obert Weir, Wed. 10/16, 9 to 11 a.m. at Portage Zhang Senior Center, Meeting Room 1A/1B
- Financial Health and Wellness鈥擜ndrew Brasosky and Nick Luciano, Wed. 10/16 through 11/13, 1 to 3 p.m. at CHHS Room 1057
- Distracted Driving Epidemic鈥擬arvin Berkowitz, Thurs. 10/17, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at CHHS Room 1087
- The High Noon of Musical Romanticism and Its Afternoon鈥擹aide Pixley, Wed. 10/23 and 10/30, 10 a.m. to Noon at Friendship Village, Keystone Room
- Permanent Punishment:鈥疉bolaji Adewale Obileye鈥擳hurs. 10/31, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at CHHS 1057
Events
Mark your calendars鈥攊t's time to give back to our community and celebrate another year of lifelong learning with these two upcoming events!
OLLI Cares Fill-A-Trunk on Saturday, October 19 from 1 to 3 p.m.
Our OLLI members are committed to giving back and helping others. That's why we're collecting donations for six local organizations鈥擸WCA Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo Literacy Council, Ministry with Community, 澳门六合彩官网直播 Seita Scholars, the Kalamazoo Drop-In Child Care Center, and Housing Resources, Inc.鈥攄uring our annual OLLI Cares Fill-A-Trunk event on Saturday, October 19! Let's show our community how much we care by gathering together in the shopping center lot at the corner of Westnedge and Kilgore from 1 to 3 p.m. with the critical supplies they need.
Annual Meeting on Wednesday, November 13 from 1 to 3 p.m.
Our Annual Meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 13 from 1 to 3 p.m.! We鈥檙e excited to hold this year鈥檚 event at a new location: . Mingle with your fellow members and catch up on all things related to lifelong learning with the鈥疭tate of our OLLI address and Annual Report. Long time member, Judith Halseth, is our keynote speaker this year.鈥痀ou don鈥檛 want to miss this鈥谤别驳颈蝉迟别谤鈥痟别谤别 to save your seat now!
A Life Well Lived - Kalamazoo
You are personally invited to participate in A Life Well Lived 鈥 Kalamazoo, a community-focused, multi-part project designed to inspire thoughtful conversation and connection around the idea of living a full, meaningful life!
Our first event is a documentary screening of "Lives Well Lived," a film that inspired the creation of this series, at the in downtown Kalamazoo on Saturday, October 5, at 1 p.m. Save your seat for this free film screening by and feel free to invite others who may also be interested!
A collaborative project between OLLI at 澳门六合彩官网直播, the Kalamazoo Lyceum, and Western's Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, A Life Well Lived 鈥 Kalamazoo will feature multiple events over the course of the next several months. You can written by SecondWave Media.
Senior Readers Theater
Bridging Barriers: Theater Connects with 澳门六合彩官网直播 Students Behind Bars
Kelly O鈥橪eary
OLLI at 澳门六合彩官网直播 Senior Readers Theater Playwright
Learning can take place almost anywhere. On August 21, 2024, OLLI鈥檚 Senior Readers Theater at 澳门六合彩官网直播 went to prison. Eight months earlier, McGwire Hidden, the program coordinator in philosophy who teaches at Lakeland Correctional Facility, saw us perform at OLLI鈥檚 January Thaw and noticed that we had something in common with these students, all of whom are participants in the Higher Education for the Justice Involved (HEJI) program. They, too, were studying theater and acting parts in Shakespeare鈥檚 Julius Caesar. What we didn鈥檛 know then, is that this group of inmates had been selected from a rigorous admissions process to attend 澳门六合彩官网直播 classes within the facility and work toward bachelor鈥檚 degrees. They are, in fact, bonafide 澳门六合彩官网直播 students, and had just finished their first year of study.
The plan was to bring us together to perform for each other with a talk-back afterwards. Without the assistance of McGwire, Dale Brown, Director of 澳门六合彩官网直播鈥檚 Prison Outreach Program, and Dr. Toni Woolfork-Barnes, Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at 澳门六合彩官网直播, we would never have had the opportunity to perform for this cohort of 22 澳门六合彩官网直播 students.
Upon arriving at the facility, we could see large, tan and white pole barns. A medium security prison of just over 1,400 people, Lakeland houses 160 men in each barn, eight men to a room. An intimidating fence with circular barbed wire encloses the location. We were let out at the entry center, and, since we had already undergone background checks a month earlier, we only had to turn in our driver鈥檚 licenses and undergo pat-downs in groups of four to be admitted.
A correctional officer asked us to follow him and two officers down the hall out into the yard. We had anticipated this moment for eight months, but a surprise awaited us. From the drab entry center, we emerged into colorful gardens thoughtfully planted for height, color and impact! Reds, purples, yellows, and all shades of green foliage and vegetables contrasted sharply with the blue uniforms of people milling around in the yard. We learned that the Lakeland Facility donated 23,000 pounds of garden produce to the local community last year.
During the quarter mile walk to the gym where the students awaited us, the people in the yard were all respectful, greeting us and making eye contact as a way of asking for our acknowledgement of them as individuals. Many were young or middle-aged, but among them were those in wheelchairs or supported by walkers. Besides the three correctional officers, four others joined us on the walk, and we would later learn that one was the deputy warden.
The men, ranging in age from their 20s to 70s, were seated in a corner of the gym when we took our seats facing them. McGwire asked them to briefly introduce themselves to us and say what they liked most about their classes. A student in his fifties said, 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in class and living together, it鈥檚 a different kind of bond and family that forms within the group. You find out you have nothing to fear.鈥 Another added, 鈥淚 made some bad decisions in the past, so it鈥檚 important for me to be in school and be a role model for my nieces and nephews.鈥
As each student introduced himself, they thanked us for coming. And then, it was our turn to perform Euchred by Years, a play about the aches and pains of entering the golden years. We have performed a number of times at community centers and senior residences, each performance followed by a talk-back lasting about 30 minutes. What happened next is something none of us will soon forget.
Elsie Romano, one of our members, put it best: 鈥We had little idea of what they expected from us and wondered if they would be engaged.鈥疻OW! Were they ever!鈥疧ur twenty-minute play drew laughter, smiles, nods of understanding, and a Q&A that lasted the good part of an hour and a half! Their questions were thought-provoking.鈥疶heir comments were full of insight.鈥濃
One of the students, with dreadlocks to his shoulders, turned his critical eye to the play鈥檚 content and explained, 鈥淚 was scared about aging after hearing the first part of your play. After I listened to the second half, I saw that there are still some good times ahead but maybe you could emphasize them more,鈥 which drew out laughter.
OLLI member, Lori Drogosh, remarked, 鈥淚 was impressed by the attentiveness and interest the students had throughout our performance. It was evident that they were willing to work hard to better themselves.鈥
Although they did not perform a scene from Julius Caesar, as we had expected, our Stage Manager, Sharon Wade, observed that the tenor of the conversation changed once McGwire asked them to talk about the play. The camaraderie of the men rippled through the group. They laughed among themselves at an inside joke involving Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius. We were privileged to see the familial feeling evoked through theater from this group of individuals who were blossoming in ways that not even incarceration could conquer.
One student said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like acting. I鈥檓 not a public speaker, but reading this play brought us together.鈥
鈥淚 never talked a lot, but acting helped me communicate better with the other guys,鈥 another said.
The loudspeaker interrupted us several times over the course of the talk-back, calling for 鈥淣umber 948 or 657 to report here or there.鈥 It was a reminder that we were in the presence of men who had committed crimes, and that out in the prison yard, they had no names, only numbers. Not once, however, did we feel unsafe. After the talk-back, they formed a line, shook our hands, and once again thanked us for taking time out of our day to perform for them before they were escorted out.
As we returned to the 澳门六合彩官网直播 vehicles, Stephanie Grathwol said, 鈥淚 walked out feeling hopeful.鈥
鈥淵es,鈥 Linda Ginsberg said, 鈥淚 was struck by the humanity that these individuals still possessed and exhibited in our discussions, in spite of their circumstances.鈥疘t was an experience I will not forget.鈥
鈥淭he visit showed that common ground and respect between diverse groups is possible, especially when it concerns the arts and education,鈥 agreed Valerie Denghel.
The deputy warden assured us that we will be asked back鈥攁nd we will absolutely return鈥攂ecause we learned a lot about humanity and the transformative power of education that day.
Members of OLLI at 澳门六合彩官网直播鈥檚 Senior Readers Theater.
Members of OLLI at 澳门六合彩官网直播鈥檚 Senior Readers Theater with Director and Program Coordinator of the Higher Education Justice Initiative at Lakeland Correctional Facility.
Members of the Senior Readers Theater and our OLLI at 澳门六合彩官网直播 Director, Toni Woolfork-Barnes, pose with Director Dale Brown and Program Coordinator McGwire Hidden of the Higher Education for the Justice Involved initiative at the 澳门六合彩官网直播-Coldwater campus located in Lakeland Correctional Facility.
Wellness Moment
Pickleball Injury Prevention
Tyler Norman, Ph.D.
Manager of Corporate Outreach
ACSM Exercise Physiologist
NCFI Corporate Fitness Specialist
West Hills Athletic Club, 澳门六合彩官网直播
Pickleball seems to be an unstoppable force, and it looks like we are all going to be playing it eventually! The Sports and Fitness Industry Association identified an 11.5% average annual growth rate of pickleball players over the past five years, with approximately 1.4 million players who played more than eight times per year in 2020. As you probably know, one of the biggest draws is that it鈥檚 a game that can be played by all ages and fitness levels. However, an unintended consequence of the game鈥檚 popularity is an increase in pickleball related injuries. A 2021 study assessing the healthcare cost of pickleball injuries concluded that the number was quickly approaching 400 million per year, and that 85% of pickleball related injuries happened to individuals over the age of 60.
With very few studies available regarding trends in pickleball injuries, a recent review of data was conducted by the University of Central Florida鈥檚 College of Medicine. Reviewers used the Consumer Product Safety and Commission's database, NEISS, to compare data from 2002 to 2022 to identify pickleball-related fracture trends, mechanisms of injuries, anatomic locations, and gender distributions.
A highlight of findings from the study include:
- 鈥淭hroughout the study, there was a 90-fold increase in fractures, with a noticeable surge from 2020 onward where fractures doubled.
- The fractures most observed were of the upper extremity in women aged 65+ following a fall, potentially reflecting diminishing bone health of this postmenopausal population.
- Despite the female predominance in fractures, men were 2.3 times more likely to be admitted for a fracture. This may be a consequence of the anatomic locations and subsequent severity of their fracture, which often included lower extremity fractures of the hip, femur, and some truncal fractures.
- Interestingly, there were significant age differences in men who were discharged from the emergency room and admitted to the hospital, which was not found in women.鈥
鈥淒espite its reputation as a low-impact sport, pickleball can pose serious risk for players especially if they have weaker bones from osteoporosis,鈥 says Kurt P. Spindler, MD, FAAOS, orthopedic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic in Florida. 鈥淚t's important to understand your risk profile of injury and to speak with your physician to see how you can lower your risk. For example, if you know you're at risk for weakened bones, it's important to build your bone mass as you age with appropriate nutrients such as calcium and Vitamin D and choosing weight bearing activities.鈥
The most common pickleball injuries include sprains, strains, Achilles tendinopathy, hip injuries, hand injuries, bone fractures, ankle injuries, lower back injuries, falls, elbow injuries, rotator cuff injuries, calf injuries, knee injuries, and wrist injuries. I remember from sport injury class in 1993 talking for a month about injuries that happen as a result of 鈥渇alling on an outstretched hand,鈥 or FOOSH to the physical therapists out there.
Here are the key takeaways from the pickleball injury prevention class I taught for OLLI last month.
Proper warm up
- 5-10 minutes of cardio
- Stretching
- Light calisthenics
- 5-10 minutes of light volleying
Remember its recreation and leisure
- Despite our competitive nature, be realistic about your skill level, and remember it鈥檚 supposed to be fun! Don鈥檛 overextend yourself to get to a ball鈥攍et it go and laugh.
Get proper gear
- Comfortable athletic shoes
- Clothing that allows free movement
- Protective eyewear
Pickleball conditioning/Sports-specific training
- Muscular strength
- Muscular flexibility
- Muscular endurance
- Muscular agility
- Core strength
- Aerobic endurance
Proper cool-down
- 5-10 minutes of aerobic exercise
- Stretching
- Light calisthenics
- Yoga
Proper hydration/nutrition
- Drink 66% of your bodyweight in ounces for proper hydration
- Regularly replenish energy supplies to avoid fatigue
To read more about pickleball injuries, prevention, and research, click any of the three topics below:
Our Fitness Director Dre Ballines (with an injury of his own) demonstrates the importance of balance and lateral movement in a pickleball-specific workout.
Community Connections
Were you stricken by Beatlemania in the sixties? Do you still love to bop along to the timeless tunes of John, Paul, George, and Ringo? Then you won鈥檛 want to miss a special performance by the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre鈥檚 Senior Reader鈥檚 Troupe called 鈥淟et It Be: A Musical Celebration of the Beatles,鈥 taking place October 4 through 13. to learn more and save your seat today!
Kalamazoo Literacy Council
Join Us in Making a Difference: Become a Volunteer Tutor with the Kalamazoo Literacy Council!
Have you ever thought about how your personal skills and life experiences could be used to empower others? The Kalamazoo Literacy Council (KLC) is seeking compassionate and dedicated volunteers to help adults in our community improve their reading, writing, and communication skills. By becoming a tutor, you鈥檒l have an invaluable opportunity to illuminate the path toward a brighter future for individuals who want to transform into the best versions of themselves.
Why Volunteer?
- Impact Lives: Many adults struggle with reading and writing due to various circumstances. As a tutor, you鈥檒l provide personalized support that can lead to increased confidence, better job opportunities, and enhanced quality of life for your learners. This experience is not only rewarding for your learners, but also for you鈥攜ou'll be amazed at the connections you build and the growth you witness!
- Flexible and Rewarding Commitment: Whether you can spare a few hours a week or a couple of hours a month, tutoring at KLC accommodates your schedule鈥攁nd every moment makes a major impact.
- Training and Support Provided: No prior teaching experience is necessary! KLC provides comprehensive training to equip you with the tools and strategies needed for successful tutoring sessions. Additionally, ongoing support from experienced staff ensures you never feel alone in your tutoring journey.
- Lifelong Learning: Tutoring is a two-way street. As you teach, you鈥檒l also benefit from your learners鈥 unique perspectives. This experience enriches your own understanding and opens new avenues for personal growth.鈥
If you鈥檙e ready to take this rewarding step, we invite you to attend a tutor orientation session on November鈥7 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at You'll learn more about the KLC and discover how you can help change lives.
To sign up, please visit鈥.鈥疧r, for further information, contact Abbey at (269) 382-0490 ext. 219 or鈥@email.
Join us in this important mission鈥攂ecome a volunteer tutor with the Kalamazoo Literacy Council!
What is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute?
The program was initiated under the auspices of the 澳门六合彩官网直播 Emeriti Council and 澳门六合彩官网直播x. OLLI offers intellectually lively and culturally appealing learning experiences. We accomplish this by focusing on intellectual stimulation, personal growth, social engagement and enrichment. Read more
What do we do?
We offer short courses for one to four weeks. Sessions are usually two hours long. Travel programs are also a part of our offerings. There are no tests and no required homework, just exploring lots of interesting topics.
In the near future we will offer courses in different formats -- noon hour discussions, several sessions in one week, and more evening courses. OLLI courses and activities are developed and produced by its members with the support of the staff of 澳门六合彩官网直播x.
We need your ideas for course topics and instructors. Let us know your suggestions. Call the OLLI office at (269) 387-4157 or send an email. The curriculum committee will review all suggestions.