Senior Center

Elaine McNamara – Director

Township of Manalapan Senior Citizens’ Center
Classes & Events Location: Manalapan Township Community Center
114 Route 33 West
Manalapan, NJ 07726

PHONE: (732)446-8401 FAX(732) 446-2564
E-MAIL: seniorcenter@twp.manalapan.nj.us

Mailing Address for all completed registration forms:
Manalapan Senior Centor
120 Route 522
Manalapan, NJ 07726

A Message from Elaine McNamara, Director of Manalapan Senior Center:

Hello! As I sit at my desk thinking of the right words to let you all know how much Melinda and I missed all of you and our routines of seeing you attend our programs, classes and trips, all I can think of is how nice it will be to get back to seeing all of your beautiful smiling faces on a regular basis! It truly warms my heart. This past year has been so challenging for many, we suffered through losses, missed our families and celebrations and missed the routine of our simple everyday tasks and activities that kept us all busy and personally fulfilled. We have all learned to never take these things for granted and have grown to appreciate the simple things in life that bring so much joy. With that said, I want you all to know that we have been giving great thought to how we can restart our in-person activities and serve our community of Manalapan Township Senior Citizens in a way that ensures safety, appropriate space and structured organization that you can count on.

As many of you know and witnessed, our Manalapan Senior Center membership and participation has grown tremendously over the years. We certainly enjoyed and appreciated this positive growth. It always served as an affirmation to us that we were doing something right and it is a constant reminder that we need to listen to you, our members, with the goal of targeting our programming toward your interests. Each Senior Center is different and I have always consulted with my colleagues who run these local senior centers for guidance and new ideas. Most importantly, I welcome your ideas at any time. This is how we keep your Senior Center current and interesting!

Though it seemed like time stood still during the pandemic, throughout our closure we continued to receive many inquiries from residents who would like to join in our programs upon re-opening. Many found us simply through the course of us helping to vaccinate our most vulnerable population and in the course of our phone conversations expressed an interest to join the Manalapan Senior Center. All of you who have enjoyed membership throughout the years can think back to when you first joined. Everyone wants to feel at ease and welcomed as a new member. My objective, as your Senior Center Director, is twofold. Make sure we welcome new members and provide them with opportunities to participate while continuing to offer our seasoned members their opportunities. This has become a greater challenge in the existing space of the Manalapan Senior Center. We often heard chatter from our members that we need a bigger building, a larger room for fitness and more
space for parking. Thankfully, our Manalapan Township Committee sees this need also and is currently taking the steps towards getting our seniors into a building that will service the needs of our seniors by day and the whole of our community, at other times. Of course, this will not happen overnight, so in the meantime we will be moving forward with our structured programming at the Manalapan Township Community Center, located at 114 Route 33 in Manalapan Township, on the west bound side just past the Peking Pavilion Restaurant. The Amboy Bank sign is a visual landmark.
Our goal is to keep you coming and actively involved doing the things that sustain your health both mentally and physically. To get things started we need to tackle class and activity registrations. Everything we offer will be done through a formal registration process to ensure that we have your most current contact information and emergency references on hand and that we fill the classes in an orderly way. Please refer to the Activity Registration Form under the Forms tab on our website.

Important Dates:

• 08/09/21 Class Registration form is due by this date. Early submissions are fine, but will not be processed till the week of 08/16/21.
• 08/16/21 Notifications of your inclusion on class rosters will be made during the week of 08/16/21
  Please, don’t assume that you are automatically in the class by filling out the Class Registration form.
• 08/30/21 In person classes will begin the week of 08/30/21.

Please understand that there is a capacity limit for all of these classes and they will be filled on a first come/first served basis at our discretion. We will do our best to fairly fill these classes and give everyone who wishes to participate opportunities to do so. Understand that you might not get all of your choices for your preferred session(s); however, we will do our best to satisfy your request at a future time. Our goal is to at least fulfill some of your requests while welcoming in new members at the same time. It is important to note for safety reasons, that one can no longer casually drop in for a class. If you are on the roster you can expect to confidently arrive for your class knowing that it won’t be overcrowded and that the room is set up appropriately. Extra class sessions might be added in, based on the demand and our available funds. Please fill out the registration form completely. Our main method/preference of communication with you will now be through email. If that is not an option for you, please note it and we will call to let you know of your enrollment status for a class.

Class Attendance:
Most of our classes are funded by a grant along with the support of Manalapan Township. If you have been put into a class and are frequently missing the class we will reserve the right to offer your spot to a person on the waiting list. We are expected to make the best use of these funds, as we report all of our attendance to substantiate our funding. Unexpected things happen that might cause some unplanned absences for you, we understand that this happens. Please reach out and call us to see what we can do to work with you for a resolution to your situation.

Bingo/Socialization Dates:
Please refer to separate Bingo Registration Form located under the Forms tab on our website. Bingo is always fun for our members and provides natural opportunities to meet new friends, catch up, have fun and socialize for a great day out. We do need to anticipate your attendance and will require your registering for your dates. We will notify you of your Bingo dates while doing our best to accommodate your wishes. We will not go back to overcrowding rooms and squeezing people in. Holding these Bingo events over at the Community Center will allow for you to have a place at the table comfortably and plenty of room to circulate among friends.
In closing, I want to thank you for your patience as we take these necessary steps to move forward and offer quality programming for our Manalapan Township senior citizens with your safety as a top priority. You are all special to us at the Manalapan Senior Center. We value you as a viable member of our community and we look forward with a renewed energy in getting everyone back together!

Best wishes always,
Elaine McNamara,
Director
Manalapan Senior Center

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Funding Sources: Municipal and Federal Funds

Service Area: The Manalapan Senior Citizens’ Center serves the residents of Manalapan Township who are 60 years of age or older

Mission Statement: Our mission is to maintain a premier facility, and resource center, for educational, recreational and wellness programs as well as volunteer opportunities, transportation, with access to counseling and support services for seniors and their caregivers. Our goal is to meet the needs of the population to ensure quality of life, to promote physical, emotional, and economic well-being and to encourage participation in all aspects of community life.

Services Available:

• Physical Fitness Programs
• Educational Programs
• Day Trips
• Outreach Services
• Health and Wellness Services
• Transportation is available, including access to a weekly food shopping bus