Robinson Center Helps Keep Seniors Young
Lu Ella Webster Speaks About the Impact of $40,000 Senior Living Initiative Grant
Like it did many places, the Covid-19 pandemic halted the day-to-day operations at the Notre Dame Robinson Community Learning Center. But especially for the Center’s senior adult audiences, the effects of the shutdown were felt more deeply.
Seniors reported feeling loneliness, anxiety, and depression due to the prolonged isolation. Lu Ella Webster, Adult Programs Coordinator, knew that the 95 adults who participated in her programs were in need of human connection.
“I called each one of them every week,” she says. “Asked them how they were doing. Just gave them a chance to talk to someone.”
As Covid restrictions eased in the later part of 2021, the Robinson Center recognized a growing need to serve that population. They applied for, and received, a $40,000 Senior Living Initiative grant, payable over two years, beginning in spring 2022.
Research has shown over and again the myriad health risks of senior isolation. That’s why Webster and Susan Devetski, Director of the Robinson Center, are willing to try just about anything to make sure that seniors have social outlets.
The Robinson Center has provided lunch-and-learn opportunities where participants learn about everything from taxes to funeral arrangements to gardening to diabetes. Their quilting class was taught by a volunteer just down the street from the Center. Their bus tours of Notre Dame and South Bend are always filled to capacity.
The Robinson Center also offers computer literacy courses for seniors. The course is taught by Notre Dame undergraduates in the computer sciences program, and offers lessons on internet safety, trip planning, and even using money management apps like ApplePay, Venmo, and Zelle.
As for Webster, her passion for the senior adults in her programs is unwavering, and she shows no sign of slowing down. The winner of the 2023 Rosa Parks Award continues to explore new ways to bring more people into her orbit, including planning a widow’s group and partnering with St. Mary’s College for auditory testing during an upcoming lunch-and-learn.
“Sometimes I forget I’m a senior myself,” Webster laughs.
If you spent a few minutes with her, you’d probably forget it too.