CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Center in Charlottesville is celebrating Active Aging Week this week, promoting healthy lifestyles in older adults and reframing the conversation around aging as a whole. Melanie Benjamin, Executive Director of The Center, said it’s a good annual reminder to consider how people view and talk about aging.

“The whole idea of Active Aging Week was to sort of pinpoint at least one week a year where we sort of check ourselves about how we think about aging in a negative way,” said Benjamin.

She noted that, while often unintentional, some language when referring to aging individuals can come across as negative, and Active Aging Week at The Center aims to refute some stereotypical phrases around seniors.

“I hear words like, ‘they’re taking more than they’re giving,’ we know that this isn’t the case,” she said. “Older adults are amazing volunteers, they’re raising children, for the first times in their lives, they actually can go for a vocation rather than an occupation, and we’re fortunate for that.” 

The week kicked off with an Active Aging Expo on Saturday where approximately 75 exhibitors offered connections to resources and information to promote healthy lifestyles for older adults. Then, throughout the week, The Center will host programs, panels, workshops in collaboration with other organizations in Charlottesville as a way to help further active aging. One program is led by Doctor of Physical Therapy Darcy Higgins with Move for Health Physical Therapy along with The Center’s Fitness Director Jane Saltzmann called “Building Better Bones” where participants can build a plan to help strengthen bones and muscles to ensure they can stay active in the later stages of their lives.

In explaining the program, Higgins said people can really get a full picture of their health and capabilities. “We’re discussing how to integrate exercise, activity, and function, meaning how someone moves in a healthy way,” he said, “And then we do a deep dive in all of the why, what they’re doing when they’re integrating nutrition, when they’re integrating movements, balance, strength, mobility, and we break it down.”

The events also include interactive art exhibits, musical performances, and even documentary film screenings. On Thursday, in partnership with Community Climate Collaborative, The Center is hosting a screening of the documentary film “Beyond Zero,” which examines CEO Ray Anderson of the global flooring company Interface and his decision to attempt to minimize his company’s environmental impact in 2020. Benjamin also highlighted “What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us about Living” a discussion led by Diane Button, a practicing end-of-life doula who will talk about her experiences and conversations with those at the end of life. “What if there was somebody who could teach you and your family members about what the process of death looks like,” said Benjamin, “And then put that process in a way that is meaningful to you and is sensitive and thoughtful about what your needs are.”

All events at The Center during Active Aging Week are free and open to the public with registration available at their website. While participants can enjoy the films and discussions the week has to offer, Higgins noted that information in these programs can go beyond Active Aging Week.

“It’s information that empowers the member to use that information for themselves to improve their health,” he said, “but also to go to their physician and ask questions and coordinate care and empower them to be healthier with the information that we’re providing and supporting.”