Seats for Seniors

Sandpoint Area Seniors, Inc (SASi) is kicking off a capital campaign to replace all the aging participant chairs in our beautifully refurbished dining room. The goal of the “Seats for Seniors Project” is to raise $5000.00 to purchase 100 Hercules Series 18.5” Stacking Church Chair’s. This is a campaign that is in its infancy but am sure the community will see the importance and help us make this happen.  SASi’s new chairs will:

 —Provide comfort and safety

---Provide a sense of independence

—Allow participants to actively engage in all activities and mealtimes

—Increase the amount of time SASi staff spends directly engaging with participants

—Improve the efficiency with which SASi staff sanitized the centers.

The “Seats for Senior’s Project” will ultimately improve the long-term sustainability of SASi’s centers. SASi is committed to conducting projects to ensure that we will be able to meet the community’s needs for decades to come. The importance of these chairs is to promote the whole health of at-risk seniors and adults with disabilities in the greater Sandpoint Area. In 2018, The National Institute of Health shared the results of a study conducted in Australia to see what the effect of using ergonomic chairs had on the overall health and independence of seniors in long term care facilities (Seating in aged care: Physical fit, independence and comfort). The study showed that having chairs that were a little taller increased a sense of independence as seniors did not require assistance to sit or stand. Additionally, having an ergonomic chair encouraged good posture, decreased chronic pain and fatigue, and even aided in digestion. The most important and nonphysical attribute about having comfortable, ergonomic chairs is that seniors tended to socialize longer which has a positive impact on their emotional well being.

We hope you find value in this project and will commit to helping SASi provide our seniors with a safe and comfortable place to share a meal and fellowship.