Fort Greene Council’s Older Adult Clubs are Booming in Popularity

By Fern Gillespie
Baby Boomers are once again changing America’s trends. The youngest group of Baby Boomers are now hitting their early 60s. The term “senior citizen” has been replaced with “older adults.” According to the most recent US Census, over 17 percent of Americans are 65 and older, meaning roughly 1 in 6 people are older adults.

In Brooklyn, the Fort Greene Council, Inc. has enhanced thousands of lives through its 14 Older Adult Clubs spread throughout the borough. While the council also serves families and children, its unique older adult clubs engage, enrich, and enhance the lives of Brooklyn residents over 60.

Our Time Press spoke to Fort Greene Council leadership and volunteers, all over age 60, who are transforming the contemporary lifestyles of older adults through the clubs.

“People used to think that at the centers they would just come in and knit and play Bingo,” said Claudette Macey, 69, Executive Director of the Fort Greene Council. “So, we discouraged that, and we have physical fitness gyms, Thai Chi, nutritious meals, sewing, sip and paint, trips to Atlantic City, technology classes, health and nutrition education, dances, DJs, jazz, and even a steel band.”

Under Macey’s administration, the 14 older adult clubs serve over 800 members a day. She’s a social worker who holds an MSW from Adelphi University and has worked on programs for older adults at Fort Greene Council since 1974. “At each club, we find out what the need is.

We have committees at all the sites. We’re very conscious in providing services,” she said. In 1996, Macey made history when she started the first older adult steel pan band in the US. The Blenman Steel Sounds has members who are ages 70 to 91 and still perform and rehearse once a week.

This September, Fort Greene Council hosted its first “Plant Based Cook-Off.” All the chefs from the 14 older adult clubs prepared a plant-based meal for the competition. “We did our first annual cook-off to encourage people to enjoy the plant-based food and not miss the meat. It was a big hit,” she said. “We are the first agency that did a plant-based cook-off in all the five boroughs. The chefs at all of our clubs did a fantastic job. They were judged by presentation, texture, and taste.” Chef Mark Johnson won for vegan oxtail with peas and rice that was made with jackfruit.

“The Plant Cook-Off presentation was absolutely beautiful, and it made me want to taste the food. If they had just said plant-based, it would’ve driven me off,” said Royal Rose Wilford, age 65, a Grace Agard Harewood Older Adult Club member. “Because I listened and learned, I saw how there were different ways to have meals that are plant-based.”

Wilford is a retired social services counselor and has been attending Grace Agard Harewood Older Adult Club for three years. “It’s a family atmosphere,” she said.
The club on Fulton Street is considered the heart and soul of the Fort Greene Council’s older adult clubs. The club’s members include musicians, writers, dancers, drummers, and a dedicated DJ for dancing.

“Seniors don’t have to stay home all day long and just watch television. They can come out and exercise, take a walk, get healthy food, and have somebody to talk to if they live alone. All the seniors who come in can keep their minds active,” said Lida Wickham, 79, a retired social worker who worked for 30 years at HRA.

When she retired 14 years ago, she started coming to the center. Right now, she’s taking a shake-away drum class that teaches how to make a drum.
Both Wilford and Wickham use their years of experience in social service counseling as official club volunteers. According to a recent report by the United Health Foundation, 22 percent of seniors aged 65 and older spent time volunteering in the past 12 months. For them, volunteering is an opportunity to give back.

“You have your older seniors and younger seniors. The older seniors are sometimes hard of hearing or may not see well, so I’m there to support them,” said Wickham. “I listen to the seniors, listen to what they have to say, and make sure they are received with dignity.”
“I love it, so to me, it’s not like working,” said Wilford. “During the pandemic, everybody became comfortable and isolated. But it’s so imperative that you get out and get your mind activated.”

The Fort Greene Council’s 14 older adult clubs span different communities and different demographics across Brooklyn. “Our approach is to be unique in terms of the kind of services we provide,” said Gregory Pinn, 64, chairman of Fort Greene Council, who has served the organization for 20 years.

His father, Dr. Sam Pinn, was cofounder and chairman of the Fort Greene Council. “My father was 37 years old when he found it. He provided a safe space and devised a vision for our older adults. His vision was based on his respect for honoring our elders,” said Pinn. “He would travel to the motherland and come back and say that elders were respected across the continent. I feel duty-bound to follow in his footsteps.”