KEEPING ACTIVE: Socorro Senior Citizens Center gives cornhole lessons

Visitors to the Socorro Senior Citizen’s Center last week got a chance to learn and play the sport of cornhole as the center works toward establishing new and fun activities for its clients.

“We’re trying some new activities to see what you know, trying to get more people into our center since COVID. We don’t have as many people as we used to. So, we’re just trying to put out as many activities throughout the week,” site manager Linda Mares said.

A group of about a dozen people met to learn about playing cornhole, a game similar to horseshoes, but it is played with bean bags and a wooden platform with a hole in it. The activities Mares is trying out include indoor and outdoor participation.

“We had painting yesterday. They painted some really nice pictures, and we have puzzles. We have pool, entertainment and dances,” Mares said.

Mares encourages people who have been thinking about dropping by to do so and find out what all the fun is about.

“We want them to come in and talk to us and let us give them a tour of the center. We’ll give them an idea of everything that we offer. We do a basic information assessment. That’s so that we can get reimbursed from the state for the food,” Mares said.

Another big plus for area seniors is being kept up to date on the latest types of scams that attempt to take advantage of them.

“We want to keep them aware of how to avoid scams or phishing, and I think we do an excellent job of keeping them updated on all of that. It’s part of the reason we are here,” Mares said.

The Socorro Senior Citizen’s Center could always use a volunteer or two, and Mares invites people who would like to contribute their time to come by.

“They can come by the center. I interview volunteers as I would an employee to make sure they fit in our center, and we go on from there. We’ve got a couple of volunteers,” Mares said.