What Is St. Anthony Park Area Seniors?
Saint Anthony Park Area Seniors (SAPAS) is a 501 (c) (3) charity that strengthens our community by providing a program of services to seniors. The pillars of our program are wellness activities, at-home living assistance, nursing care, and caregiver support. The services we offer keep seniors vital and engaged as they age in place.
What makes SAPAS distinctive is our use of volunteers. Our staff of three expertly coordinates more than 130 volunteers—mobilizing them to teach exercise and yoga classes, drive seniors to medical and social appointments, deliver Meals on Wheels, monitor blood pressures, help with chores, and a host of other services. When volunteers serve their senior neighbors, the seniors, the volunteers and the community all benefit: The services help seniors continue to live independently; volunteers become personally invested in their senior neighbors, and their interaction bolsters their ties to the community.
SAPAS has adapted to meet the needs of our senior clients since it began in 1981 as America’s first block nurse program. The Saint Anthony Park Block Nurse Program pioneered the delivery of medically-related services to seniors in their homes. As other entities started providing these services, we changed our focus to expanding the scope of other services to seniors. In 2011, the Block Nurse Program became Saint Anthony Park Area Seniors, reflecting our enhanced menu of services and expanded service area.
The primary goals of our four-part program are keeping seniors independent and encouraging them to remain engaged in our community. We promote senior independence by gearing many of our services to individual seniors and their caregivers. These services, delivered largely by volunteers, sustain seniors safely in their homes; for many, this is more satisfactory than group living arrangements.
Meanwhile, our wellness activities offer seniors many opportunities to connect with our community. For example, every weekday we offer exercise and yoga classes. In addition to their social benefit, these classes build strength and flexibility, decreasing the likelihood and severity of falls.
We also collaborate with Centennial United Methodist Church to offer hybrid presentations and in-person gatherings. Soon we will be showing movies there too. These activities just scratch the surface of what we offer. One wellness participant aptly summed up our efforts: “St. Anthony Park Area Seniors activities get me out of the apartment. I enjoy the people and appreciate the opportunity at all events. They give me a chance to meet new people, structure my time, broaden my horizons and laugh.”
SAPAS enhances our community by providing useful services to seniors. In turn, SAPAS has benefitted from the strong backing of our community for 39 years, and we appreciate the support. We now invite you to join us in our endeavor—whether as a client, a volunteer or a donor. Call our office (651) 642-9052, email us office@SAPASeniors.org, or find us on Facebook.
