Rachel Cataldo became the Gulfport Senior Center’s supervisor in 2014. Since then, the Center has become a place many want to visit.
Photo courtesy of Rachel Cataldo
When Rachel Cataldo came to the Gulfport Senior Center as the volunteer coordinator in 2013, she was in her late thirties, making her younger than the population she would work with.
On top of the age gap, the Center’s longtime supervisor and the person whose position she was taking over had already left, so there was no training, Cataldo said.
Initially, she said, there was pushback because of her age. So for weeks, she dove into the Center’s history. She also sat back and observed what was working, and what wasn’t.
“It was interesting, because one of the things that I honed in on — and I think that this is really what shaped who we are now — is the mission statement,” she said. “The mission statement itself says that this place is for increasing independence and the quality of life for seniors.”
Increasing Independence
Increasing independence was key for Cataldo, and what she saw didn’t reflect that notion. There was more of an emphasis on social service, and more hand holding, she said.
“Instead of teaching somebody how to use a computer, they would do it for them,” she said. “And that, to me, is not independence. So I was like, ‘No, I’ll teach you how to do that, but I’m not going to do that for you.’”
Because the minimum age eligible to join the Center is 50, and that she wasn’t too far from that age, Cataldo said she thought about what she would want to make the Center an exciting place to be.
Rachel Cataldo wanted to make the Center an exciting place to be.
Photo courtesy of Rachel Cataldo
“So with those two things in mind, I really opened it up to, well, people walking down the hallways,” she said.
She noticed people talked a lot about activities they liked to do in their younger lives and could teach to the rest of the group. So she encouraged them, telling them she’d put it on the activities calendar.
“That’s how we have all of these different activities going on,” she said. “They are all led by volunteers who have an extra skill or something that they want to share, and they come in and they share it, and they love sharing it, and they love teaching people, and then people love to come back.”
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More than 10 years ago, the Gulfport Senior Center used to offer 25-30 classes per week. Now, it offers 70-80 activities.
Photo courtesy of Rachel CataldoA Growing Population
Cataldo became the Senior Center’s supervisor in 2014. She said doesn’t like to say no to any suggestion for activities. It paid off: Back then there were 25-30 classes per week compared to 70-80 now. Most popular are fitness and crafting, Cataldo said.
The Center has 3,000 registered members, Cataldo said, but it serves 800 people a day in peak season and 400 in the summer.
Those numbers are indicative of the Center’s need to expand. Currently, they use space at the Gulfport Recreation Center to accommodate their more popular, larger classes.
“Gulfport is great,” Cataldo said. “We have a lot of cool things to do in the evenings or on the weekends, but during the day, throughout the week, this is its own little community here at the Senior Center.”
Gulfport Senior Center, 5501 27th Ave. S., Gulfport. mygulfport.us, 727-893-5657.
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