SASi announces seats campaign

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint Area Seniors, Inc. has kicked off a capital campaign to replace all the aging participant chairs in the facility’s newly refurbished dining room.

The goal of the “Seats for Seniors Project” is to raise $5,000 to purchase 100 Hercules Series 18.5-inch stacking church chairs. While the campaign is in its infancy, SASi director Alice Wallace said she knows the community will see the importance and help them make this happen.

The new chairs will not only provide safety and comfort but also a sense of independence. The chairs also will allow participants to actively engage in all activities and mealtimes as well as increase the amount of time SASi staff spends engaging with participants. Wallace also said the new chairs will improve the efficiency with which the center’s staff sanitizes the centers.

The “Seats for Senior’s Project” will ultimately improve the long-term sustainability of SASi’s centers, Wallace said.

“SASi is committed to conducting projects to ensure that we will be able to meet the community’s needs for decades to come,” she said. “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, Wallace said the National Institute of Health shared the results of an Australian study, which 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, the study found, is that seniors tended to socialize longer which has a positive impact on their emotional wellbeing.

“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,” Wallace said.