Finding Purpose and a Place to Call Home
Contributed by Marlene Munsell
Rae Ann Schierholt is a WASI volunteer-teacher for Club50. I smile when I hear her talk about Bingocize and how this program has changed her life. Her enthusiasm and excitement are contagious. In the spring of 2022, she and her husband Warren had a very stressful spring having to move out of their house and look for a place to live. The stars aligned and they were happy to find a home here at Eagles Nest WASI Housing. Sadly, a few days after moving here she had a heart attack.
After a few weeks of recuperation, she started to look at the WASI activities calendar and decided to try some of the exercises and activities. She enjoyed art therapy classes with Nancy Bidwell, she was hooked on Diamond Dots fidget spinners. Then she began attending Bingocize and she loved it! There were times when the class had to be cancelled because the teacher couldn’t be there, she saw that as an opportunity to step in and volunteer as a substitute teacher. After a few months she decided it was time to be certified to teach and took the online classes. Rae Ann said, “that it has been a great start to losing weight, friendship, laughter, and learning new moves”. This past year the class grew to 12 committed seniors. At the end of each 10-week segment, they all enjoy celebratory potluck.
Rae Ann has found her happy place here at WASI as she finds fulfillment, purpose and meaning in helping others and leading the class. She has grown in confidence, developed new skills, has become stronger, and in better shape than she has ever been in. Bingocize is a unique blend of bingo and exercise designed to bring twice-weekly sessions over a 10-week span. During the bingo game, participants can take a break while numbers are called, engage in strategically inserted exercises, then rest again during the next number calling and so forth. This enjoyable pattern continues until a Bingocizer emerges as the victorious winner.
For more details, feel free to contact Club 50 at 907-206-8807.