Events & Activities at Springmoor

What a Spring! Residents Enjoyed an Abundance of Events and Activities through our Enhanced Pathways Wellness Program

After extensive communication between staff and residents, the new version of the Pathways Program relaunched in early 2024. “This has been an exciting time for team members to come together and work alongside residents to continue to grow our wellness offerings,” says Kari Richie, Director of Pathways (and former Director of Health & Fitness).

“Under Kari’s leadership, we’ve increased and enhanced our wide variety of offerings by adding trips, classes, lectures, mindfulness sessions, and many other enriching activities….”

Executive Director Brandon Hair adds, “Under Kari’s leadership, we’ve increased and enhanced our wide variety of offerings by adding trips, classes, lectures, mindfulness sessions, and many other enriching activities. We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from residents to the changes, and we look forward to enhancing this department even more in the coming years.”

“Springmoor is like a cruise ship, in that we offer numerous amenities and activities every day,” Kari says. “The mission and philosophy of the program has remained the same since the restructuring. We’re just ramping up the excitement and involvement levels among both staff and residents.”

Residents had numerous opportunities to provide input and feedback as staff worked diligently to merge the Resident Life and Health & Fitness Departments into our new Pathways Wellness Department at the end of 2023. Pathways staff will be conducting several surveys focusing on different parts of the program in the coming months. And, on an ongoing basis, residents are encouraged to provide suggestions about both current offerings and new activities to add.

Providing even more educational and intellectual events on campus is one primary objective of revamping the Pathways Program. Just one example of a new educational activity is that the Raleigh Civil War Roundtable will begin meeting in the Springmoor Auditorium in September. Established in 2001, the Roundtable is a nonprofit group for people interested in the Civil War; they met formerly met at the NC History of Museum in downtown Raleigh.

Utilizing Staff Strengths and Interests to Best Serve Residents

“I consider the successful restructuring of our Pathways Wellness Program to be one of our most important recent achievements as a community,” Brandon says. “Kari was our Health & Fitness Director for more than 12 years. It was gratifying to be able to promote a long-term employee to lead this newly reorganized effort to support holistic health.”

Brandon continues, “We brought about these improvements to an already successful program by allowing Pathways staff to utilize their strengths and interests to best serve residents, instead of limiting employees’ efforts to one area like fitness or activities.”

The staff members in the Pathways Wellness Department work together closely to maximize the benefits of the program to residents. We encourage residents to reach out if they have any questions or need help. Below are just a few of the activities staff coordinated during spring 2024.

Activity Highlights

In addition to these highlights, residents can take advantage of a wide range of fitness classes every week. They swim in our saltwater pool, use the exercise equipment, and participate in personal training as desired.

Pool, ping pong, putting, croquet, and shuffleboard are some of the active games with facilities available on our campus. A committed group of residents plays pickleball nearby.

Our woodworking studio gets extensive use, as does our Meraki Arts Studio. Residents can pursue projects independently in either space. Current staff-led classes at Meraki include painting, ceramics, jewelry making, and fused glass. “We’ll be further expanding our art offerings as part of our new programming,” says Kari.

For a comprehensive list of amenities, visit our website. Members of our waitlist are invited to participate in activities with residents as space allows. Check out our current highlights page for details or contact us for more information.

The Pathways Program Offers Many Benefits

“Springmoor’s events and activities are designed to make it easy to socialize with peers and help residents stay actively engaged,” Brandon says. “Many older adults move to retirement communities for this very benefit. At any age, having the opportunity to spend time with other people daily helps prevent loneliness and depression—and maximizes quality of life.”

A fun, informal presentation in January helped acquaint residents with the improvements to the Pathways Program. Staff has made changes to the reservation procedures to better accommodate that some residents use the online portal to sign up, while others call the hotline. “Overall, the ease of the transition to the new protocols has been amazing,” Kari says.

In addition to information about all events and activities being available on the resident portal, residents receive a printed Pathways booklet with details regarding the offerings in the upcoming month. “Staff are available to answer questions and are 100% focused on meeting resident needs,” Kari adds.

The Pathways Wellness Department conducts monthly planning meetings with the entire team. “We nurture a team environment not only with staff but also with residents,” Kari says. “We make every effort to listen to their preferences and adjust programming as needed.”

The day Kari provided information for this blog post, someone left roses at her office door with an unsigned note that read “Blessing for a Monday. Thanks for all you do to make Springmoor a most enjoyable place to live.”

Taking Advantage of All that the Larger Community Offers

Raleigh is often referred to as the Smithsonian of the South. Kari says, “We’re increasingly taking advantage of programming offered at our local museums. The NC Museum of History offers Zoom lectures, and we thought ‘Why not use the technology?’” Residents enjoyed virtual seminars during both Black History Month and Women’s History Month.

Our two chaplains offer many services under the Pathways umbrella, and they don’t confine their activities to our campus. For example, they’re conducting prayer and meditation walks at some of Raleigh’s many parks and greenways. They’re also utilizing a labyrinth located near Springmoor to facilitate a mindfulness activity.

Small tweaks to programming can have big impact. One example is staff transitioning from using DVDs in our University Theatre to a low-cost streaming service. We’ve also brought back serving drinks, candy, and popcorn for residents to enjoy during the show. Movie attendance has increased dramatically.

Staff will also be determining approximately how many grandkids and great grandkids visit Springmoor and plan to offer more intergenerational activities. “We want to break out the Nerf guns and find fun, different ways to get the generations interacting,” Kari says.

Mining Residents’ Talents and Interests

In addition to being responsive to residents’ needs and preferences, the Pathways Department mines residents’ talents and interests. One example is a sing-along coordinated by residents Frank and Angie Roediger. This talented couple initiated the activity, which quickly outgrew its original space through word-of-mouth. Sing-alongs are now held on the third Friday of each month in the Great Room with dozens of residents in attendance.

Another group of independent residents perform with staff for the residents of Springmoor’s Stewart Health Center. At one recent event, our Associate Director Brad Dilday joined in the performance as Fred Astaire. “It’s great to see the residents take ownership of crafting the types of events and activities they want,” says Kari.

Schedule Your Visit to Springmoor Today!

Our monthly service package allows you to spend less time doing things like dealing with housework and health insurance paperwork and more time doing all the things that bring you the most joy. From 24-hour security and emergency call service to chef-prepared meals, life is better at Springmoor!

To learn more about our active senior living community, call us at 919-848-7080 or click here to request a personalized tour or an information packet. We look forward to speaking with you soon about all Springmoor has to offer!