Naples - September is National Senior Center Month and Collier Senior Resources (CSR), a nonprofit organization working to address the needs of older adults and their caregivers, is building momentum to improve the quality of life for area seniors and their familial and professional caregivers. “Our free membership and wide-range of offerings surprises many,” explains Senior Center Director Tatiana Fortune. “As does that fact that we are more than a home-away-from-home for our 1,300 registered members, we are a change-agent working with caregivers, providers and sister organizations to advocate for the needs of Collier County’s ever-growing population of seniors.” Each day in the US, more than 10,000 adults turn 65 years old. According to the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida, in 2016, 36.6 percent of Collier County’s population was 60 years of age or older; a number expected to increase to 38 percent by 2030. CSR operates the Golden Gate Senior Center (the Center) to offer seniors the chance to learn new skills, develop relationships, share stories, build community and feel included, especially beneficial for men and women who have relocated to the area without a support network and/or recently lost a spouse/partner. The organization maximizes each dollar received by collaborating with trusted partners, including AARP Foundation (job placement and training for out-of-work, low-income seniors), Alzheimer’s Support Network, Area Agency on Aging, Catholic Charities (social services), Collier Area Transport, Collier County Nutrition, SHINE Medicare counseling, Literacy Volunteers, Sheriff’s Office and more. Additionally, CSR provides: a daily hot lunch and coffee bar; weekly food pantry, blood pressure, vision and diabetes screenings, oral health assessments, balance testing and fall prevention lectures; monthly birthday parties, dance and exercise classes, art therapy, cards and games, holiday parties, Alzheimer’s support groups, crafts; Direct Assistance for Needy Seniors Program and other life-enhancing programs and services. Through the Center, CSR serves more than 1,200 hot lunches a month to seniors in-need and provides 780 plus families weekly access to a Meals of Hope food pantry, including 330 needy seniors. “Just as growth in this demographic is a constant, so are our efforts to exceed community need,” concludes Fortune. “We have all the momentum we need in the vibrant, diverse, caring community that is the Center.” For more information on Collier Senior Resources and the charity’s Golden Gate Senior Center, please call 239.252.4541, or visit www.CollierSeniorResources.org. Collier Senior Resources (CSR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to address the needs of older adults through programs, services, education and advocacy. CSR provides free services for seniors, caregivers and those in need, including the Golden Gate Senior Center, life-enhancing programs, services and seminars; the Leadership Coalition on Aging; the Virtual Resource Directory and more. For more information, please call 239.252.4541, or visit www.CollierSeniorResources.org.