When Burke resident Corazon Foley saw her to dream to provide healthy living programs for the seniors in her community come to fruition last summer, she was more than thrilled that her hard work and commitment paid off. One thing that she did not see coming, however, was the rapid explosion of her vision.

Foley, along with the county’s Office of Senior Services, have just wrapped up the first series of class offerings in the Burke/Springfield District Senior Center Without Walls, a network of local organizations that provide ongoing wellness programs for seniors in the two districts without the use of a central facility. The program, which is started as a personal mission for Foley, is now attracting many new suitors to host programs and many more to enroll in them.

“It has been a real privilege to see the joy and sparkle in the eyes, as well as better balance and more graceful movement, of the senior participants,” Foley said. “They all have been so appreciative of the health benefits.”

Foley began the quest for a senior center in the area in late 2007, when she was struck by the number of people attending the Lorton Senior Center that lived in the Burke and Springfield area. Aware that the area was lacking a senior center, Foley promptly contacted then-Springfield Supervisor Elaine McConnell (R) but was told that due to budget constraints, funds to build a new senior center was nonexistent. Instead, Foley pursue alternative options and came up with the idea for the Center Without Walls.

The network was launched July 1, with a pilot program at Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church and the positive community response to the pilot program lead Burke United Methodist Church and Durga Temple to offer up their facilities for programs for a Tai Chi and line dancing programs, respectively. The two programs began in October, with spots for 30 people in the Tai Chi class and 50 for line dancing. According to Cheryl Laferty, program manager for the Center Without Walls, the two programs were at capacity almost immediately with a waiting list of 30 at each site.

“The wait list and the participation validated what we knew- that the folks in this area are active and are willing to participate in programs like these,” Laferty said.

Now that the program has proven to be successful, Foley and Evan Braff, supervisor of Fairfax County’s Office of Senior Services, are seeking to expand the Center’s program offerings. According to Braff, on Dec. 3, the center is holding a “kickoff” meeting for the upcoming programs, which are slated for next Spring. At the meeting, Braff said that 25 individuals representing 18 to 20 community organizations and businesses that are interested in lending their facilities to the program will be on hand to discuss how to further grow the center.

“We found a creative way to bring services to people in the community without it having a huge impact on the budget,” Braff said. “People are recognizing that we’re trying to do things efficiently using existing resources and they want to be a part of it.”

Further strengthening the marketing effort for the center is the support of Supervisors Sharon Bulova (D-At Large), Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) and John Cook (R-Braddock). The three, according to Braff, wrote a letter endorsing the center and its programs and encouraged other organizations and businesses to join the network and offer their facilities for programs. In addition, the Board is honoring Burke United Methodist and Accotink Unitarian Universalist Churches and the Durga Temple along with the Center itself at its Dec. 7 meeting for their contributions to the senior community.

“If those three had not stepped up, we wouldn’t be nearly as far along as we are now,” Braff said. “This is really becoming a community effort.”

According to Laferty, until the Dec. 3 meeting is held and other groups join the network, the exact schedule for the spring programs cannot be finalized. Laferty said that she expects the Tai Chi and line dancing to come back because of their proven popularity, and that Potomac River Running has already offering to host a walking and running club. If the early interest in the meeting itself is any indication, she said, the program is sure to have a vastly expanded menu of offerings.

“We don’t need the bricks and mortar,” Laferty said. “We already have it.”When Burke resident Corazon Foley saw her to dream to provide healthy living programs for the seniors in her community come to fruition last summer, she was more than thrilled that her hard work and commitment paid off. One thing that she did not see coming, however, was the rapid explosion of her vision.

Foley, along with the county’s Office of Senior Services, have just wrapped up the first series of class offerings in the Burke/Springfield District Senior Center Without Walls, a network of local organizations that provide ongoing wellness programs for seniors in the two districts without the use of a central facility. The program, which is started as a personal mission for Foley, is now attracting many new suitors to host programs and many more to enroll in them.

“It has been a real privilege to see the joy and sparkle in the eyes, as well as better balance and more graceful movement, of the senior participants,” Foley said. “They all have been so appreciative of the health benefits.”

Foley began the quest for a senior center in the area in late 2007, when she was struck by the number of people attending the Lorton Senior Center that lived in the Burke and Springfield area. Aware that the area was lacking a senior center, Foley promptly contacted then-Springfield Supervisor Elaine McConnell (R) but was told that due to budget constraints, funds to build a new senior center was nonexistent. Instead, Foley pursue alternative options and came up with the idea for the Center Without Walls.

The network was launched July 1, with a pilot program at Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church and the positive community response to the pilot program lead Burke United Methodist Church and Durga Temple to offer up their facilities for programs for a Tai Chi and line dancing programs, respectively. The two programs began in October, with spots for 30 people in the Tai Chi class and 50 for line dancing. According to Cheryl Laferty, program manager for the Center Without Walls, the two programs were at capacity almost immediately with a waiting list of 30 at each site.

“The wait list and the participation validated what we knew- that the folks in this area are active and are willing to participate in programs like these,” Laferty said.

Now that the program has proven to be successful, Foley and Evan Braff, supervisor of Fairfax County’s Office of Senior Services, are seeking to expand the Center’s program offerings. According to Braff, on Dec. 3, the center is holding a “kickoff” meeting for the upcoming programs, which are slated for next Spring. At the meeting, Braff said that 25 individuals representing 18 to 20 community organizations and businesses that are interested in lending their facilities to the program will be on hand to discuss how to further grow the center.

“We found a creative way to bring services to people in the community without it having a huge impact on the budget,” Braff said. “People are recognizing that we’re trying to do things efficiently using existing resources and they want to be a part of it.”

Further strengthening the marketing effort for the center is the support of Supervisors Sharon Bulova (D-At Large), Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) and John Cook (R-Braddock). The three, according to Braff, wrote a letter endorsing the center and its programs and encouraged other organizations and businesses to join the network and offer their facilities for programs. In addition, the Board is honoring Burke United Methodist and Accotink Unitarian Universalist Churches and the Durga Temple along with the Center itself at its Dec. 7 meeting for their contributions to the senior community.

“If those three had not stepped up, we wouldn’t be nearly as far along as we are now,” Braff said. “This is really becoming a community effort.”

According to Laferty, until the Dec. 3 meeting is held and other groups join the network, the exact schedule for the spring programs cannot be finalized. Laferty said that she expects the Tai Chi and line dancing to come back because of their proven popularity, and that Potomac River Running has already offering to host a walking and running club. If the early interest in the meeting itself is any indication, she said, the program is sure to have a vastly expanded menu of offerings.

“We don’t need the bricks and mortar,” Laferty said. “We already have it.”When Burke resident Corazon Foley saw her to dream to provide healthy living programs for the seniors in her community come to fruition last summer, she was more than thrilled that her hard work and commitment paid off. One thing that she did not see coming, however, was the rapid explosion of her vision.

Foley, along with the county’s Office of Senior Services, have just wrapped up the first series of class offerings in the Burke/Springfield District Senior Center Without Walls, a network of local organizations that provide ongoing wellness programs for seniors in the two districts without the use of a central facility. The program, which is started as a personal mission for Foley, is now attracting many new suitors to host programs and many more to enroll in them.

“It has been a real privilege to see the joy and sparkle in the eyes, as well as better balance and more graceful movement, of the senior participants,” Foley said. “They all have been so appreciative of the health benefits.”

Foley began the quest for a senior center in the area in late 2007, when she was struck by the number of people attending the Lorton Senior Center that lived in the Burke and Springfield area. Aware that the area was lacking a senior center, Foley promptly contacted then-Springfield Supervisor Elaine McConnell (R) but was told that due to budget constraints, funds to build a new senior center was nonexistent. Instead, Foley pursue alternative options and came up with the idea for the Center Without Walls.

The network was launched July 1, with a pilot program at Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church and the positive community response to the pilot program lead Burke United Methodist Church and Durga Temple to offer up their facilities for programs for a Tai Chi and line dancing programs, respectively. The two programs began in October, with spots for 30 people in the Tai Chi class and 50 for line dancing. According to Cheryl Laferty, program manager for the Center Without Walls, the two programs were at capacity almost immediately with a waiting list of 30 at each site.

“The wait list and the participation validated what we knew- that the folks in this area are active and are willing to participate in programs like these,” Laferty said.

Now that the program has proven to be successful, Foley and Evan Braff, supervisor of Fairfax County’s Office of Senior Services, are seeking to expand the Center’s program offerings. According to Braff, on Dec. 3, the center is holding a “kickoff” meeting for the upcoming programs, which are slated for next Spring. At the meeting, Braff said that 25 individuals representing 18 to 20 community organizations and businesses that are interested in lending their facilities to the program will be on hand to discuss how to further grow the center.

“We found a creative way to bring services to people in the community without it having a huge impact on the budget,” Braff said. “People are recognizing that we’re trying to do things efficiently using existing resources and they want to be a part of it.”

Further strengthening the marketing effort for the center is the support of Supervisors Sharon Bulova (D-At Large), Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) and John Cook (R-Braddock). The three, according to Braff, wrote a letter endorsing the center and its programs and encouraged other organizations and businesses to join the network and offer their facilities for programs. In addition, the Board is honoring Burke United Methodist and Accotink Unitarian Universalist Churches and the Durga Temple along with the Center itself at its Dec. 7 meeting for their contributions to the senior community.

“If those three had not stepped up, we wouldn’t be nearly as far along as we are now,” Braff said. “This is really becoming a community effort.”

According to Laferty, until the Dec. 3 meeting is held and other groups join the network, the exact schedule for the spring programs cannot be finalized. Laferty said that she expects the Tai Chi and line dancing to come back because of their proven popularity, and that Potomac River Running has already offering to host a walking and running club. If the early interest in the meeting itself is any indication, she said, the program is sure to have a vastly expanded menu of offerings.

“We don’t need the bricks and mortar,” Laferty said. “We already have it.”When Burke resident Corazon Foley saw her to dream to provide healthy living programs for the seniors in her community come to fruition last summer, she was more than thrilled that her hard work and commitment paid off. One thing that she did not see coming, however, was the rapid explosion of her vision.

Foley, along with the county’s Office of Senior Services, have just wrapped up the first series of class offerings in the Burke/Springfield District Senior Center Without Walls, a network of local organizations that provide ongoing wellness programs for seniors in the two districts without the use of a central facility. The program, which is started as a personal mission for Foley, is now attracting many new suitors to host programs and many more to enroll in them.

“It has been a real privilege to see the joy and sparkle in the eyes, as well as better balance and more graceful movement, of the senior participants,” Foley said. “They all have been so appreciative of the health benefits.”

Foley began the quest for a senior center in the area in late 2007, when she was struck by the number of people attending the Lorton Senior Center that lived in the Burke and Springfield area. Aware that the area was lacking a senior center, Foley promptly contacted then-Springfield Supervisor Elaine McConnell (R) but was told that due to budget constraints, funds to build a new senior center was nonexistent. Instead, Foley pursue alternative options and came up with the idea for the Center Without Walls.

The network was launched July 1, with a pilot program at Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church and the positive community response to the pilot program lead Burke United Methodist Church and Durga Temple to offer up their facilities for programs for a Tai Chi and line dancing programs, respectively. The two programs began in October, with spots for 30 people in the Tai Chi class and 50 for line dancing. According to Cheryl Laferty, program manager for the Center Without Walls, the two programs were at capacity almost immediately with a waiting list of 30 at each site.

“The wait list and the participation validated what we knew- that the folks in this area are active and are willing to participate in programs like these,” Laferty said.

Now that the program has proven to be successful, Foley and Evan Braff, supervisor of Fairfax County’s Office of Senior Services, are seeking to expand the Center’s program offerings. According to Braff, on Dec. 3, the center is holding a “kickoff” meeting for the upcoming programs, which are slated for next Spring. At the meeting, Braff said that 25 individuals representing 18 to 20 community organizations and businesses that are interested in lending their facilities to the program will be on hand to discuss how to further grow the center.

“We found a creative way to bring services to people in the community without it having a huge impact on the budget,” Braff said. “People are recognizing that we’re trying to do things efficiently using existing resources and they want to be a part of it.”

Further strengthening the marketing effort for the center is the support of Supervisors Sharon Bulova (D-At Large), Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) and John Cook (R-Braddock). The three, according to Braff, wrote a letter endorsing the center and its programs and encouraged other organizations and businesses to join the network and offer their facilities for programs. In addition, the Board is honoring Burke United Methodist and Accotink Unitarian Universalist Churches and the Durga Temple along with the Center itself at its Dec. 7 meeting for their contributions to the senior community.

“If those three had not stepped up, we wouldn’t be nearly as far along as we are now,” Braff said. “This is really becoming a community effort.”

According to Laferty, until the Dec. 3 meeting is held and other groups join the network, the exact schedule for the spring programs cannot be finalized. Laferty said that she expects the Tai Chi and line dancing to come back because of their proven popularity, and that Potomac River Running has already offering to host a walking and running club. If the early interest in the meeting itself is any indication, she said, the program is sure to have a vastly expanded menu of offerings.

“We don’t need the bricks and mortar,” Laferty said. “We already have it.”

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