REACH FOR IT PROGRAM

AT UNDERWOOD TOWER (1983-2002) and

DE FREESE MANOR (2003-present)

Omaha, NE

An award winning health & exercise program for older adults

 

 

The Reach for It program was the recipient of the the first C. Lynn Vendien Award for excellence in exercise programming for older adults. It was presented to the program leader, David E. Corbin, by the Council on Aging and Adult Development, a council within the American Association for Active Lifestyles & Fitness , which is an association within the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance . The award was presented at the national conference in St. Louis, MO on March 22, 1997.

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"Reach for It" is an intergenerational exercise and health program for older adults that has been in existence since 1983 and it now meets aat deFreese Manor (26th and Dodge Sts.) after 19 years at Omaha Housing Authority's Underwood Tower. The exercise and dance activities that are used are explained in the book Reach for It: A Handbook of Health, Exercise and Dance Activities for Older Adults (now out of print but parts are available online by David E. Corbin and Josie Metal-Corbin. This program serves as a training site for University of Nebraska at Omaha students, especially for students enrolled in Health Aspects of Aging course. This program has been nationally recognized by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in both their national newsletter and a nationally distributed videotape entitled "A Nation of Winners." The "Reach for It" program and three of its participants were also featured in a videotape entitled "View from the Inside: Older Adults" produced by Envision Communcations in 1995. Participants in the "Reach for It" program have also been featured in The New York Times Magazine.

The meeting time is 11:00 a.m. through noon every Friday throughout the year. Visitors are welcome.

Some of the Underwood Tower "Reach for It" participants and
recipients of the Sports/Fitness Awards from the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports