In Sandra Castino’s experience, while many community members in Newmarket may not be ready for retirement, they do need information about what comes next in their lives.
Castino, a sales consultant at the Renoir Retirement Residence in Newmarket, realized it can be hard to navigate retirement and aging, especially with no one place providing all the resources and information needed.
That’s what led her to come up with a health and wellness information fair on Dec. 7. The free fair will bring together 20 vendors who will provide important information about various aspects of what comes with aging and ultimately retirement.
Castino said she gets questions all the time about everything from where to get a walker to how to downsize.
“Talking to all these people, they may not be ready for retirement, but they have a lot of needs and don’t know where to go to get information,” she said. “I want to bring that information to the community and let them know we’re here as a resource.”
There’s so many different resources out there, said Castino, and a lot of the community hasn’t had to do this before, doesn’t have the time, or doesn’t know where to start.
There are many different seniors in the community who don’t know where to start when it comes to getting a hearing test or finding home care, she added.
A lot of the time Castino finds herself providing that guidance for them or their families and she wants to make it easier by bringing all of these resources together under one roof.
Last week, Castino did a health fair at a seniors condo in Newmarket and when she went back a week later, one of the attendees had bought a new walker from one of the companies at the fair.
“It was great,” she said. “If we hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t have known who to call or how to go about it.”
The fair is about providing that awareness and showing them where the resources are for their various needs. Through community outreach, Castino has developed a deep network of different companies she meets with and that’s how she developed the vendor list for this event.
“I made a list of the most important things seniors need based on the questions I get here (at the Renoir),” she said. “And the fact that a lot of seniors don’t drive was important, I have to make sure whoever I recommend is mobile.”
The fair is free, but attendees and vendors are asked to bring an unwrapped toy for the Renoir’s holiday toy drive.
“Our residents here do a lot of fundraising,” Castino said. “We want to give back to the community and make sure everybody gets a toy.”
The event will also have cooking and exercise demonstrations to help show seniors how to make a nutritious meal and what movements to work on to keep in good health.
Along with the informational aspect of the fair, there will be a barbershop quartet to provide entertainment, refreshments, prizes, and Councillor Victor Woodhouse will be the guest speaker.
The wellness fair is Thursday, Dec. 7 at the Renoir, 270 Doak Lane from 1:30 to 4 p.m.
