Tea for seniors steeped in community engagement

With $ 500 in program funding, Kensington library branch event attracted new ambassadors for its services

When seniors were asked how more of them might be persuaded to use the Kensington branch of the Vancouver Public Library, one of the ideas they came up with was to host a tea.

But not just any old event where the tea would be served in paper cups. They wanted to make it an occasion. They wanted tea served in proper china cups and saucers. They also wanted to serve something memorable with the tea. So they made sure to place an order for a whipped cream cake with fruit.

They also came up with the publicity and designed a poster.

By the time the event was held on the morning of July 26, a total of 17 seniors in Kensington- Cedar Cottage showed up at the library.

Participants included a 97- year- old who was born in Cedar Cottage and spent her entire life in the east Vancouver neighbourhood, one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the city.

Yukiko Tosa, the head of the branch, said she thought it was a good start to get more seniors involved with using the services of the library.

The Seniors Tea was made possible by $ 500 from Raise- a- Reader.

“We wanted to put the focus on adults,” she said. “Raise- a- Reader has always done a lot of work with children, but not a lot with adults — especially seniors.”

Also at the tea were members from the Vancouver Public Library’s Outreach Services, as well as officials who buy the books and other materials for the library system from Central branch. It was a chance for the seniors to tell the VPL what they wanted — and for the library to listen.

Seniors wanted to know how to search the catalogue and how to download ebooks. They also wanted the library to bring in authors.

“We wanted them to lead us in what we’re doing,” Tosa said. “We didn’t want it to be something that we’re doing for them. We wanted their engagement.”

Tosa said she believes that the seniors who came to the tea will talk to others who may be homebound or never use the library.

“We thought they’d be our spokespeople — and they are,” she said.

“It was equally an opportunity to learn from local seniors and for them to share their insights and ideas of ways the library can connect with the community and provide us with future programming ideas.”

The tea was supported by Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House. Both the Kensington branch and Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House are part of the Kensington- Cedar Cottage Literacy Task Group. According to the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey as reported in Statistics Canada, 82 per cent of seniors — adults aged 65 and older — fall into the lowest two levels of prose reading proficiency.

More than 40 per cent of seniors in the country have not completed high school as of 2004, according to Statistics Canada.

Only about 10 per cent have a university degree.