Dance put in seniors’ step

Greg Scholtz with fellow Ron Smith Care Centre volunteer Margaret Lenart at Elphino’s, the coffee shop situated in the grounds of Elphin Lodge and Ron Smith Care Centre.

The welcome is on the mat at Rand Aid’s Ron Smith Care Centre.

The Lyndhurst-based care centre for elders in need of full-time or recuperative care loves having visitors. Its doors are always open to family members and friends, and there are around 40 volunteers who dedicate their time to enriching the lives of the people who call Ron Smith Care Centre home.

This dedication to people-centred care recently saw Ron Smith Care Centre become only the second organisation in Africa to become a member of Eden Alternative South Africa registry. The Eden Register is an honour society that elevates and acknowledges the hard work of going against long-standing institutional systems and creating a true home and community of older persons.

One of the care centre’s regular volunteers is Greg Scholtz who first came into contact with Rand Aid Association four years ago, and has now almost become one of the family.

Sovereign Construction Synergy was hired four years ago to renovate the chapel at Rand Aid’s Tarentaal retirement village, and Greg and company founder Wayne Wilmot soon found that Rand Aid and its residents had crept under their skin.

Apart from doing a number of construction jobs for Rand Aid since then, Greg willingly DJs at many a Rand Aid event, Sovereign has been a sponsor of many an event, and the two men two years ago started hosting monthly dance evenings at Ron Smith Care Centre. Greg proudly continues this tradition.

These events are open not only to residents of all Rand Aid complexes, but also members of the public, which is good for community relations. The music is mainly ballroom, Latin American, country and other genres. “Anything except heavy metal, actually,” chuckles Greg.

In addition, the dance lessons Greg gives as a volunteer at the care centre have become a firm favourite with residents and visitors to Ron Smith’s day care centre and Greg says he loves seeing the spark he lights in their eyes.

He cites a study done at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City that showed that stimulating one’s mind by dancing can ward off Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia, much as physical exercise can keep the body fit. 

The dance-mad Kensington resident has bronze, silver, gold, gold bar (advanced master’s) and gold star (examiner’s certificate) teaching certificates. In 1997 he won three trophies at the Diamond Star Latin American and Ballroom Dance Championships, for Top Ballroom Professional, Top Latin American Professional and Top Dance Studio

In October 2016, at the Gauteng Ballroom and Latin American Dance Challenge, he and partner Pam Kollnick won two gold medals in the Senior Age Group and took first place in Ballroom, dancing the Slow Waltz and Quickstep, and first place in Latin American, dancing the Cha Cha and Jive. 

For more information on the Saturday night dance evenings, call Greg at 076 821 2304.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Ron Smith Care Centre is in need of volunteers, after a few regulars have been forced through poor health and various other commitments to stop their volunteer work.

Volunteers need no experience. They only need time and empathy to spare. Volunteers assist with various activities such as arts and crafts, soap making, cardmaking, movement and music, singing, baking, walking, news hour, afternoon picnics and high teas, and visiting elderly residents on a one-on-one basis.

For more info on the volunteer programme, contact Debbie Christen at 011 882 6296 or dchristen@randaid.co.za