Iowa City senior center rolls out ambassador program, Better Age survey and plans 'Black Future Fest'

Latasha, a senior center staff member, told the commission on Oct. 23 that staff published the November–December program guide and are focusing on outreach and retention as the community ages. "It is our November, December. So it's the last program guide of this year," she said, and highlighted recent events such as Soul Train that raised about $200 in donations for the pantry.

Latasha framed the discussion around what she called the "gray wave," noting broader demographic shifts: "about every day, there's about 10,000 people who are retiring," and warning that some Iowa counties could soon have more residents 65 and older than children. She asked commissioners for ideas to expand programming, space and volunteer capacity to serve more older adults.

To boost retention and social connection, staff proposed beefing up an ambassador program so greeters and weekend/evening staff follow up with new members by phone, introduce newcomers to other members and give short tours. Latasha called the initiative a way to "connect people more" and recommended modest front‑end interventions such as a short welcome presentation at new‑member luncheons and name tags or table tents to help people learn names.

Staff also launched the Better Age survey, which Latasha said asks respondents about activity and engagement and returns anonymized scores to help tailor programming. "At the end of it, it'll give you kinda like a score ... and then it gives you recommendations on what you can do," she said; staff will use aggregated results to design classes and outreach.

Programming highlights include a planned Parables of the Future / Black Future Fest in partnership with PS 1’s Center for Afrofuturistic Studies. Latasha described a tentative schedule of events—an open house at PS 1, an evening of short Afrofuturistic films with invited filmmakers, a book panel on Octavia Butler’s work and a community mural made from individually designed tiles. She said dates are not finalized but the programs are expected in the January–February period.

Commissioners also raised transportation and accessibility concerns—walking distance to bus stops and limits on volunteer/staff capacity to provide rides—and suggested partnering with university senior‑college offerings and other local venues to expand accessible class space. Latasha noted the city mobility coordinator can help members navigate options but that direct transport services are limited by staffing.

Latasha asked commissioners to steer prospective candidates to a posted application: Michelle Buman, the current program specialist who helps run programming, will retire in December, she said. The commission did not take formal action on these program proposals; staff will return with policies or implementation details in future meetings.