$500K Gift to Aid Senior Fitness in Aroostook

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) - The Aroostook Agency on Aging has received a half-million-dollar gift to support exercise programming across Aroostook County.

The funding comes from the Rodney Smith Foundation, created by Mary Smith in honor of her late husband. Agency leaders say the donation will create major opportunities for older adults in the region, allowing the agency to launch new programs and expand existing ones that have already proven successful.

“I think this is the largest contribution that the agency’s ever received from a single individual. We only receive less than $20,000 from our federal sources to provide wellness type programming. So many of the programs that we offer here are very limited because of the funding that we receive through governmental sources and so gifts like this from community to support community are so powerful,” said Joy Barresi-Saucier, Executive Director of the Aroostook Agency on Aging.

“Through some of these programs people have gotten back some mobility that they may have lost,” added Dawn Roberts, the agency’s Coordinator of Community Programs.

The agency says it also plans to partner with other organizations to further expand access to exercise programming across the county. Agency leaders are also looking for ideas for additional programs, and anyone with suggestions can contact the Aroostook Agency on Aging at 764-3396.