Coon Rapids Senior Center's Parking Lot Bingo Provides Residents With COVID Safe Outing
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Meteorologist Lisa Meadows often takes the Mobile Weather Lab out to schools for show and tell during weather talks, but with many kids learning from home nowadays she ended up taking it out to a parking lot of seniors for a unique game of Bingo.
"Our senior center was virtually closed since March and since then we had to reinvent ourselves," said Kris Niebler a Program Specialist Coon Rapids Senior Services.
COVID-19 put a stop to Coon Rapids Senior Center activities for months, but today it was game on -- just from a different venue.
"We transmit on FM radio so on a rainy day like today they should be able to stay in their cars and stay dry and play bingo. You get a bingo, you honk your horn and we come running with a prize," said Niebler.
"We came out to play bingo, we have been out to all three sessions, never won but it's a lot of fun, something to get us out of the house," said Curtis Handricks of Coon Rapids.
Some of these seniors haven't been out in weeks so this has given something fun for them to do safely.
"This is a pandemic that hit seniors the hardest so they have to be the most isolated and be the most careful," according to Neibler.
But these seniors aren't letting COVID keep them from their Bingo.
"People absolutely love this and it's funny how people can honk their horns and people just laugh but people are loving it," Neibler said,
Monday was the last day of parking lot bingo, the next task is to find different ways to help seniors socialize during the winter.
