A nonprofit organization is helping adults 60 and over find classes that will keep them active and in good health.

The Health Foundation of South Florida, a nonprofit grant-making foundation, aims at expanding and supporting programs that promote health for seniors in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.

The foundation recently awarded this year's grants to several organizations, including the North Miami-based Jewish Community Services of South Florida and the Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers.

The Miami-based foundation, which has awarded grants to nonprofit organizations for their health-focused programs since 1993, created the Healthy Aging Regional Collaborative a year ago.

``Our goal is to implement prevention programs to enhance the quality of life of older adults, increase their independence, and decrease unnecessary health costs,'' said Martha Pelaez, director of the Healthy Aging Regional Collaborative.

Grant recipients choose from one of the foundation's four programs: managing chronic diseases, encouraging healthy ideas, enhancing fitness and improving physical balance.

The classes are free to seniors, Pelaez said.

``We want to ensure that we are targeting different sectors of the population and that they are accessing this program,'' she said. The Jewish Community Services of South Florida, a social service agency that offers food, health, employment and rehabilitation services to people of all ages, has been part of the collaborative since last year.

The organization received an $83,700 grant from the Health Foundation to run the EnhanceFitness program for the second year, one of the programs aimed at improving seniors' overall health .

``The EnhanceFitness program helps them maintain their strength and balance,'' said Shari Gantman, vice president of communications of the Health Foundation. ``If you can help someone regain mobility and balance, that helps with fall prevention, and keeps them strong and independent.''

The curriculum focuses on stretching, flexibility, balance, low-impact aerobics and strength training exercises, all of which improve the health of seniors, said Sylvia Goldsmith, chief operating officer of JCS.

The Health Foundation of South Florida has allocated $7.5 million over five years to support the initiative across the three counties.

Other organizations part of the collaborative in Miami-Dade are Citrus Health Network, Community Health of South Florida, Independent Living Community Services, Jessie Trice Community Health Centers, Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged, Open Door Health Center, Sister Emmanuel Hospital, South Florida Veterans Foundation for Research & Education, and United HomeCare Services.

For more information, go to www.healthyagingsf.org.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@