New Activity Center Will House New Program

Orchard Village celebrated the opening of its new Activity Center on June 26th, with over 100 guests in attendance. Two dozen clients helped to break in the new 5200 sq. ft. multi-use building located at 7672 Marmora Ave., in Skokie, shooting hoops, playing games, and painting flower pots, prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Donald Bielinski, Orchard Village Board Chair, Larry Suffredin, Cook County Commissioner and Allison Stark, Orchard Village President & CEO led the festivities and welcomed guests.

The Activity Center will be home to Abilities in Motion, a new outcomes-oriented therapeutic recreation program that will make good use of the 2500 sq. ft. gym with basketball hoops, commercial kitchen, and flexible activity/meeting space.

Therapeutic recreation has been shown to result in significant improvements in self-confidence, communication skills, attention and memory, problem solving, decision making, mood, mobility, and coordination. As part of Abilities in Motion, a certified recreational therapist will individually prescribe activities—sports, fitness, art, music, drama, cooking, dance, and more—tailored to the identified physical, cognitive, and emotional goals of Orchard Village’s clients.