Helsinki to organise guided walks for seniors

The City of Helsinki Sports Services and Library Services will join forces in early autumn to inspire seniors in Helsinki to move about in their neighbourhoods, said the city in a press release on Wednesday.

In August, ten libraries around Helsinki will organise guided walks on three Thursdays at 10.00 am.

After each one-hour walk together, the library offers a coffee service to the participants while also providing information about exercise opportunities.

The walks are guided by the sports instructors from the Sports Services, library employees and volunteer exercise guides.

The walks are free of charge to participants. No advance registration is required.

“Most seniors are familiar with libraries, which are easy to visit. If a familiar environment lowers their threshold for getting up and moving, we are happy to offer that,” said Saara Ihamäki, Director of Regional Library Services of the Library Services.

The walks will be organised in the participating libraries on three consecutive Thursdays. The aim is to build a routine, and we hope that the groups would get together independently even after the three weeks.

“It would be wonderful if seniors found new friends to enjoy the outdoors with during these three times. Together, they could continue the walks independently after the guided walks,” said Tuuli Salospohja, Sports Services Director.

The guided walks will be organised on Thursdays 17 August, 24 August and 31 August at 10.00–11.00