A New Vision of Life After Retirement
The mission of The Shepherd’s Center of Orange Park is to assist seniors by improving their quality of life through educational programming, intellectually, physically, socially and spiritually – Living Life and Loving It!
Our Mission
The mission of the Shepherd’s Center of Orange Park is to assist seniors by improving their quality of life through educational programming, intellectually, physically, socially and spiritually. We provide services to improve the quality of life of senior adults through award-winning educational programming and events. We are Living Life and Loving It!
SCOOP fulfills its mission by offering Adventures in Learning and the Golden Years Gala.
Adventures in Learning are classes that are taught on various subjects by knowledgeable volunteer instructors. There are four eight-week sessions per year. Please check out the newsletter and class schedules for more information.
The Golden Years Gala is an annual event which celebrates and recognizes outstanding senior adults in Clay County. We honor those who exemplify values, integrity, commitment, generosity and a strong work ethic. They give their time and talents in many areas of service to our community. We nominate individuals for the Golden Years Gala Service Awards in the following areas: Volunteer Woman of the Year, Volunteer Man of the Year and Lifetime Achievement.
Beginnings
In January 1992, Park Gerdine, representing The Life Center, the Shepherd’s Center in Jacksonville, met with the Orange Park Ministerial Alliance. A series of meetings at various churches in the area ensued, which explained a new vision of life after retirement. A cadre of dedicated, hardworking volunteers formed a task force which brought to fruition the dream of a Shepherd’s Center in northern Clay County. The incorporating trustees were Rena Adsit, Keith Clark and Park Gerdine.
New Adventures
In April 1993, the first session of Adventures in Learning was presented at Orange Park Presbyterian Church. In the beginning, classes were rotated between Island View Baptist Church, St. Catherine’s Catholic Church, Advent Lutheran Church and Orange Park United Methodist Church. Recently, classes on Mondays are in donated space at Orange Park United Methodist Church, Tuesday Bridge is held in donated space at Orange Park Presbyterian Church and SCOOP rents space at Crossroads Lutheran Church in Fleming Island for Thursday classes.
Ongoing Growth
The growth over the past 26 years has been amazing, SCOOP offers 35+ classes. Yearly, on average, there are 800+ registrations. All of our classes are taught by dedicated volunteers who share their time and talents with our members. We invite you to take a look at our current class list and join us for a class (or two, or more) that interests you!