The Friends of the Elsie Stuhr Center
Empowering Older Adults to Live Vibrant and Fulfilling Lives
The Friends of the Elsie Stuhr Center volunteer their time and talent to ensure the Center remains a vibrant hub for older adults—ages 55 and above—empowering them to live vibrant and fulfilling lives.
Each year, the Center serves 85,000 older adults with dynamic programs focusing on:
- Health and wellness
- Fitness and sports; trips and tours
- Arts and crafts classes
- Dance lessons
- Educational classes
- Support groups for those contending with Alzheimer’s, diabetes and visual impairments.
Who are the Friends
The Friends are elected members of the group who partner with the Tualatin Hills Park Foundation to seek tax-deductible gifts to support the programs and activities of the Center, ensuring that every dollar raised goes back to the Center to support its programs.
In recent years, this generosity has funded key improvements and programs, including:
- New gym fitness equipment
- Resurfaced pickleball courts
- Renovated patio space
- Financial aid for patrons in need
- Year-round social dances
- Excursions and day trips
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Volunteer Opportunities
The Friends are active participants in the Elsie Stuhr Center community by volunteering for a variety of activities and events. Volunteers staff the information desk, the coffee bar and run a gardening group and assist at special events such as the Holiday Bazaar and Health & Wellness Fair and calling games such as bingo, etc.
Donate to the Friends
Your tax-deductible gift to the Friend of the Elsie Stuhr Center through the Tualatin Hills Park Foundation (THPF) helps the Center thrive! Every dollar raised by the Friends goes directly back to the Center. Your gift—big or small—helps the Center thrive! To donate, click here .
Join the Friends
Each spring, new members are invited to join the Friends. If you have an interest, please call Shoshanna Landsberg at the Elsie Stuhr Center at 503-629-6342 or email her at s.landsberg@thprd.org.
Events
The Stuhr Center is a thriving and active hub of activity.
About Elsie Stuhr
Back in 1953–when the Beaverton area had only 9,000 residents–Elsie Stuhr was a PE teacher concerned about the lack of recreational activities for her students. But Elsie was also a visionary and activist and she did something about it.
She wrote a letter to "Fellow Parkless Suburbanites" and asked if they had “thought of the possibilities of community planning for recreational development within the boundaries of the Beaverton Union High School District?"
With that question, Elsie inspired a local movement and in 1955, voters approved an independent tax district to establish the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District. Two years later, THPRD opened its first facility: the Beaverton Swim Center near Beaverton High School, which is still in use. Today, THPRD serves 290,000 people in a 50 square-mile area featuring 119 parks, 68 miles of trails and six recreation centers with pools, playing fields, and courts for and hosts a variety of programs to serve a richly diverse community.
Elsie lived to 100 years and stayed involved with THPRD throughout her life, including serving as the first president of the THPF Board of Trustees. In recognition of her contributions and commitment to her community, the Elsie Stuhr Center was named in her honor and is the district’s dedicated center for older adults.
