Is the water heater in your home set at or below 120 degrees F? Do all area rugs have nonslip strips or pads to prevent tripping and slipping? Are there nonslip strips or mats in the bathtub and/or shower?

These are among the questions that will be posed to attendees of a Lunch & Learn program at Newtown Senior Center planned for Friday, May 26. The presentation will be based on the AARP HomeFit Guide, a free publication that offers smart ways to make a home comfortable, safe, and a great fit for not only senior citizens but all ages.

Sponsored by Friends of Newtown Seniors (FONS), the program will focus on three areas of the home: hallways and stairs, kitchens, and bathrooms.

FONS Chairman John Boccuzzi Sr, and board members Bev Bennett Schaedler and Frank Monette will each cover one segment.

Copies of the guide will be provided to each Lunch & Learn participant. The 36-page guide was created, according to AARP, to help people live safely and comfortably by enabling where they live to be a “lifelong home,” suitable for themselves and others in their household, no matter a person’s age or life stage.

The fully-illustrated guide “is about homes, not houses,” also according to the organization. It includes more than 100 tips and suggestions, broken down by room, doable regardless of housing type (single family dwelling, apartment house, etc) or ownership status (owner or renter).

It is, said Monette, “really great.

“It’s a wealth of information,” he said during a recent planning session. “Safety in the home really applies to everyone,” he added.

“The numbers are staggering,” he added. “The number of people who get injured at home, and seniors dying after falls in their home — it’s no small thing. This is a very important program. We really hope to see a full room.”

Cost of the program is $5 for non-Newtown Senior Center members. There is no charge to senior center members. Reservations are required for all, and can be done by calling 203-270-4310.

Senior Center members already familiar with the MyActiveCenter online registration program are encouraged to use that to register.

In addition to the HomeFit Guide, each guest will also be given a small gift.

Fundraising Weekend

The Lunch & Learn on May 26 is the first of three public events being planned by FONS.

The group is also working on a pair of back-to-back fundraisers to take place the second weekend of June.

Area residents now have a date when they can get rid of those papers they have been waiting to securely shred.

FONS will have its annual Shredding Day Fundraiser on Saturday, June 10, from 9 am until noon. A mobile shredding truck will be located at the Newtown Savings Bank branch within Plaza South, 274 South Main Street.

Suggested donation is $10 per banker-size box, $5 for senior citizens.

Newtown Savings Bank is again sponsoring the event.

Drivers should watch the on-site volunteers, who will direct them to a place to park. Volunteers will then unload boxes from vehicles and take them to the mobile shredding, which will immediate take care of destroying all documents.

The event is the largest annual fundraiser by FONS.

Reservations are not needed, but additional information may be obtained by contacting FONS at 203-430-0633 or info@friendsofnewtownseniors.org.

The following afternoon FONS will sponsor a performance of Murder Me Always. Town Players of Newtown will be presenting a production of Lee Mueller’s comedic murder-mystery June 8-24. FONS is hosting its special event/fundraiser around the Sunday, June 11 matinee.

Tickets are $30 each and include a preshow reception at 1 pm and the performance at 2.

Tickets for this show must be purchased through Barbara Bloom (203-648-6905).