Fairfax county’s Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS) division launched the Virtual Center for Active Adults (VCAA) in 2020. Its goal was to keep adults engaged while senior and community centers closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But when the physical centers reopened in 2021, the virtual one had proven it was worth keeping.
“Based on the positive response, we were motivated to keep the program in place even after most in-person programs returned in order to better serve the community,” says Keesha Gill, assistant division director of NCS.
The Virtual Center for Active Adults started as a virtual social hour three days a week in April 2020 and quickly grew. Today, it provides programming five days a week. In July 2025, the site had 234 users; the next month, 253 people accessed it. Classes range in size from seven to 20 people.
A Variety of Classes
Accessible via Zoom, the classes, which range from about 30 to 60 minutes, are live and interactive. Their content includes physical activities such as chair yoga, Zumba and SAIL (Stay Active and Independent for Life), a strength, balance, and fitness class that can be done seated or standing.
Some classes aim to teach a new skill, such as digital literacy, foreign language, or art. Participants can also create something through a class and send it via email to be displayed in the online gallery.
Other options, such as Music Lovers Unite: Great American Songbook and Secret Lives of Famous Fakers, are geared toward people with common interests. Students can get live help accessing county services, such as the library or registering for programs for people 55 and older.
In July, some of the most popular classes were Spanish, a computer class in Mandarin, and a fitness class, Gill says.
“The programming schedule is created on a quarterly basis in alignment with our senior center programming schedules,” Gill says. “We are able to assess opportunities for streaming planned activities that will take place across the senior centers and coordinate with our partner jurisdictions on their programming plans that will be included.”
Partnerships and Class Information
Those partner jurisdictions joined VCAA in 2022 and include Arlington County, Fairfax City, Prince William County, ServiceSource, and the Town of Vienna.
NCS also tracks attendance to gauge which classes are most popular, and it conducts surveys to gather information on interest and ideas for future programming.
The county publishes the calendar of events quarterly, along with descriptions of the classes and detailed instructions for accessing them using a computer, smartphone, or tablet. If someone wants to dial in, there’s an option for that, too.
Missed a class? No sweat. Not all of them are available online afterward, but VCAA has library of on-demand options on the county’s YouTube Channel. Plus, there are and 11 other resources, such as Mason Arts at Home, and Reston Community Center on YouTube.
Through the partnership with ServiceSource, active adults who need help accessing technology can contact the ServiceSource Foundation’s Technology Grant Program. It provides tablets to older adults and people with disabilities.
“VCAA is a wonderful opportunity for those that cannot attend in-person programming to engage in active activities, connect with others and build positive relationships,” Gill says. “Whether they are traveling and don’t want to miss their favorite exercise class or are limited by health issues, we are happy to collaborate to provide enriching programming for Northern Virginia.”
Feature image courtesy insta_photos/stock.adobe.com
