Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio (MHCO), a Bluffton-based senior care provider, is a sponsor of Bluffton University’s Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR) program this academic year.

MHCO’s $5,000 sponsorship for 2014-15 is the first of its kind for the institute, now in its 23rd year of offering courses to retirees each fall, winter and spring. Members of the program design and lead many of the courses, which informally explore topics of interest just for the sake of learning.

The sponsorship will help ILR’s program grow, said Ted Bible, director of admissions for Bluffton’s Adult and Graduate Studies, which oversees the institute.

“We will continue to offer and expand field trip opportunities, which would include day trips and the possibility of offering overnight trips of two or three days,” including in the summer, Bible said. Programming hosted at an MHCO facility is another possibility, he noted.

“This sponsorship will help with new and more creative programming and connection with our senior community,” added Janet “JP” Schumacher, ILR director. “I see it as such an asset for MHCO and ILR to provide the strength of both our organizations to build a vibrant community in which senior individuals will have excellent opportunities to grow in many areas of their lives and connect with an ever-growing community of learners.”

“We’re happy that we’re officially partners with the university on something that serves this age group,” said Laura Voth, chief executive officer of MHCO. “It’s important that we offer our residents opportunities that help them learn and grow … and ILR does that.”

The university and the institute “are an important part of our vision for what is attractive about retiring in Bluffton,” she pointed out. “We know with certainty that Bluffton University was what tipped the scales for several who made the decision to move to Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio for retirement.

“Our organization’s mission is to ‘promote personal decision-making and purposeful living’ for each person that we serve,” Voth continued. “We also focus on ‘lifestyle preservation’ as we think about new or enhanced services and programs to offer. We believe that Bluffton University has been an unofficial, but integral, partner in helping us meet that mission.”