A free program designed to sharpen memory and slow cognitive decline starts Wednesday, Aug. 26, at the Riverton Senior Center, offering Draper-area seniors weekly cognitive exercises backed by peer-reviewed research.

StrongerMemory, a national brain health program developed by Virginia-based nonprofit Goodwin Living, uses three daily exercises to stimulate the part of the brain responsible for memory retrieval: reading aloud, writing longhand and solving quick math problems. Each exercise takes about 10 minutes.

The weekly sessions run Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to noon through Oct. 28 at the Riverton Senior Center, 12914 S. Redwood Rd., according to the Draper Journal event listing. The first class lasts one hour; subsequent sessions are 30 minutes. The program is free for adults 60 and older and is administered through Salt Lake County Aging & Adult Services.

To register, call 385-468-3040.

Not the first local round

Draper-area residents may recognize the program. A previous StrongerMemory session ran Tuesdays at the Draper Senior Center, 1148 East Pioneer Road, from April 7 through June 9. The new round moves to the Riverton location.

Study results

A 2021 study published in Innovation in Aging found that roughly 20% of adults over 65 have mild cognitive impairment, and 38% may develop dementia within five years of onset. StrongerMemory targets that population directly.

According to Goodwin Living, 76% of participants in a Virginia nursing-facility expansion maintained or improved their cognitive functioning. The program has reached more than 60,000 older adults across 44 states and three countries.

Goodwin Living President and CEO Rob Liebreich, who created the program after his mother showed signs of mild cognitive impairment around 2011, said in a November 2025 article that participants "feel like they can do something. They have some control in the matter."

Part of a broader senior lineup

StrongerMemory joins other free programs Salt Lake County Aging & Adult Services offers at area senior centers, including Stepping On (fall prevention) and the Aging Mastery Program (general wellness). As we reported Aug. 20, the Aging Mastery Program launched its own 10-week session Aug. 24.

Residents can call 385-468-3040 or visit saltlakecounty.gov/aging-adult-services to sign up before the 10-week session wraps Oct. 28.