Senior center kicks off fundraising campaign

SANDPOINT — Quite simply, Sandpoint Senior Center officials said, they need the community's help.

Due to rising food costs and a change in federal funding for senior meal programs, the center is facing a $50,000 funding shortfall, center director Lisa Bond said.

"Very bluntly, any senior center right now and any number of them have been looking at potential closures," Bond said. "You'd have to at look at buttoning up the doors and locking it up. You can't operate on a deficit. … I guess this is us asking, 'Is this important to you?'

The senior center is launching a $50,000 campaign to make up the difference, kicking off that campaign with a "launch lunch" today, Sept. 26, at 11:30 a.m.

Bond, who joined the senior center as development director in February, said similar issues at other senior centers in the region prompted her to take a deeper into the funding and noticed the center was falling short each month.

"This is needed to keep the meal program alive," Bond said.

If the funding gap continues, Bond said there is the possibility that the center could face closure.

"This is really a plea to the community to essentially fill the gap," Bond said. "We're not doing a fancy concert … we're essentially saying, 'here's the deal.' Without the support from the community, the senior center just won't be able to continue to do what it's doing."

That includes more than just the meal program, which provides both nutrition and invaluable companionship connections for a potentially vulnerable population.

"The social connection piece, along with the meals, really go hand in hand for many of our folks. They come in for their one outing of the week, where we're the only place they come during the week to come visit and have a meal."

The center serves about 268 seniors each month on site and delivers another 2,000 meals to senior in the community. The number of seniors who eat lunch at the center varies by day, ranging from between 20 to 50 or more.

For a meal, which typically costs $10-$12, the center had been getting about $4 in reimbursement in federal funding. The remainder of the meal's cost is made up with a $7 donation.

Care is taken to ensure the meals are both nutritious and delicious and about as far away from stodgy cafeteria meal as can be imagined. That care exists for both home-delivered meals and those served at the senior center.

"For more of the folks who get these home-delivered meals, it is their only social contact during the week," Bond said.

The goal of the lunch is to get the information out into the community that the senior center needs help to keep the meal program funding, and to keep its programs intact, Bond said.

Every little bit truly does make a difference and add up with "whatever someone has the ability to give will be welcomed and graciously accepted," she added. 

The fundraising campaign was kicked off a few weeks ago in a low-key "soft launch," raising about $9,000 of the $50,000 needed to keep the program afloat.

"Every donation, no matter the amount, plays a significant role in our ability to provide nutritious meals for those in need," Bond said. "Your contribution will directly impact the lives of those in our community who rely on our meal program."

Bond said she hopes the support given to the community's youth programs will hold true for the other end of the spectrum with the community's senior population. And, contrary to a popular misconception, the center is for more than "old people."

"It is a place to hear stories and connect," Bond said. "It's a place to understand our history. My favorite thing is I sit at a different table every lunchtime so that I can hear the stories."

Some have lived here their entire lives; others moved here within the last few years, following their children or loving the beauty of the region. Some move away from an extensive network, while others find themselves alone after the death of a partner.

The meal programs gives all seniors to connect on multiple levels and that, Bond said, is just what she wants to see and underscores the critical importance of the program.

"My goal is to make the senior center the hub of all seniors and that's the young seniors and the old seniors and those of us who are still hiking and dancing and listening to Eric Clapton. I want it to be a welcoming place for a diverse population of aging folks and that we not look at aging as something we have to stay away from."

Donations can be sent to the senior center at 820 Main St., Sandpoint, ID, 83864; or by going online to the center's website, sandpointareaseniors.org.

Information: Sandpoint Area Seniors, 208-263-9534