Senior center needs new roof
Published 12:01 am Friday, July 22, 2011
GRANITE FALLS — If it’s a Wednesday night it’s time for bingo at the Granite Falls Senior Center.
Playing bingo is fun, and provides a good reason to meet up with friends at the center every week, said Marysville resident Shirley Booth.
One of the first games of the evening also gives
Booth, 80, and others who play the game the chance to help repair an aging part of the senior center building.
The winner of the “Raise the Roof” game receives 50 percent of the prize money while the other half is donated to raising about $6,285 to replace the center’s roof.
“They’ve been working on (raising money) for a while,” Booth said. “It’s something that is needed, it’s not for frills.”
A part of the 40-year-old roof sprung a leak in March, said Erika Maynard, president of the Granite Falls Senior Center. A tarp and sandbags were placed over the spot to stop the leak. Insurance covers the cost of fixing the area, she said, but it won’t keep more leaks from springing from different parts of the roof.
“The roof has never been fixed, never been repaired, never been replaced,” Maynard said. “We’ve had people come and look at it and they walked on it and said it’s just a matter of time before there’s another leak.”
A Granite Falls company has agreed to start working on replacing the roof next week but the center still needs to raise $2,000 more to cover the estimated cost, Maynard said.
Coming up with the money is slow going. The “Raise the Roof” game brought in $27.50 on Wednesday night.
The senior center is run by volunteers. Money raised from bingo nights, the annual dues paid by the center’s 40 members, renting out space to various groups and from events goes toward paying the center’s bills, said Dixie Schwarz, the senior center’s vice president. The center received donations to pay an $800 utility bill last winter, she added.
“It seems like we’re constantly begging,” Schwarz said.
The senior center at 302 S. Granite Ave. plans to offer breakfast and lunch for a fee Aug. 6 during the Show-n-Shine car show. Games of 25-cent-per-card bingo are also scheduled that day from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Money from the event goes into the center’s general fund to pay bills, Maynard said. The center does plan to accept donations to help replace the roof throughout the day.
Right now, bingo is the most popular activity at the senior center, Maynard said. The game brings in 25 to 40 people every week. Once there’s a new roof, Maynard would like to focus on adding new activities to the center.
“We’re trying to do more activities,” she said. “We’re a nonprofit and we want to do more things but we have to focus on one thing at a time and the roof is very important. We don’t want to close the doors.”
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
Help ‘Raise the Roof’
To help the Granite Falls Senior Center replace its roof, call the center at 360-691-7177. Donations can be sent to PO Box 714, Granite Falls, WA 98252.
