Casino makes donation to Granite Falls Senior Center
Published 12:01 am Saturday, August 27, 2011
GRANITE FALLS — The Granite Falls Senior Center can pay off its new roof.
Angel of the Winds Casino, on behalf of the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, donated $2,000 to the Granite Falls Senior Center. It more than covered the last chunk of the $6,825 needed to pay for replacing the center’s 40-year-old roof.
Senior center staff and two members received the surprise donation Thursday at Angel of the Winds Casino in Arlington.
“I think all our mouths dropped to the floor,” said Erika Maynard, president of the center. “I’m still in shock over it.”
A part of the roof at 302 S. Granite Ave. sprang a leak in March. A local company fixed the entire roof earlier this month and agreed to accept payments until the work was paid off, Maynard said. The center held fundraisers including “Raise the Roof” games on bingo nights, and received other donations that went toward paying the bill, she added.
Bingo nights are the center’s most popular activity and the main source of revenue, according to Maynard. The center received $8,225 in donations for the new roof and plans to use what is left over to pay winter bills and buy a new bingo machine.
The Stillaguamish Tribe and Angel of the Winds Casino learned about the center’s need for a new roof after reading a newspaper article.
“We have lots of great friends who frequent the senior center and this is something that we can do to help them and the community of Granite Falls,” said Travis O’Neil, Angel of the Winds Casino general manager.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
