Senior center renaissance
Senior Citizens Services Inc. receiving support from multiple sources
As executive director of the center, Kamp hosted dozens of visitors, including students wanting to help clean, college students and a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville professor giving a talk on China.
It's all part of a resurgence of activity and a renaissance at the services center that just a few years ago was on the brink of closing.For center board president Carole Keene, all of the attention and activity is exactly what the agency needs.
Last Wednesday, Edwardsville High School football players, with head football coach Mark Bliss, washed windows, weeded and spread mulch around the center grounds.
Carole Keene, board president, said she and other board members "couldn't be more pleased" with the support.
At last week's City Council meeting, council members approved sending $30,000 to the center in $5,000 monthly increments.
Edwardsville Township is also planning to contribute $5,000 to the center this year.
In exchange for the financial assistance, the center must continue to develop partnerships with the Area Agency on Aging, as well as Senior Services Plus, an agency with headquarters in Alton.
The center will also be required to provide the city with copies of monthly financial, activity and participation reports.
"The mayor and City Council have shown that they have confidence in our ability to revitalize the center and make it a hub of this community," Keene said. "We've also had some new partnerships, with the Edwardsville High School."
During the past few months the center has also received support from Superintendent Ed Hightower, of the Edwardsville School District, who has encouraged his staff and students to get involved at the center.
In May the center benefited from a student fine arts performance at the high school. Ticket sales from the performance benefited the center.
Hightower said he would like to see the fine arts performance become a yearly event that supports the center.
Keene said Hightower also recommended the organization as a recipient of a benefit concert by pianist Dino Kartsonakis held over the weekend.
Kartsonakis reduced his performance fee by half, to bring more revenue to the organization, she said.
"We will receive 40 percent after expense, costs and fees," Keene said.
The benefit was initiated by Linda Plant, a music teacher at the high school.
About 30 students and a teacher from the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Social Work also made a visit to the center last week, Keene said.
Keene said the college students wanted to visit the center regularly as part of the student association and service activities.
Attendance in June set at record, with more than 1,000 people visiting the center.
"In May the attendance was 970," Keene said.
In the past year, Keene, said she has seen a "tremendous change" in the organization.
"We have increased our client participation by 20 percent," she said.
Keene said the reason for the higher attendance is the additional activities and programming available at the center.
The center has received grants from the SIUE Meridian Society to fund the monthly summer series dialogue with SIUE professors.
Denise DeGarmo, associate professor of political science, talked on "China: Behind the Great Wall," Friday.
Nearly 50 people came to hear DeGarmo talk at the event, Keene said.
Keene said the SIUE Office of Educational Outreach applied for the grant for the summer series with the center.
SIUE would like to be more involved in presenting projects at the senior center, she said.
A grant from the Greater Edwardsville Community Foundation helped the center purchase a multi-line telephone system.
"We have also received grants from the United Way," Keene said.
Keene rose in the ranks quickly since volunteering to write grants for the center last year.
"They made me the chair of the grant committee," she said. "Then I became chair of the strategic planning committee, and then a board member."
She became board president in May.
The activities are part of plans to make the center a "hub" of the community, Keene said.
"We want to broaden the scope of our clientele, and make it multi-generational," she said. "We want people to know that they are welcome to come to our events."
The center will continue to provide services for seniors, including health screenings, while trying to "pull in" younger seniors and people of all ages.
"Things are on the move," Keene said.
