Seniors need $100,000

to furnish new addition

By Joel Martin

Senior writer

A 6,100-square-foot addition at the Troup County Senior Center on Ragland Street is expected to be completed in April or May. Now all they have to do is raise $100,000 to furnish it.

The nearly $900,000 construction project will be for low-impact aerobics classes that attract about 100 people, advanced aerobics, other exercise and weight-loss classes, health programs and medical screenings. With dividable walls, multiple activities can occur simultaneously.

“We’d like to have a baby boomer exercise class for people who are over 55 and still working,” senior center director Dan Wooten said. “People would bring a sack lunch with them, exercise and head back to work.”

Jet Construction Co. in LaGrange started building Sept. 29 with financing that included a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant, $175,000 from the Callaway Foundation, $120,000 from the seniors themselves and $50,000 each from the LaGrange and government governments, which are also pitching in for site preparation, curbing, sidewalks and landscaping.

To furnish and equip the addition, Wooten has come up with a four-phase plan, starting with $35,000 for an audio system, stage and chairs.

“The first phase is for essentials so we can start exercising on day one,” he said, noting that $7,000 already has been raised from craft sales, personal checks and a company donation.

A grant has been requested from the Charter Foundation in West Point.

“We’ll be looking for donations from civic clubs, businesses – anywhere we can shake a tree,” Wooten said.

The center will need another $30,000 for exercise equipment, $12,000 for kitchen equipment and tables, and $20,000 for finishing touches such as an additional projector, chair dollies, window blinds, telephones and room signs.

“It’s just a tough time (to raise money) with the economy the way it is,” Wooten said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but the community has always been so supportive of the senior center so I know the community will do what it can.”