Investing in Our Heritage – Our Senior Citizens!
Aging & Family Services of Mineral County New Keyser Senior Center Update – May 06, 2021
A&FS is working hard to begin constructing the new Keyser Senior Center (KSC) in the old Pizza Hut property even while dealing with Covid19 issues. The board of directors selected a building committee. This group has met remotely and in-person several times to design a building plan that would meet the center’s needs. This committee has worked with the nutrition director and kitchen staff to develop a layout that will flow efficiently.
The Pizza building’s current size is 1,800 square feet, and the new KSC will need to be approximately 3,600 square feet. A&FS worked with a contracted architect to design the building and come up with an estimated cost. Once A&FS receives the finalized estimated cost of the project, the project will be sent out for bids.
Our capital building campaign “Invest in Our Heritage – Our Senior Citizens” started in mid-August and continues to gain support and donors. To date, donors such as yourself allowed us to raise over $50,000 towards renovating the old Pizza Hut property into the new KSC. Additionally, we were awarded two grants totaling $6,500; one from USA TODAY NETWORK and The Gannett Foundation and another from US Wind Force Foundation, Pinnacle Community Benefit Fund.
Throughout our fundraising campaigns, we heard from many individuals whose life or the life of a loved one was touched by one of the senior center programs. It is good to receive some positives in an increasingly negative world. Here is what one client had to say:
“I love going to meet my friends at the center. It gives me a place to go and have fun while keeping me active within my community!”
– Senior Center Participant
Your donations will help make a difference every day in the lives of our senior citizens.
Invest in our heritage – our senior citizen!!
Pledge your support today!
Again, many thanks for your past and future support. It means the world to us, especially to all seniors who participate at the KSC and receive services through the meals program!
Gratefully yours,
Scott Mallery
Executive Director
Aging & Family Services purchases former Pizza Hut property – Posted July 15, 2020
Aging & Family Services of Mineral County is excited to announce its recent purchase of the former Keyser Pizza Hut property. The site will become the future home of the Keyser Senior Center. This purchase is the first step in transforming the Keyser Senior Citizens programs to better meet the significant health challenges of this population. Generous gifts, including a bequest from Carl Saville, enabled Aging & Family Service, which is a nonprofit—to secure the property. The agency is beginning a capital campaign to raise the necessary funds for the renovations.
The Keyser Senior Center already meets a vital need, providing complete senior nutritional and health services that promote extended, more productive, and independent lives. The planned new facility will support efforts to provide this broad range of programs and services in the face of booming community needs.
The Pizza Hut location will eventually replace the existing center at 30 South Church Street, which will continue to operate as the Senior Center until the new facility is completed. Renovation of the new facility is expected to begin late this year, with doors opening in 2021.
Betsy Purdy, Nutrition Director, is very excited about this new opportunity for the seniors of our area. She states, “The Nutrition Staff is looking forward to serving and operating the meal programs from a more advantageous location. The parking is going to be fantastic compared to what we have now, and the visibility of the site is a plus.”
Aging & Family Services began providing services for the people of the community in 1974 as the Mineral County Committee on Aging. Over time, the agency became a diverse organization administering many programs that provide nutrition, home-based care, basic living needs, and essential referral and networking services to assist residents in locating resources that can serve their needs.
The agency’s mission is broadening to address the total needs of local families, particularly as they relate to the physical and emotional well being of older residents in Mineral County. The purpose of Aging and Family Services is to provide the senior citizen with a full range of services structured to enhance the quality of their lives, maintain independence, and prevent premature nursing home placement.
Aging & Family Services is proud of the role they play and are eager to encourage your questions. They stand ready to help you enhance and preserve the quality of life that our older residents deserve. For more about Aging & Family Services, its 45-plus years of service, and its role as a community resource, please call 304.788.5467 or visit wvaging.com.