Fundraising moves forward for Derry senior center

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February 4, 2010

By Julie Huss

DERRY — As the plan for the Nutfield Senior Center moves forward, organizers are beginning a major fundraising push to make the community space a reality.

They hope to break ground later this year for the new senior citizen center, which will be located at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Derry.

"This is the best partnership anyone could hope for," Nutfield Senior Center Corp. president Dr. John Moody said.

The 5,000-square-foot addition would give senior center visitors an opportunity to use the club's existing 30,000-square-foot facility for activities and programs, he said.

"We had this dream years and years ago," Moody said.

Programs will include health, recreation, crafts, technology and other educational opportunities, Moody said. Special events, outreach services and volunteer opportunities also would be part of the center's programming and daily schedule.

"It will give people a place to go that is centrally located, just a place to go," Moody said. "This is a facility for a growing population."

Approximately $1.2 million is needed to get the project built and to establish an operating reserve.

Moody said he hopes community leaders, individuals, corporations and organizations will support the senior center dream and contribute financial support.

A brochure will be mailed soon to Derry residents, telling them about the center and seeking their support. Senior center committee member Suzanne Robinson said various levels of financial donations will be listed and recognized in the senior center's design.

There may be a partnership with Pinkerton Academy Career and Technical students, who could help design a "giving tree" for display in the new space, she said. For a $250,000 "Naming Opportunity" donor, the benefactor's name could be incorporated into the center.

Robinson said the new center will be a place where many generations will join together, older residents and the younger ones who frequent the Boys and Girls Club.

"There is not a generation that is being missed by having this facility in town," she said.

Moody said he will make a presentation at an upcoming Town Council meeting in an effort to secure town support for the plan.

He said he hopes to break ground for the new center by the fall. The center design will blend into the existing design of the Boys and Girls Club.

"It's time for Derry seniors to have a place of their own," Moody said. "It's really past time."

To learn more or to help with fundraising, call 434-7838 or e-mail info@nutfieldseniorcenter.com. Mail contributions to: Nutfield Senior Center, 3 Horseshoe Drive, Derry, 03038. A Web site will be up and running soon for online donations.