The Second Chance Thrift Shop, the senior center's primary source of income, has grown rapidly over the past 5 years. As a result, the thrift shop has taken over nearly half of the building's space that was orginally intended for senior activities. At the same time, membership at the senior center continues to grow at a rapid pace with an expected 50 percent increase by the end of 2025.

"We are thrilled that our thrift shop has performed so well and are proud to say that our private nonprofit organization is able to self-fund the majority of our budget," said Dave Tosch, executive director. "However, the growth of our thrift shop has come at the cost of using much of our facilty to support thrift shop operations. We need more space to support our growing senior community, and we need a dedicated retail space to support the thrift shop. Since we already own our existing building and property outright, the most cost-effective, logical solution is for us to expand the building," said Tosch.

The senior center is fundraising locally to procure $400,000 in seed money toward a total estimated budget of $4 million needed to expand the building and renovate the existing facility. Additional funds to meet the capital improvement project budget will be raised through private, state and federal grants. "We are confident we can reach our fundraising goals, begin construction in the summer of 2025, and open our new thrift store space early in 2026," said Tosch. "Completing renovations for the rest of our building will take a bit longer. We hope to have our entire capital improvement project competed by the end of 2026."

Individuals and organizations interested in supporting the expansion project may make donations in person at the senior center or online at wenatcheeseniorcenter.com/donations.

by Rick Edwards, Sustainable NCW