WENATCHEE - The Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center will hold a groundbreaking ceremony and ribbon cutting for their building expansion and capital improvement project on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 1 p.m. The ceremony will take place in the rear parking lot of the senior center at the future location of the building expansion. The senior center is located at 1312 Maple Street in Wenatchee. The public and the media are invited to attend. 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 Many people in our community have been wondering, “What’s the deal about glass? Why can’t we recycle it anymore?” Glass was the first thing that I ever “recycled” as a kid, picking up glass pop bottles anywhere I could find them and turning them in at the local store in return for candy and pop.
Lunch is still $5 for membersWe are seeing unprecedented growth at the Senior Center for 2024. Last fall, our membership grew at a steady clip of 40-50 new members per month. In February, despite the short month, we gained 78 new members. And March appears to have continued our consistent trajectory with 48 new members. While our membership dropped nearly 50 percent during the COVID-19 Pandemic, we have now regained all of the lost numbers. At the rate we are now growing, our membership will increase by another 50 percent by the end of 2025.
by Dave Tosch
Executive Director Spring is finally here! We have raised well over $100,000 locally for our building fund and have made a great leap forward toward our $400,000 goal for matching funds. As stated previously, matching funds are needed in order to qualify for state and federal funding. We are developing plans for additional building fundraising events over the next several months.
by Russ Alman
Communications Director, WVSAC
The Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center has been in our community since the 1980s. However, there are many people that don't even know we exist. Others are aware of us but don't understand what goes on inside our building. Let's dispel 6 common myths we're heard about our senior center.
Dave Tosch, executive director at the Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center, announced his retirement last month. He plans to retire in June. Dave came out of retirement in 2013 to take on the role and has been a high-touch, hands-on leader of the organization throughout his tenure. Russ Alman, Communications Director for the senior center, sat down with Dave to talk about his background, why he accepted the position, and how he sees the senior center evolving through future generations.
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