News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The continued shutdown of Upper Cumberland Senior Centers has cut into fundraising efforts.
Director Alice Kirby of the Fentress County Senior Center said fundraisers help her center with the cost of special events.
“It’s a small part of helping us do some activities such as taking trips or maybe having an ice cream social,” Kirby said. “Just different things. We do a couple of fundraisers a year. Thankfully we are blessed not to have to depend on them to operate.”
Kirby said her senior center’s largest fundraiser each year is a community book sale. Due to health concerns, the annual event was forced to be cancelled.
“We weren’t able to have the annual book sale,” Kirby said. “We had talked about doing a funnel cake sale. We weren’t able to do that either. We’re hoping we can reopen and proceed with those things in the future.”
Senior centers in Tennessee were closed in March as the COVID pandemic began to spread across the region. There is still no word when they might reopen.
Despite having to remain closed for an extended period of time, Kirby said the Fentress County Senior Center is doing well financially. She said the people of Fentress County have remained generous during this difficult time.
“We’re looking forward to the day we can reopen and continue on with events, activities, and fundraisers,” Kirby said. “But we are a 501(c)(3) organization, and we accept donations and contributions. With that, we have been very blessed through this pandemic to have small contributions and donations come in from various private individuals and organizations.”
Kirby said state officials continue to be cautious when it comes to activities for seniors. She said she is expecting to hear word any day on when centers in Tennessee may reopen.
