Last year, when a local organization delivered gifts to 640 seniors for Christmas, they didn’t have enough room for all the gifts to be stored or for all the volunteers delivering them to park.
When a shipment of food arrives to be delivered to local seniors, the staff at Johnson County Senior Services scrambles to figure out where everything should go.
And when a local senior needs a wheelchair or another assistive device, a staff member has to trek out to the barn — the only place there is enough room to store those items.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryIn the past four years, the Johnson County Seniors Services program to transport local seniors to appointments and treatments has grown by 60 percent. Their program to feed seniors has grown by more than 40 percent in a year, director Kimberly Smith said.
The 161-year-old house where the office is currently located is just too small, Smith said. The building also isn’t accessible, which poses a challenge for staff, including one worker who uses a wheelchair, and senior volunteers, she said.
The organization, which is funded with donations, fundraisers and grants, is seeking the public’s help in getting a new home.
The goal: to raise $360,000 in the next six weeks to buy a new building to move into.
The leaders already have a building picked out, and the owner agreed to hold it for them for two months while they worked to raise the money, Smith said. That was two weeks ago, so the countdown is starting, she said.
And they have started receiving some donations, totaling about $580 so far, she said.
“We have to start somewhere,” Smith said.
Their campaign is called The Power of One and focuses on the impact one person could make. If 360,000 people donated $1, 3,600 people donated $100 or 360 people donated $1,000, they could reach their goal.
The home the agency operates out of was given to them 14 years ago, but that agreement states that Senior Services cannot sell the home. If they move out, the home either must be used by another nonprofit or will go back to Compass Park, formerly the Indiana Masonic Home, that it borders, Smith said.
That means the fundraising campaign has to come up with all of the money needed for a new building and can’t get any proceeds from selling its current home, Smith said.
“We have great faith; we know there is such a need in our county,” Smith said.
The growth in their services in recent years has proven that to them, she said.
Johnson County Senior Services provides free transportation for seniors to appointments and treatments, such as dialysis. In 2011, the agency provided 7,012 trips, and in 2015, that number grew to 11,203 trips, Smith said.
The organization also has a food pantry and delivers food to seniors in need. In 2014, the agency gave out $250,000 in food. Last year, they gave out $361,000 in food, she said.
A new building would help with both of those services by providing more space to store food and the ability to park their vehicles inside to protect them from the weather, and possible theft or vandalism, board president William “Ted” Murphy said.
They would also have more space for staff and volunteers to work, such as the dispatcher who takes calls from seniors in need, and for parking, he said.
The need for services has grown and is expected to continue growing, he said.
“The need gets bigger and bigger all the time,” he said.
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Johnson County Senior Services wants to raise $360,000 for a new building in the next six weeks. Here is a look at how you can help:
Online: Donate online at http://jcseniorservices.org/
Mail: Mail donations to Johnson County Senior Services, 731 S. State Street, Franklin, IN 46131
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