PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Time is running out for a senior center in Plymouth that’s fighting to keep its doors from closing.
Many of the seniors who go to the Plymouth Community Council on Aging found it because their spouses died and they were looking to make new friends.
It’s been around for nearly 50 years, but it’s one of the only senior centers in the area that’s a 401c nonprofit, meaning it doesn’t receive federal funding.
Now, the money that the center uses to operate is running out. We learned about the situation from members who reached out through our Help Desk.
Seniors are writing letters to the city and Plymouth Township, begging for a way to fund the center before it’s too late.
“When I first moved to Plymouth Township after the death of my husband, I was lonely and depressed,” one PCCA member said. “My neighbor took me to a gathering at PCCA and it changed my life.”
The center has a variety of programs for seniors every month, like fitness classes, bingo nights, and educational talks geared toward seniors.
“There’s a lawyer that does Elder Law, and he comes out and tells us about taxes and how to take care of our business and stuff so that we’re not in trouble,” a woman named Jan said.
But members told Local 4 that it’s not just about the programs that are offered at PCCA -- it’s the friendships that have been formed.
“We feel like we have a place to escape to, and we look forward to what is going, what’s coming up in the activities,” PCCA member Al Albee said. “We get them in a newsletter, we open it up, we read it, ‘Oh, OK, we’ve got to do this,’ and we put it on our calendars.”
The PCCA needs about $100,000 per year to operate, but since it’s a nonprofit, it’s unique for a senior center in that it doesn’t receive any federal funds. Now, the money it does have is running out.
“It just didn’t happen overnight,” Director Bobbie Pummel said. “For the last five years, we’ve been using money from the pandemic, and now it has run out.”
Pummel has been working to do anything in her power to keep this organization running.
“I wish people understood how important this is to people,” Pummel said. “It’s not just a party, you know, it’s socialization is so important to the seniors.”
She said the center receives a portion of funding from Plymouth Township through a block grant, but the city of Plymouth doesn’t provide any funding.
The center relies on donations or any additional grant funding.
“What we’re facing right now is nobody has to give us a grant because they want to give you a grant for a project,” Pummel said. “We don’t own this building. We can’t add onto it. We can’t do that kind of thing. We need it for operations.”
The center is currently looking at about 6 more months of operations with its remaining money.
A GoFundMe has been created. Click here for more information.
