Irwin church group opens senior center

Senior citizens in the Norwin area who are looking for a place to meet people and participate in activities such as crafts, games, fun exercises and musical entertainment are now welcome at an Irwin church three days a week.

First United Methodist Church, at Oak and Third streets, will open its basement to the Irwin Senior Center, which will operate from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, said Beverly McDonald of Hempfield, one of the six board members of the senior center.

“We saw a need for senior center,” McDonald said. “People are really interested in having it.”

Those involved in establishing the senior center also want to provide informative programs for seniors, to make them aware of the resources in the community, McDonald said.

McDonald, a member of the First United Methodist Church, said the board’s efforts have the support of the minister, the Rev. Bruce Judy; Ron Slavin, the youth pastor; and the congregation.

It’s a mission of the church that they have discussed since early this year, McDonald said, and one that is supported by two other Irwin churches — First Presbyterian Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church Of The Holy Trinity.

The Irwin senior center will be the first in the Norwin area since the closing of the Oak Hollow Senior Center on Morris Avenue, North Huntingdon, said Carrie Nelson, administrator at the Westmoreland County Area Agency on Aging. The closest senior centers operated by the agency are in Jeannette and Herminie, Nelson said.

Independent site

Representatives from the Area Agency on Aging, which has 13 centers in the county, met with those planning to open the senior center at the church, Nelson said.

To reopen a senior center in the Norwin area, Nelson said that the agency would be required to advertise for bids for a site. It would not be permitted to simply select the First United Methodist Church for its location. The agency also would have to follow state Department of Aging regulations for operating a senior center, Nelson said.

By not aligning itself with the agency, the new senior center will not require a paid staff. The board said they will rely upon donations from the senior citizens, coupled with a donation to the First United Methodist Church that was for a senior center. They also want to hold fundraising events, McDonald said.

Pack a lunch

While county-operated senior centers have a lunch, McDonald said they will encourage the seniors to pack a lunch for the day’s activities. She said they are hoping to have enough money by September to offer participants a light lunch.

One of the challenges for operating a senior center in downtown Irwin is the lack of available parking spaces close to the church.

Irwin Borough had only four parking spaces available that it could lease to the new senior citizen center, McDonald said, so the board opted not to lease the spaces because so few would be available.

McDonald hesitated to estimate how many people the new senior center might attract.

“Our goal is to get big enough to have a center” that would outgrow the church basement, McDonald said.