A Private Place For The Public.
Walking into a senior center one might expect to a few people sitting around a table playing bingo, knitting in a circle, or even dozing off. The Columbia Area Senior Center, however, is a completely different story.
The Columbia Area Senior Center is home to copious amounts of activities that do not perpetuate the stereotype of elders in any way. The center’s weekly activities include 8-ball pool, woodcarving, aerobics, line dancing, Wii, yoga, Tai Chi, and even jam sessions. With all of the events one can see why the center would serve as a haven for people who want to be entertained and keep their youth.
When asked why he goes to the center, Frank Woodlams explained, “it provides us with a lot of entertainment.” And later continued on to say, “it’s a place to be around other people.” The Columbia Area Senior Center matters to the people that go to it. They enjoy going to their favorite events and are always willing to try something new. This center is free to the public, and all people are welcome. The center however, does not get any funding from the federal government, or any public entity for that matter.
The Columbia Area Senior Center is all privately funded and while that means a lot more effort to get enough revenue to keep the place up and running, the people who frequent the center do not wish to change that in any way. Woodlams explains that public funding would mean that the government would be, “in your business trying to tell you what to do. We don’t want that.” This means that it is up to the few people who run the place and the people that love it to keep the center up and running.
The seniors who love the center listed off many different ways that money have been made in just the last month to support the center. While the center is free to the public, most attendees of events give a two-dollar user donation. Also, the center frequently holds pool tournaments on weekends and there is a ten-dollar buy in. With an average of 30 people per tournament, that alone generates a decent amount of money. The center is also rented out as a venue for people to make money to pay the bills. People at the center also love to have dance parties, where people can show off their moves and will usually pay five or six dollars to attend.
Along with the weekend events that are not only fun, but bring in revenue, the advanced line dancers will go to different places around Columbia and show off their talents. Even when the performances are volunteered, it still shines a light on the center and brings in new people that quickly can become regulars.
The center also has one more trick up its sleeve to make money and have fun. The final solution to remaining a private place for the public is simple. The solution is young people. While a name that includes the words “senior center” can seem exclusive, the seniors more than welcome any person of any age. Woodlams jokes that he loves when young people come in because it, “gives us someone new to pick on.”
The woodcarvers relish in getting to pass on their skill to newcomers, and have even planned to do introductory courses that teach the skill once a month starting in June. So, the seniors get to recruit people to pull pranks on, but the younger people that come in will also donate two-dollars each time they go and will be able to spread the world about the center and its activities.
The Columbia Area Senior Center has found a way to control how the place is run without any outside influence, make all the money they need, and still have excessive amounts of fun and amusement. Everyone who attends an event is treated with warm welcomes, jokes, and a great time and with the centers insistence on keeping the center that way, it looks like it will stay that way for a very long time.
The Columbia Area Senior Center is home to copious amounts of activities that do not perpetuate the stereotype of elders in any way. The center’s weekly activities include 8-ball pool, woodcarving, aerobics, line dancing, Wii, yoga, Tai Chi, and even jam sessions. With all of the events one can see why the center would serve as a haven for people who want to be entertained and keep their youth.
When asked why he goes to the center, Frank Woodlams explained, “it provides us with a lot of entertainment.” And later continued on to say, “it’s a place to be around other people.” The Columbia Area Senior Center matters to the people that go to it. They enjoy going to their favorite events and are always willing to try something new. This center is free to the public, and all people are welcome. The center however, does not get any funding from the federal government, or any public entity for that matter.
The Columbia Area Senior Center is all privately funded and while that means a lot more effort to get enough revenue to keep the place up and running, the people who frequent the center do not wish to change that in any way. Woodlams explains that public funding would mean that the government would be, “in your business trying to tell you what to do. We don’t want that.” This means that it is up to the few people who run the place and the people that love it to keep the center up and running.
The seniors who love the center listed off many different ways that money have been made in just the last month to support the center. While the center is free to the public, most attendees of events give a two-dollar user donation. Also, the center frequently holds pool tournaments on weekends and there is a ten-dollar buy in. With an average of 30 people per tournament, that alone generates a decent amount of money. The center is also rented out as a venue for people to make money to pay the bills. People at the center also love to have dance parties, where people can show off their moves and will usually pay five or six dollars to attend.
Along with the weekend events that are not only fun, but bring in revenue, the advanced line dancers will go to different places around Columbia and show off their talents. Even when the performances are volunteered, it still shines a light on the center and brings in new people that quickly can become regulars.
The center also has one more trick up its sleeve to make money and have fun. The final solution to remaining a private place for the public is simple. The solution is young people. While a name that includes the words “senior center” can seem exclusive, the seniors more than welcome any person of any age. Woodlams jokes that he loves when young people come in because it, “gives us someone new to pick on.”
The woodcarvers relish in getting to pass on their skill to newcomers, and have even planned to do introductory courses that teach the skill once a month starting in June. So, the seniors get to recruit people to pull pranks on, but the younger people that come in will also donate two-dollars each time they go and will be able to spread the world about the center and its activities.
The Columbia Area Senior Center has found a way to control how the place is run without any outside influence, make all the money they need, and still have excessive amounts of fun and amusement. Everyone who attends an event is treated with warm welcomes, jokes, and a great time and with the centers insistence on keeping the center that way, it looks like it will stay that way for a very long time.