Photo: Oliver Senior Centre

The Oliver Senior Centre has achieved its goal of completing two major modernization projects at the 36-year-old facility, and more renovations are still to come.

Earlier this summer, the center’s board launched a campaign to raise $60,000 for two much-needed capital projects.

The building needed a new floor in the main hall and that project was completed just last week, said board member John Young.

The second project, which will begin soon, is a complete kitchen modernization, Young said.

“We just finished renovating the wood floor in the main hall, which obviously gets a lot of wear and tear from all kinds of events,” Young said. “The floor was pretty beat up. We need it for dancing, bingo and all kinds of things. The contractors did a great job. We just completed that project and reopened the building to the public this week.”

The senior center’s regular event operations will resume in full on Tuesday, September 3rd.

Due to the great popularity and capacity of the senior citizens’ center, the upcoming expansion of the kitchen facility is the second major project, he said.

“As you can imagine, the complex is 36 years old, so it was time to make the kitchen more efficient and better geared towards the public,” he said.

The beautiful old wood floors were all sanded and then several coats of industrial varnish were applied, making them shine and look spectacular, Young said.

More funding is now needed for renovations to make the kitchen more efficient, safer and more accessible to the many user groups who use the facility, he said.

Thousands of area residents and visitors use the center each year, and the main hall and kitchen are constantly used for fitness, socializing, learning, dancing, dinners, art gallery tours, catering and bingo, he said.

Every cent is carefully monitored and used for the things that are absolutely necessary to keep the facility open and the programs running, he said.

Now that the work on the floor renovation has been completed, the focus will now be on modernizing the kitchen. The board hopes that this project can be completed before Christmas, he said.

Numerous local businesses have donated generously to the fundraising campaign, as have many residents in Oliver and the surrounding area, he said.

The board has also applied for several community grants and hopes to hear soon whether they were successful or not, he said.

“I estimate this project (kitchen modernization) will last until around Christmas and we will keep the fundraising campaign going as long as we need the funds,” he said.

Some of the older equipment has reached the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced with newer, more modern equipment, he said.

The modernization measures also include removing and replacing sinks and other infrastructure in the kitchen area, he said.

The old building has a lot of charm and character and the plan is to carry out extensive renovations without losing that charm, he said.

The quickest and easiest way to donate is by e-transfer to the account set up for donations (email protected). Any amount is welcome and tax receipts are available.

You may also mail a check to: Oliver Senior’s Centre, Box 1032, Oliver, BC, V0H 1T0. You may also call the centre at 250-498-6142 to arrange cash or check pickup or stop by the centre at 5876 Airport Street in Oliver during open hours.

Donors can also decide what their money should be used for, such as flooring, kitchens or both, he said.