NAMPA, Idaho — The Senior Center at the Harward Rec Center celebrates 30 years of five-day-a-week meals and activities
- Senior Center Coordinator Sam Atchley has been there for seven years after moving with her mom.
- An avid knitter, her mom suggested she join the center's knitting group.
- Information on activities, prices, and times can be found at the Senior Center's website.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"I've never been anywhere that's celebrated a big anniversary thing, like, you know, worked anywhere that's celebrated a big anniversary thing. So it's kind of exciting," says Nampa Senior Center's Coordinator Sam Atchley.
The Senior Center at the Nampa Rec Center is celebrating a big milestone — three decades of commitment to the community. Sam Atchley has been the center's coordinator for seven years but started off as a senior center visitor with her mom. As an avid knitter, her mom suggested she join the center's knitting group.
"She says, 'Hey, you know, they do that there,' so I came for lunch one time with her, and then found out they had the knitting group, so I thought, 'Oh, I like that, so I'll join that.' It was fun, and then I started volunteering in one of the shops," Atchely remembers.
Since then, Sam has helped the center navigate through the global COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery.
"And what a big shift we did, but we did curbside,' Atchely explains. "It was slow going at first because of getting the word out that we're doing it. And then we started doing curbside service and we did massive amounts of meals."
The senior center now has an intern, tenth grader Nathan Cedergreen, who sees the opportunity as a way to prepare himself for the workforce.
"Because I'm here from 6:30 to 1:30, I think this will help me because it will teach me how to work long hours and I really think this will get me used to working in an active place where people need me," Cedergreen says.
In the years following the pandemic, attendance numbers have normalized now seeing about 90 people a day. Despite the rapid growth of the surrounding city, their attendance has remained consistent, with new faces a constant.
Athcley says, "But to be a part of something like this is, it doesn't get any better. I love being here. I appreciate all the people that do come here. "
