An anonymous donor saved the day for the Centerburg Senior Center, which needed $9,600 for a new roof following ice damage in February.
With the roof paid for, the center no longer needed a Gofundme fundraising effort that had also been launched for the project, center director Lisa Wilson told the Mount Vernon News.
"Someone reached out to us on Facebook, asking us if they could start a Gofundme page," Wilson said. "They did, but then a couple of days later, somebody came in and paid for our roof. So we asked that they take down the Gofundme page so no one else would donate. It was taken care of."
The center has been closed since the ice damage from a storm in early February.
"It got water in our attic, which leaked through to our ceiling," she said. "Our ceiling fell in from the water coming through the attic."
The center filed an insurance claim on the ceiling, but the roof was not covered.
Wilson pulled up damaged carpet and ceiling tiles. She also kept the Meals on Wheels program going even though the center itself was closed, delivering 82 meals a day that are cooked at a local hospital.
A pancake breakfast was moved to the local fire station.
"The firefighters actually did the cooking," Wilson said.
The center recently moved to its new home, the former Grace Lutheran Church, which it purchased for $1, Wilson said. The center had previously been in the old Centerburg High School.
"We opened Jan. 24, and we closed Feb. 4 because of this damage," she said. "So were only open about eight days. Our parking lot was packed. It was great. Then Mother Nature hit."
Bingo, arts and crafts, movies and exercise classes are among the activities offered at the center, which is funded from the Knox County senior levy and United Way.
With the new roof and other improvements, Wilson hopes to re-open in about 2 weeks.
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