Advocating/Supporting North Reading Seniors and Request to Donate to Senior Center

A Strong Advocate for North Reading Seniors.

 

If I am fortunate to be elected to the North Reading Select Board, I will be a strong advocate and supporter for our North Reading Seniors. I will ask to be the Select Board liaison for the Council on Aging.

 

The Senior population is growing at a rapid rate in our town which means the programs and services that the Senior Center offers also needs to grow so that they can meet the needs and demands of our Seniors. The North Reading Seniors represent 30 percent of the North Reading population. The Select Board liaison along with Senior Center Director Kim Manzelli need to thoroughly explain/make the case to the Town Administrator and the Select Board that a 1/2 of 1 percent of the Town Budget is simply not going to meet the needs of our Seniors. If I am selected to be the Select Board liaison for the Senior Center, I will advocate the need for a town budget allocation increase. This absolutely needs to happen, and I will work extremely hard to ensure that it does. The Senior Center relies heavily on grants and donations. Grants are not always guaranteed, and donations are not consistent. The answer to our revenue issues was not a 10.5-million-dollar Prop 2 1/2 override as some might think. If the Prop 2 1/2 override passed our seniors would be forced to move out of North Reading because they simply could no longer afford to live here.  The Senior Circuit Tax Breaker is a program I support but unfortunately that program only helps a very small percentage of our seniors.  Director Kim Manzelli and her team are having a difficult time meeting the needs our seniors.  

 

Unfortunately, The Edith O’Leary Senior Center is not an adequate venue to hold all the programs and services for our Seniors. Senior Center Director Kim Manzelli is forced to schedule programs at Aldergate Church, Town Hall and the Masonic Lodge. This can be very confusing and challenging for our seniors. The town has talked about building an Intergenerational Center, YMCA or a new Senior Center. I look forward to participating in those discussions. We as a town need to decide which of these three ideas make sense for our Seniors. We as a town need to ensure that whatever project we move forward with provides the programs and services for our Seniors under one roof.

I encourage you to please consider donating to the Senior Center. Unfortunately they don’t have an online portal.

 

Please make your checks payable to “Friends of North Reading COA Inc (FONRCOA)”

 

Mail the check or drop it off to:

Friends of North Reading COA

157 Park St

North Reading Ma 01864

 

Information:

 

“The Friends of the North Reading Council on Aging, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed to support and enhance the good works of the Edith A. O'Leary Senior Center and the population it serves, the age 60 and over population of North Reading.  Seniors today represent a diverse group of individuals with a wide array of needs.  A broad spectrum of services and programming is needed to reach out to our seniors and serve them well.  The current budget creates a financial challenge to properly serve these needs.”