In October 2000, six months after the Elizabeth and Tab Williams Adult Day Center of Senior Services opened at the corner of Melrose Street and Cloverdale Avenue, the board and staff of Senior Services met for a planning retreat.  At the planning session, it was determined that the number one need of the organization going forward was a new, larger central facility in Winston-Salem to house the growing Senior Services operations that were located at leased facilities in the Tobacco Square building, off Cherry Street, and at the Augsburg Community Center, off Broad Street.

Senior Services secured a time slot for the fall of 2004 from the Winston-Salem Capital Campaign Coordinating Committee to raise money for the project.  A search began for a centrally located building site from which volunteers and staff could reach all parts of Winston-Salem.  Two members of the Senior Services Board of Trustees approached representatives of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) for ideas and help, and Reynolds generously responded with a 10-acre gift of property.  RJR’s gift of its former parking lot located at the corner of Deacon Boulevard and Shorefair Drive is a site that is well suited to our current needs and will accommodate future expansions, including the building of two additional facilities on the property, as currently envisioned by the Senior Services Board of Trustees. 

"Compassionate Steps"

In late 2004 Senior Services initiated its "Compassionate Steps" capital campaign to raise money for the new center. A campaign cabinet was formed, volunteers were recruited, and the community, including individuals, corporations and foundations, responded very generously and broadly to the appeal.  With the money for the building pledged, Senior Services broke ground in May 2005, and on January 30, 2006, nine months after the groundbreaking, the Senior Services Center opened, ahead of schedule and under budget!

Volunteers and Baby Boomers

Although the growing senior population presents a challenge in regard to providing more services, it also provides a tremendous opportunity to utilize the gifts and talents of older adults who have time to give to make their community a better place.  Senior Services is fortunate to have the involvement of 2,000 community volunteers, including approximately 1,350 who volunteer for Meals-on-Wheels.  In any given month about 800 of the Meals-on-Wheels volunteers will be coming to the new Senior Services Center to pick up hot lunches to deliver to program participants or to collect bags of groceries to take to the homebound elderly on the waiting list.  Although our volunteers represent all age groups, most are newly retired or active older adults.

Beginning in 2006, the first of the "baby-boom" generation, born between 1946-1964, are turning 60 years of age.  Senior Services will need many more volunteers to be involved in all aspects of the organization in the future.  The Senior Services facility was designed to provide space for Senior Services’ growing in-home service programs, as well as offer many opportunities to current volunteers and potential volunteers in the future.  John's Café, a meeting place for volunteers, friends and visitors and the Fitness Center are examples of areas designed for volunteers to use.  Senior Services is collaborating with other community organizations, such as BestHealth and the Shepherd's Center, to offer programs and activities in the Multi-Purpose Room throughout the year. The Multi-Purpose Room will accommodate up to 100 people for lectures, classes, workshops and other group meetings.  These programs and activities will attract baby boomers, active older adults, and young people to the facility,  many of whom we hope will become involved in Senior Services as volunteers.

Other Facility Features and Cost

The new Senior Services Center was also designed to accommodate staff, volunteers and student interns of our growing Meals-on-Wheels, Home Care, Help Line, Elder Care Choices, Senior Lunch and Living-at-Home programs.  In addition to office and workspaces, the facility includes a new Medical Equipment Loan Closet for wheelchairs, walkers, etc., and a Medical Equipment Cleaning Room for preparing these items for distribution.  The building also houses a complete Library/Resource Room with information, brochures, pamphlets and videos for seniors and caregivers looking for service information.

Staff and board of Senior Services went through a careful and thorough planning process to design the new Senior Services Center, facilitated by Workplace Strategies, Inc., a space-planning and interior design company in Winston-Salem. Through this planning process, we determined how much space was needed for current operations, as well as for future expansion.  In addition, much thought was given to how the building should be laid-out to accommodate the multiple needs of quiet office space, hot- and cold-food distribution, volunteer involvement and community meeting space.  Once the square-footage estimates and basic layout of the building had been determined, architects at Calloway, Johnson, Moore and West went to work designing the outer shell of the facility.  Senior Services wanted a building with plenty of natural light, open spaces and color—one that would appeal to all ages.  The final construction documents were completed in November 2005, and Landmark Builders was selected as the general contractor for the project soon after a thorough competitive bid process.  Vic Flow, chairman of the Senior Services Building Committee, monitored much of the construction for the next nine months.  Although the 30,000-square-foot building has many great features and is one that the community can be very proud of, it was built at a cost of only $106.00 per square foot!

More than an enlargement of working area, the new Senior Services Center has fundamentally changed,

improved and expanded how we function and how many seniors we can help.  It was projected that the new center would allow us to:

·        Increase the capacity of Meals-on-Wheels;

·        Improve the storage and distribution of groceries for seniors on waiting lists;

·        Increase parking and improve the food pick-up logistics for volunteers;

·        Enhance communication and social capital among volunteers, caregivers and staff through the consolidation of multiple facilities and locations;

·        Provide ample space for the storage of medical equipment and supplies;

·        Reduce waiting lists by expanding space for current programs and services;

·        Provide an information and resource area for seniors and caregivers;

·        Offer caregiver training and support programs;

·        Collaborate with programs such as BestHealth55 and the Shepherd’s Center;

·        Recruit and train more volunteers;

·        Provide a “one-stop” location for financial, legal, benefit and referral services;

·        Offer health screenings for clients and volunteers;

·        Provide a frozen-meal program for isolated seniors; and

·        Reduce duplication and fragmentation of community services.

And it has!  All the above objectives were achieved before the end of the agency's first year in the new facility.