The organization is now asking for local residents to donate, she said.

“The plan is to spread the word far and wide in the community and to get individuals to donate,” Perry said.

Senior Services also is seeking more grants from foundations. The organization’s officials hope to reach their fundraising goal by Dec. 31.

“But we will keep it going as long as we have to reach that goal,” Perry said.

The current fundraising effort, the Aging with a Purpose campaign, would be the second largest in the organization’s history, said Richard Gottlieb, Senior Services’ president and chief executive officer. In 2004, the organization raised more than $6 million to build its center on Shorefair Drive.

“It’s a really important way for this community to help prepare for a growing senior population,” Gottlieb said of the campaign. “The increase in longevity and the huge increase in the number of older adults is a wonderful gift that includes tremendous opportunities for our community.”

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that there were 48,826 people 65 and older living in Forsyth County in 2014. That figure represented 13.6 percent of the county’s population of 358,130 at that time.

By July 2035, there will be 86,783 people 65 and older living in Forsyth, according to a population projection by the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management. That figure will represent 19.2 percent of the county’s estimated population of 449,743.

“Approximately 20 percent of the 65 (and older) population will need significant assistance to manage normal activities of daily living,” Senior Services said in a statement.

The organization, which began in 1963, has seven programs to address the needs of elderly people. They consist of its adult day center, its Meals-On-Wheels program and its help line. The organization also provides services such as its senior lunch, living at home and elder care choices programs.

The organization has 119 employees, more than 2,000 volunteers, 65 board members and nearly 4,000 donors. The agency serves about 20,000 people.

Its fundraising effort is being led by Robert J. Johnson Jr., a senior executive vice president and general counsel of BB&T Corp. The co-chairmen are Richard Budd, chairman emeritus of The Budd Group, and Kelly S. King, chairman and chief executive officer of BB&T.

King said that the organization has raised 94 percent of its fundraising goal, so far, because many donors recognize the importance of the effort.

“Many donors have parents who are alive and who are going through the senior stages in their lives,” King said. “The Aging with a Purpose campaign is a great cause. It is such an important idea that we have to make it happen.”

The organization will use the money it raises to improve the mental health of elderly people. That project seeks to address loneliness, helplessness and boredom among elderly people by providing opportunities to enhance the meaning and purpose in their lives.

Senior Services’ officials will evaluate the project’s activities, the organization said. And if they determine that those activities have been successful, the project could be replicated in similar senior service organizations across the country.

Johnson said that the campaign has been effective because “the community has rallied behind its cause.”

Local residents want to ensure that senior citizens have purpose in their lives as they age, he said.

“That message has resonated with our community,” Johnson said. “It’s a cause that everyone understands.”

Budd said that Senior Services delivers on its mission.

“A healthy community cares for those in need,” Budd said. “Our seniors in need (population) is growing, and our donors have recognized this in a generous way.”