Senior Center resumes Memorial Flowers fundraiser

By Everett Brazil, III

The Newkirk Herald Journal

NEWKIRK — Memorial Day is about a month away, and families will soon be placing flowers on their loved ones’ graves to honor their memories. Those families have an opportunity to purchase special floral arrangements through the Senior Center in the annual Memorial Flowers fundraiser, with proceeds going to aid the Senior Center.

The fundraiser was originally spearheaded by Sandra Lockwood and Twila Balzar about seven years ago, and the tradition has continued since that time.

“Ladies from the Senior Center started getting together, making floral arrangements and selling them as a project to make money for the Center,” said volunteer Rosie McComb. “It is a fundraiser, and we welcome anybody in the community that would like to come and take part in the project.”

The floral displays will go on sale at the Center May 14 from 5 – 7 p.m., and they will have extended hours from 2 – 7 p.m. May 17 – 29.

While the crafts will be available in mid-May, extensive work already began in mid-April, with much of the donated crafts donated by community members. Donations are accepted throughout the year.

There is a lengthy process once the donations are accepted.

“We sort through them, clean them, organize them and store them at City Hall, until we’re ready to deliver them to the Senior Center,” McCombs said.

They are delivered to the Center at the beginning of April, where volunteers begin crafting them into displays for the community.

“We make it an activity where people come in and put (the displays) together, volunteering their time and talents, and we make a schedule of shifts people like to work, and we have a sign-in sheet,” McCombs said.

The displays are crafted into a variety of colors and sizes, with some priced at lower costs so everyone in the community can obtain one.

“We’re known for our flowers being reasonable, and we keep the prices reasonable, so there are prices for everyone,” she said.

For more information, contact the Senior Center at (580) 362-1409, or Director Serena Welch at (405) 213-5360.