Banquet raises money for adult day care center

A group of community members hopes to bring a day care facility for senior citizens to Morgan City before the end of 2018.
Organizers held a Hearts of Care banquet fundraiser Saturday to benefit construction of Morgan City Adult Day Health Care, to be located at 609 Freret St. in Morgan City. Officials presented architectural drawings and plans for the center during the banquet at the St. Mary Senior Citizens Center.
A local community organization, Christians Aiming to Help Everyone, also known as CARE, is working to build the day care center. The organization’s board consists of members from different churches and denominations mostly in St. Mary Parish, Board Member Karen Matthews said.
The activity center will give seniors, who are home alone during the day, the opportunity to interact with others in “a safe place,” she said. The center’s staff members will make sure attendees take their medicine, feed them a meal and participate in activities, based on their abilities, Matthews said.
It will be a place for both senior citizens and adults with disabilities to go, she said. Nurses will be on staff at the center.
Though officials have not yet broken ground on the building, CARE members hope the center will be finished by fall 2018.
The board still trying to get “seed money” to construct the building, Matthews said.
“Fundraising is a daily thing that we’re doing to try to get this thing underway,” she said.
Construction has been delayed on the center because the sale of the piece of property organizers originally planned to build on fell through. So they had to buy another place to build that is slightly smaller than the initial lot, Matthews said.
Matthews and other organizers hope the center will be able serve to people from surrounding communities outside of Morgan City as well, she said.
If the Morgan City center is a success, then the organization may consider adding a similar facility on the west of end of the parish, Matthews said.
Anyone interested in donating to help fund construction of the building may contact Matthews at 337-578-8401, Ethel Morrison at 985-384-9680, or Ruby Maize at 985-498-0050.