(Waupun) The city of Waupun is celebrating the grand opening of a new community center Tuesday. Construction of the $5.8-million-dollar Community Center was supported in part by American Rescue Plan Act funds that provided a $4.9-million grant awarded to the city via the Wisconsin Department of Administration. It was also supported by more than $1-million-dollars in private donor contribution. Sponsors of the facility include:
- $750,000 facility and gymnasium sponsorship contributed by the National Exchange Bank Foundation, and the Barbara and Peter Stone Family Foundation.
- $125,000 community room sponsorship contributed by Michael Werner of Werner Harmsen.
- $125,000 fitness center sponsorship contributed by SSM Health and Agnesian Healthcare Foundation.
- $30,000 donation from past and current senior center members.
- $10,000 meeting room sponsorship from FVSBank.
- $3,000 sponsorship from the Medical Executive Committee of Waupun Memorial Hospital.
Recreation Program Director for the city Rachel Kaminski says the facility helps fulfill their mission to provide recreation, health, social and educational programs and services to residents to help them live well across their lifespan.
The Waupun Senior Center began operations within the facility on October 21st. Partner organizations and tenants include the Waupun Area Food Pantry and REACH Waupun. Kaminski says including both REACH and the Waupun Food Pantry in the space increases access to supports their seniors need, while allowing for some unique intergenerational programming that benefits old and young alike.
The 22,000 square foot facility houses dedicated nutrition and programming areas as well as meeting, health consult and fitness rooms, and a regulation-sized gymnasium.
City Administrator Kathy Schlieve this project dates back to 2018 when Waupun formed a partnership with SSM Health/Waupun Memorial Hospital and was one of three Wisconsin communities awarded planning and then implementation grants by the UW School of Nursing through the Cargill Foundation to examine aging in rural communities. Schlieve says the work from those grants resulted in the formation of the Waupun Community Coalition on Aging. She adds that the vision for this type of facility was defined by Coalition members and they would not have achieved this milestone without their commitment. Schlieve adds that the ARPA grant was a significant achievement to underwrite this project, but the combined contributions of their generous donors provides the remaining funding needed to realize their vision.
The community center is located at 520 McKinley Street. Tuesday’s open house is from 3pm to 7pm. A brief dedication ceremony will be held at 4pm with light refreshments, door prizes, and tours planned.
For more information about the open house, call the Waupun Community Center at 920-324-7930.
–Photo courtesy of the Waupun Municipal Government Facebook page
