L.E. Phillips Senior Center Launches Major Expansion and Fundraising Campaign

What: “Fit for the Future” Expansion Fundraising Campaign Kickoff Event
When: Tuesday, October 29, 1:30 p.m.
Where: L.E. Phillips Senior Center, 1616 Bellinger St, Eau Claire, WI
Photos/Broll: Media tour of expansion plans, current fitness center, members,
interviews

Eau Claire, WI - The L.E. Phillips Senior Center, a regional non-profit which serves thousands of senior citizens in Chippewa Valley communities every year, announces its “Fit for the Future” $3.6 million dollar capital campaign.

The L.E. Phillips Senior Center is launching this campaign to design and build a ground level
4,000 square foot fitness facility and remodel its lower level. This addition will provide much-needed space for the Center's expanding physical fitness programs, and reconfigure the lower level, currently the location for the Center's fitness activities, into a new 7,000 square foot community center for meeting rooms and to support partnerships with area entities such as the Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) and Chippewa Valley Learning in Retirement.

“For years, our members have been needing more space and more opportunities for fitness and
community activities,” said L.E. Phillips Senior Center Executive Director Mary Pica-Anderson.
According to the Census Bureau, in about 10 years, there will be more seniors than children in the U.S. This building expansion will give us the space and resources we need to better meet
the physical, emotional, and mental needs of area seniors.”

The L.E. Phillips Family Foundation has offered a match of $1.1 million dollars if the senior
center can raise that same amount or more by February 14, 2020. Maryjo Cohen, President of the L.E. Phillips Family Foundation stated, "We are delighted to provide a matching lead gift for The L.E. Phillips Senior Center's expansion. The planning has been done with considerable thought and vision, and the improved facility will benefit many members of the Eau Claire community for years to come."

The L.E. Phillips Senior Center moved to its current location at 1616 Bellinger Street in 1997, and attendance has been steadily increasing in the past decade. The Senior Center currently serves community members with more than 100 diverse programs, covering education, social and fitness activities.

“This expansion has been a dream of ours for many years, and has become more pressing as the senior population increases,” said L.E. Phillips Senior Center Board President Jim Deignan “We are launching this major fundraising campaign to fulfill our mission to provide programs to keep seniors healthy, connected, and independent. The match from the L.E. Phillips Family Foundation is an incredible opportunity to double each donor’s impact and make the expansion a reality in 2020, but we’ll need the support of community members to make it happen
quickly,” Deignan said.

For more information and to donate, log on to the L.E. Phillips Senior Center website, or donate on the Eau Claire Community Foundation's Fit for the Future Fund page.