The Spanish American Civic Association’s Luis Munoz Marin Senior Center in southeast Lancaster has received an $8,264 state grant to assist with renovations and maintenance, the Pennsylvania Department of Aging announced this week.
The grant is one of 45 Senior Community Center grants awarded statewide, ranging from as low as $5,076 to $150,000. In total, $2 million was distributed.
The competitive grant program provides targeted assistance to help centers serve older Pennsylvanians, keeping them healthy and connected to their communities.
The Luis Marin Senior Center is the largest senior center in Lancaster County and the only one that serves hot meals on-site daily. It provides pre-packaged meals as well, serving seniors seven days a week with more than 55,000 meals a year.
This year, besides the competitive grants, the Department of Aging was allocated another $1 million in the state budget for non-competitive grants, awarded to the senior centers that did not receive a competitive one. Lancaster County has seven other senior centers besides SACA’s; they each received $2,551.
The grants are funded by proceeds from the Pennsylvania Lottery.
“The projects funded by both the competitive and non-competitive grants will help the recipients enhance the programs and services already in place as well as create new opportunities to welcome current visitors and attract new consumers,” Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich said in a statement.
