St. Helens Senior Center Block Party will help fund its food program

Raffles, games, food, live music and vendors will greet all ages Saturday, Sept. 7, at the St. Helens Senior Center’s “Wrapping Up Summer Block Party.”

You don’t have to be a senior center member to join all the fun, which will run 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the center's parking lot at 375 S. 15th St. in St. Helens.

Melissa Watson, the senior center’s executive director, said heat has played a factor in organizers pushing the summer event closer to fall.

“We went last year in July, and it was just really hot, so we’re pushing it out this year to September,” Watson said. “It was so hot that we had people that we were worried about heat stroke, so we wanted to push that out toward the end of summer so the heat and all that wouldn’t dampen our fun.”

With fingers crossed for cooler temperatures, Watson said the event will happen inside and outside the senior center, rain or shine.

We’ll have some raffle games, live music, craft vendors," Watson said. "It’s fun for all ages. We’re hoping to get local partners in our community to come, to talk about what they have going on with their organization.”

There will be lots of good food and, possibly, a dunk tank, according to Watson.

“I don’t know if we’re doing hamburgers or hotdogs,” she said. “It’s what you think of as an end of summer party.”

The block party is free to attend, but the center will welcome donations.

“There is no charge for this, but there will be opportunities to give donations,” Watson said. “All the donations that we receive during this event are going to our home-delivered meal program.”

Money is needed year-round to help fund the meal program. Watson said food costs for the program average about $18,000 a month.

“It’s ongoing, it’s definitely yearly,” she said. “With the increase in food prices, our average monthly bill has gone up $3,000 to $4,000 a month.”

Watson added, “It’s not just the food. You have the meal packaging that we need to use for the program.”

She said, “We’re trying to have the fund raisers going throughout to keep us in that comfort zone that we’re currently in.”

The St. Helens Senior Center’s home-delivered meals program serves Scappoose, St. Helens, Deer Island and up to the borders of Rainier. The program delivers over 200 meals a day.

“As hot as it was, it was a lot of fun last year,” Watson said of the block party. “The Lions Club was here, which is a fantastic organization that partners with us … It is always a party, and it’s always fun here at the center. There is never a dull moment.”