Lewis County Seniors To Host First Major Fundraiser Of The Year: ‘Night of Magic’

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This Saturday, Lewis County Seniors will host its first major fundraiser since it took over managing the county’s network of senior centers.

“It’s really exciting, but I’m very nervous,” said Glenda Forga, who is the executive director of the nonprofit Lewis County Seniors. “We’re a nonprofit now and we don’t have the county coffers to fall back on. I’m hoping this will be something similar to the United Way fundraisers they do that are annual events.”

The event will feature dinner, musical entertainment, both a live and silent auction, a “dessert dash” and magician Craig Martin. Forga said she called the event ‘Night of Magic’ for two reasons. 

“One is that magicians are fun,” Forga said. “It makes it kind of a star-studded, sparkly event. But, primarily, it’s because I want to make magic happen for the seniors — magic in the way of funding and resources for the programs. … I want the community to pull together with me and help make magic happen for these programs.”

Forga said that one in six individuals who live in Lewis County is an older adult. 

“The services that are available for seniors here in Lewis County are very minimal,” Forga said. “Most (services) are provided through these centers. There are five centers within our program and — especially in the rural parts of the county — there isn’t a whole lot of service. So if we lose these centers, that really cuts down on what is available to our older population.”

Numerous local businesses donated auction items to this event, including a movie night gift basket from Sticklin Funeral Home, four $25 gift cards from Chehalis Nails, a pet basket from Picky Puppy and a $25 gift certificate from Dick’s Brewery.

“It’s good for the community to come together with the seniors and get to know what we do on this end with the senior citizens — instead of it being separate from the younger generation to the older,” said Holly Christin, who is the nutrition program assistant and helped organize the donations. “I think it’s good that they all get together and have a good time.”



After dinner, Forga said, everyone will participate in a “dessert dash.” A dessert dash is when people put cash in an envelope on their table. Each table designates a person to “dash” to the dessert table to grab a large desert for the entire table. Tables are called in order of who donated the most cash. 

The desserts will come from local businesses, such as Dawn’s Delectables and Sweet Inspirations.

“These senior centers help individuals to age in place,” Forga said. It’s less money overall, on everyone when they are able to stay in their own homes. … If they’re able to stay in their own homes, and stay active, and lively and contribute back to the community through shopping and other things that they do, that’s just a win-win situation to me.”

The nonprofit Lewis County Seniors officially took over management of five Lewis County senior centers and a nutrition site at the beginning of this year.

The nonprofit is funded by the Older Americans Act for the Nutrition Program, which is funded through the Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging. Additionally, it has received contributions from Lewis County as well as the cities of Centralia, Chehalis, Toledo and Winlock in varying amounts and services. 

The rest of the nonprofit’s funds come from sales at its A Second Time Around Thrift Store and private donations.

Seats are $45, or $350 for a table of eight. To reserve a seat, call Lewis County Seniors at 360-748-0061 before 5 p.m. on Friday. Otherwise, tickets are available for purchase at the door. Doors open at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Twin Cities Senior Center, 2545 N. National Avenue in Chehalis.