Tucked away on Community Drive is Penacook’s best-kept secret – the Penacook Community Center. Deb Cuddahy, executive director, says it’s a “community for all ages.” She’s not kidding – the center offers programs for ages 3 to 103, from day care for the wee ones to Monday night dinners for seniors.
The center itself was built more than 55 years ago by Penacook residents. The process must have been like a modern-day barn raising – volunteers, skilled and unskilled, did all of the fundraising and work themselves starting in 1948 and finishing in 1954. Their efforts produced what is now the community center’s gym. Vintage features include a fireplace and kitchen with a service window (both are no longer in use).
The center has grown since then, with an addition to the gym, and the purchase of two houses on adjoining lots for offices and day care facilities.
Deb says the center prides itself on being affordable. Many program are subsidized by grants or are supported by sponsorships from local businesses. The center also partners with the United Way of Merrimack County, and benefits from volunteer days run by United Way and the Comcast Day of Caring. The savings from grants, sponsorships and community work days get passed to the people who use the center.
During the last fiscal year, the center served 6,769 residents from Penacook, Concord, Boscawen, Bow, Loudon and other communities. On a daily basis, the center sees 104 child care students, and the senior program boasts 130 members. That’s a lot of people benefitting from the center’s free or low-cost programs.
What’s next for the community center? Growth, hopefully, says Deb. In the short term, the center is looking to expand its day care program to include infant and toddler care. Deb says she is looking for space to purchase or rent. Long term, Deb dreams of a new center with everything under one roof. Right now, she says, they’re busting at the seams and could use some extra space.
You might be wondering, readers, what all of those people filling up the community center are doing. Excellent question. That’s why we’re providing you with details on some of the cool things you can do at the community center, and we’ll fill you in one some neat projects coming up.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy our community center tour.
Preschool excitement
The Penacook Community Center is pretty happy about being a “license plus” day care facility. That’s a designation given by the state Department of Health and Human Services for exceeding standards and maintaining higher staff qualifications. Way to go, guys!
As an added bonus, the day care offers some of the lowest rates in the area – $125 a week. There’s a waiting list for openings in the 3-year-old and 4-year-old programs, and limited after-school openings for Penacook and Boscawen kiddies enrolled in morning kindergarten. There are some openings for the after school program for older kids.
Deb said some children in the day care program might be taking a break for the summer, so if parents are looking for care during that time, they should contact the center for possible openings. Call 753-9700 for details.
Quality time with the fam’
The staff at the Penacook Community Center is all about family together time and aims to offer plenty of programming for it. Events include grandparents day, a family Halloween bash, sing-a-longs, a Mothers Day tea, Fathers Day cookout and family fun nights. Most recently, the center hosted its annual breakfast with the Easter Bunny.
Thanks to a grant, the center offers a program called “Experience, Grow and Explore More.” Families receive a project bag with materials expanding on a subject their child is learning about in the classroom. The creations that each family comes up with are put on display and featured at family fun nights, where a free dinner is served. You can thank Merrimack County Savings Bank for getting you off the hook for dinner.
Are you in sixth, seventh or eighth grade? Then you might be interested in attending one of the center’s monthly dances.
Admission is only $5 and includes snacks, prizes and a dance contest. Deb told us that the staff has been known to throw chotskis into the crowd, which is a pretty cool thing according to the hip middle school attendees.
The next dance, a luau theme, will be held on May 15 from 6:30-9 p.m. Call 753-9700 for more information.
They’re going to pump you up!
Deb Drouin and Donna Osborne have been making Penacook residents work up a sweat for 25 years during their aerobics class, which meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.
The 45-minute class only costs $2, plus the center’s yearly membership fee of $35. You can drop in whenever you’d like.
The price isn’t the most impressive part regarding this class – Deb and Donna have not missed one class in the 25 years they have been instructing. Well, okay, Donna missed some classes when she had her two kids and Deb missed class when she had knee surgery, but the ladies always filled in for one another. The only way class was ever completely canceled was due to inclement weather, because let’s face it, it’s not always safe to drive these mean New England streets.
The class size ranges from 15 to 25 people and is recommended for any age or experience level. Call 753-9700 for more information.
Seniors just want to have fun
There’s plenty to keep seniors busy at the community center. In fact, we’re not even sure we can squeeze it all in this space!
There are a couple of fitness classes seniors can take advantage of, including a free gentle yoga class on Thursday morning from 11-11:45 a.m. There is also a “Footsteps for Fitness” program on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:45-10:45 a.m. and a senior aerobics class from 9-9:45 a.m. the same days. Members of the Penacook Community Center are welcome to use the fitness equipment anytime.
Phew. Moving on — the senior program offers shuffleboard and card games on Friday, lunch every Monday at noon, Bingo on Tuesdays, cribbage on Wednesdays and lunch out on Wednesdays.
There is also a Red Hat chapter for women over 50. The group has helped with several community projects, including donating a red hat Christmas tree to Friends of Forgotten Children, decorating wreaths for Pleasant View Retirement Center and participating in Yankee swaps with Whitaker Place and Merrimack County Nursing Home.
For information on joining the senior program, call Gail Meade at 753-9700, ext. 106.
How does your garden grow?
The community center will offer a brand new program as part of its summer day camp for kids and teens. Camp participants will be caring for their very own garden and will be able to take the literal fruits of their labor home to their families.
This is truly a community effort, with people pitching in all over the place. The garden program itself is arranged through a partnership with the UNH Cooperative Extension and 4H Green Thumb team. The Penacook Historical Society donated a plot of land, and the Merrimack Valley Middle School greenhouse is being used to start seeds. Funding is through a grant, plus sponsorships from the Merrimack County Savings Bank and the Concord Food Co-Op. And master gardeners and neighborhood residents have already volunteered their time to come in and help get the garden prepped. They’ll help the kids when it comes time to tend to their plots, too. That’s a lot of helping hands.
A groundbreaking for the garden will be held this week, and we’ll update you on the plan for the project in the next issue. It’s pretty cool – you won’t want to miss it!
