The Carson City Senior Center got a facelift Saturday with the help of several Carson High School students who helped prepare for their New Year's celebration.
Georgia Wright, 16, Keely Sulprizio, 16, Allie Williams, 14, and Ashley Allen, 16, volunteered their time to decorate the Senior Center main room for the Kiwanis New Year's Eve Bash. The students are members of the high school's leadership class. They were also helped by friend Ariella Brown, 16.
"I feel like I could have awakened a little later," Sulprizio joked about the morning start. "But I feel good about working here and working for the Senior Citizen's Center."
Center Director Janice McIntosh said she recruited the class's help to change the face of the room, which appears drab and "institutional" to most who visit.
"We are trying to transform this place," she said. "Everybody has the opinion that the community center has to be institutional, but it can look fun."
The decorations included streamers and hanging fabric (or gossamer) that had previously decorated Carson High School proms and other dances. A disco ball will send light through the room when the clock strikes 12.
The girls set up the room, stretching the fabric out lengthwise and attaching it to the ceiling by wires. Three of the girls are members of the National Honor Society.
The Kiwanis Club expects at least 120 partigoers, but that number always goes up because of eleventh-hour walk-ins, McIntosh said.
"The majority are seniors from the community, but it is not strictly for seniors," she said. All ages are invited to come.
McIntosh said the new year's event illustrates how far the center is pushing tax dollars to bring services to the community. In spring, construction of a second floor at the center is slated to start. "People are always surprised at how busy we are," she said.
The New Year's Eve Bash runs from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. The center is located at 911 Beverly Drive. Tickets are $30 per couple and the proceeds benefit the Meals on Wheels Program.
IF YOU GO
What: Kiwanis New Year's Eve Bash
When: 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. today
Where: Carson City Senior Center, 911 Beverly Drive
Cost: $30 per couple, proceeds benefit the Meals on Wheels Program