Destiny Worship Center’s 11th Annual Citywide Senior Citizen Appreciation Day will take place this Saturday, December 2, and organizers are urging local residents to play an active part in making this year’s event even better than before.
“We’re doing an Adopt-a-Senior project this year,” said Dr. Bernard Bishop, pastor of the local church. “Anyone wanting to adopt a senior can do so by donating a fleece throw, a housecoat or house slippers, for a male or a female. All that are donated will be given out at the event.”
Bishop said anyone willing to help out with the project could call him at 251-577-1430 or his wife and the church’s co-pastor, Felicia Bishop, at 251-577-2635. He added that he hopes an outpouring of donations will allow the church to take gifts to residents of local nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
“We hope to have enough for all the seniors at the banquet, and enough that we can take them to the other centers,” he said. “We’re going to sing Christmas carols and give whatever we can to the seniors at each one. We’d like to get enough to give every senior in the city a gift.”
Saturday’s free event – themed “Forever Young” and billed as “a night with the kings and queens of the city” – is open to anyone age 55 or older. The popular dinner and recognition ceremony, which will be held at the church’s 50 West Sunset Drive location this year, is set to begin at 6 p.m. and last until 8 p.m.
“It’s been growing and growing each year for the past 11 years,” said Bishop. “We try to reward the oldest senior there with a special gift, and everybody has a great time.”
He added that “three or four” local singing groups, including United Pentecostal Church’s singers, would provide entertainment for the night of fun and appreciation.
Also, an insurance agency representative will be on hand to talk with seniors about the benefits to which they are entitled and to discuss changed or changing insurance needs, and some unspecified health screenings will be offered.
Sandra Gray will demonstrate to the seniors a fitness regimen that can be done from a sitting position, and games such as Bible Bingo and Name That Tune will be played. A cakewalk will also be part of the evening.
“That’s always a lot of fun,” Bishop said. “We’ve got a local DJ that went and got all these 1960s and 1970s songs, and he’ll play snippets. People who name the tunes win door prizes. The cakewalk last year was great so we brought it back again this year.”
He pointed out, too, that such an undertaking requires some outside help.
“We could use some volunteers,” he said before urging “anyone who would like to volunteer to serve and doesn’t mind dedicating two hours” to call either of the church pastors at the numbers previously listed.