At Tuesday’s meeting of the Alpena Lions Club, program chair Ed Klimczak invited Annie Hepburn, director of the Alpena Senior Citizens Center, to speak to the group.

The Lions learned that the senior center offers more than 200 services in the form of: programs, presentations, support groups, meals and health and wellness education classes, to name a just a few. The Alpena Senior Citizens Center has 40 employees, 20 of which are part-time.

Each year the senior center writes several grants to assist them with the programs they offer. One such program the Lions learned about is the Project Student Gourmet. Students from ACES Academy work at the center five days a week and learn how to cook and grow produce with the center’s 28 raised garden beds and four herb gardens. Each harvest season, the students get to cook using products they helped to grow.

In addition, the center has a bakery. They are allowed to sell the baked goods, and that revenue helps reach the required 30% annual income they have to make each year. The program is rewarding for everyone involved.

Meals on Wheels is another wonderful program they offer. The exercise programs are given by registered trainers and help people with their overall well-being, mind, heart and body.

The opportunities are too numerous to list. If you want to learn more and see the Alpena Senior Citizens Center, they are having an open house on Sept. 25, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

If you are interested in visiting and seeing what they have to offer, call 989-356-3585 or 1-888-251-1082. For more information, visit www.alpenaseniors.com.

If you are interested in becoming involved in your community and would like to see what the Alpena Lions are about, reach out to Audra Smith via email at smith.alpena.lions@gmail.com.