Hamlet Senior Center kicks off spring with annual social

HAMLET — The Hamlet Senior Center welcomed the spring season with its annual spring social on Friday, highlighted by the highly anticipated washer and dryer giveaway.

“I was really excited about the opportunity when Mr. Esco came to me and said, ‘Hey, I have a washer and dryer, what do you think if we do a raffle?’” said Amanda Kempen, director of the Hamlet Senior Center. “We did one last year, it went really great. The basket was so big, we got to lay it down and slide it in the back of an SUV. This year, you’re going to need a truck, whoever wins this.”

Leading up to the event, the center sold raffle tickets to seniors to raise money for its events fund, successfully reaching its goal of 400 tickets. Kempen emphasized the importance of these funds in sustaining the center’s activities.

“Just in case someone is not aware, when these funds are raised, they go directly, at least we can choose where they go into the budget—and so they go directly back into the special events fund,” she said. “So we can have our big events. This is one of our smaller events, you guys. Though I didn’t really go all out with the decorations and everything, you all know that we usually throw down and have a bigger type of event. I didn’t know we were going to have this many people turn out, which is great! So that way, we can have more special events and tag team with our other senior centers from aging services.”

The lucky winner of the washer and dryer was Mamie Gould from Fayetteville. Gould has five days from Monday to pick up her prize before forfeiting it.

In addition to the raffle, attendees enjoyed food and refreshments, games, flower potting, and live musical performances. Kempen herself took the stage to sing renditions of “Proud Mary” and “Me and Bobby McGee.”

Looking beyond the event, Kempen urged the community to lend a helping hand to seniors in need.

“I wish we had 20 washer and dryer sets to give away because this really brought forth how many folks have those needs for new washers and dryers, or whether they don’t have one,” she said. “So this is a call to our community. Before you throw things away just because you get something new, think about those in need. I may not have a way to pick up a washer and dryer, but if you call us and let us know that you have that for someone to pick up, we can definitely connect it with someone in our aging community that could greatly benefit from those items.”