‘Hooked on Seniors’ dinner dance to take place this weekend
Continuing to reach out to the Greater Pine Island community, the members of the Matlacha Hookers have recently expanded their efforts to include the older segment of the island population. To help ensure that adequate services are available for island senior citizens, the Hookers will sponsor a special fund-raiser this weekend with proceeds earmarked to address this growing need. A “Hooked on Seniors” dinner dance will take place on Saturday, June 18, at the Elks Lodge located at the island center. The doors open at 4 p.m. with dinner to be served from 5-7 p.m. The menu includes home-made spaghetti with meat sauce, a tossed salad with garlic bread and desert. Following the dinner service, attendees can dance the night away to music provided by Stringtown until 10 p.m. In addition to dining and dancing, those attending may also participate in several 50/50 drawings, as well as a raffle for a generously-filled gift basket. The Hookers also will collect donations for the Pine Island Food Pantry and those who bring a donation will receive one free raffle ticket.
“We are very excited about this year’s dinner dance. Last year we were able to collect over $2,000 and it is our hope that we will do even better this year,” said Hooker member Cindee Tolliver. “So far the response has been very good and we hope to see more interest as the date gets closer. This is sure to be a fun evening and it is such an easy way for people to help their neighbors during these difficult times.”
The cost of a ticket for the Hooked on Seniors dinner dance is $15 per person or $20 per couple. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at the Beacon of HOPE, Little Lilly’s Island Deli, Stonegate Bank or Traders Hitching Post.
All money collected during the event will be donated to the Beacon of HOPE to provided needed services to island seniors, such as Meals on Wheels, assistance with utility bills, gift cards for groceries and more.
Each year the Beacon of HOPE provides thousands of dollars in financial assistance to island residents and the need continues to rise, placing a higher demand on donations collected the not-for-profit organization.
A recent report released by the Beacon reflects the growing demand. Since the beginning to the year, the expense for providing Meals on Wheels alone has risen by 32 percent. In addition to providing meals, other increases incurred by the Beacon this year have been an 18 percent increase in assistance with utility bills for seniors. This increase reflects more than $700 per month paid out by the Beacon to ensure seniors will continue to keep their lights on. Other assistance that has also risen recently is financial assistance with medical needs, food, transportation, repairs, insurance, property taxes and more.
For more information about the Matlacha Hookers or the Hooked on Seniors dinner dance, visit: matlachahookers.org.