The Oswegoland Senior and Community Center is located on a busy stretch of U.S. Route 34. (Photo by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media) 

The Oswegoland Senior and Community Center settled into a new home two years ago but the site remains a work in progress. 

The former Oswego police headquarters at 3525 U.S. Highway 34 was acquired in early 2022 but complete access for users is still lacking. 

So the organization has launched a $2.2 million fundraising campaign to install a new main entrance and an elevator for easier access, and complete a large section of a lower level which has unfinished concrete floors and exposed beams. 

It also hopes to retire remaining debt from the building purchase. 

Oswegoland Seniors, Inc. has served local residents since 2007 to address unmet needs in the community.  

Initially held at local church, OSCC quickly outgrew that site and has since moved three times, finally purchasing the empty former police station in early 2022.  

The new space offered visibility, stability, continuity and programming expansion. OSCC took ownership of the building, vacated since 2018, in February 2022 and spent $100,000 to bring the building up to code.  

However, many limitations still existed including Americans with Disabilities Act compliance which would be addressed by the proposed work. 

The buildout is deemed necessary to serve more people and allow more individuals to access all parts of the building. 

The center served 2,300 seniors annually prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Activities and classes were abruptly halted in March 2020 due to COVID and the group then lost its lease with Oswego District 308 for use of a former school.   

Oswego Township then stepped up to provide a temporary location on Templeton Drive and the group organized hundreds of well-being calls and home delivered groceries. 

A new, accessible entrance is among plans for improvements at the Oswegoland Senior and Community Center. (Provided illustration)

The pandemic restricted in-person activities for the first four months of 202. The Templeton Drive site was lost due to a building sale. OSCC developed new partnerships for programming space with the library, Legion,  Allied First Bank, Fire Department and Diamond Apartments. 

In February 2022, the group secured the new, permanent location. The Center also adopted a new name – Oswegoland Senior and Community Center — to be inclusive of entire community along with new logo and Mission Statement.   

The fundraising campaign includes a series of naming opportunities, including the lower level gathering room for $500,000 and an upper level great room for $250,000.  Donors can also be honored with names on a special wall for amounts starting at $1,000. 

OSCC hopes the updated facility will serve as a gathering place for the entire community. After the pandemic, attendance recovery has been slow. But hours were expanded and more programs added and the number of participants have climbed to more than 1,600 annually. 

Current programs offered include caregiver and grief support group, group exercise classes, gentle yoga, pickleball classes, senior singers, bunco, bingo, bridge, Medicare forums, hearing screenings, scam awareness programs, veterans’ assistance, as well as financial and attorney hours.  

All of these programs are offered at little to no cost. New Intergenerational Programs started in April 2024 and include teen programming and an opportunity for seniors and teens to work together.  

Data shows that socialization is the most important part of a seniors’ life and without the Oswegoland Senior and Community Center many seniors would not have an outlet for that. 

For more information contact Executive director Michele Bergeron, michele@oswegoseniorcenter.org  or call (630) 554-5602.