In 1975, the Village of Mt. Morris formed a committee to put services in place for senior citizens in town. In 1976, a Mt. Morris senior citizen council was incorporated, which brought about the Mt. Morris Senior Community Center.

This year, the organization, now known as the Mt. Morris Senior & Community Center, is celebrating its 50-year anniversary of providing services, engagement and education to Mt. Morris’s senior citizens. The longtime 9 E. Front St. location will be home to special anniversary celebrations throughout 2026.

Melissa Rojas, the Mt. Morris Senior & Community Center’s executive director of eight years, called reaching the milestone “amazing.”

“There’s been a lot of very faithful people that have kept it going over the years, such as board members and people that have given donations,” Rojas said. “It’s cool to be part of something that has been here for 50 years that has been so supportive. Mostly, it’s support from the community that keeps the center going.”

The center celebrated its 50th anniversary in January with an open house. It will make each of its monthly events tie into its anniversary with added celebrations.

Events for the rest of the year include a Valentine’s Day dance on Feb. 13, an adult egg hunt on March 28, a special trivia night April 16, senior/senior tea on May 2, a community dinner on June 12 and Flag Day on June 13, the Let Freedom Ring celebration and parade on July 4 and an ice cream social on July 8, National Night Out on Aug. 4 and a golf outing on Aug. 8 and a center anniversary party on Aug. 22, Autumn on Parade on Oct. 4 and Witches Tea on Oct. 29, a health fair on Nov. 13 and noon year’s eve on Dec. 30.

Regular services at the center include Medicare assistance, assistance with senior license plate discounts, resources for home health care, an Alzheimer’s support group, and an exercise class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“Having activities here is one of the best things we do,” Rojas said. “I think about the people who come here all the time and they have so many friends and they’re out doing things every day. And then I think about the people who don’t know about the center and they’re maybe sitting in their house watching TV, bored and lonely. If they knew this place was here, they could come and have fun and meet people and play cards and exercise and eat a meal. We have a ton going on here.”

The Mt. Morris Senior & Community Center is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday-Friday. It hosts occasional night events, which are open to the entire community. It has a computer lab available for community use. The center also has space available to rent for events like birthday parties.

“I often think about people who say there’s nothing to do in a small town,” Rojas said. “If you pay attention, there’s a lot to do here in Mt. Morris. The center is a great resource for the community and I think it’s great we have it. There are a lot of small towns that don’t have something like this.”

Rojas said activity and involvement at the center are important to the health of the seniors it serves. The Mt. Morris Senior & Community Center has patrons that have been coming for “a lot of years,” and staying involved and healthy, Rojas said.

“There are a lot of seniors that come here that live by themselves and if they didn’t have the center to come to, I’m not sure what they would do,” Rojas said. “We’ve had a lot of people that were very active here and then something happens and they end up not being able to leave their house and they get out of the habit of coming. And then their health goes downhill fast. You have to keep moving and stay around people. Everything the center provides is very important for seniors as they get older.”

Rojas finds purpose in seeing seniors benefit from programming at the center.

“I enjoy this place because of the people,” Rojas said. “My favorite part is running the different events and just being able to hang out with the people. I have a lot of office work I have to do, but the part I really enjoy is being with the people and being able to spend time with them and help them.”