Powering Up Healthy Seniors at the Vic Geary Drop-In Center

“We serve seven different towns in the local community, and we are striving to have a safe, warm, cool place for seniors to come and congregate and have social activities — and maybe get some exercise and something to eat,” said Jay DeRoche, president of the board of directors for the Center, a nonprofit organization.

The Center, which opened in 1979, is located next to Timberlane Regional High School in Plaistow and serves adults older than 60 years from the towns of Atkinson, Danville, Hampstead, Kingston, Newton, Plaistow, and Sandown.

Two years ago, with the number of seniors utilizing the center increasing, the board was looking at ways to reduce their expenses and redirect the funding to activities. The Center, which leases its building from the American Legion, was spending $400 to $500 each month on electricity, on average.

“The goal of the project was to cut down on our overhead costs and not have to have that electric bill every month and eventually, we'll be able to utilize those funds to directly impact our seniors,” Jay said.

The board settled on solar power as a viable energy solution and Jay went to work finding the funding.

New England Clean Energy created a system that can produce 119% of the Vic Geary center’s electricity needs, allowing the organization to profit from the extra energy that goes back into the grid. On a sunny spring day in May, the panels on the back of the green metal roof were finally turned on and generating electricity.

Over 15 minutes, the solar system produced 114 kilowatt hours of electricity but only consumed three kilowatt hours.

Inside, seniors were staying cool playing bingo and looking forward to other weekly activities like line dancing and chair yoga.

“It’s a great relief,” Jay said of reaching the finish line for the solar project. “It's been a two-to-three-year process to get to this point and it's pretty amazing. I'm excited to see that it's going to allow us to do more.”

The rest of the community will benefit too, including the Lions Club, Scouts, and other service organizations that meet inside the Vic Geary center.

“To see that we're offsetting our electrical usage every day, and we're actually creating more electricity than we need — so we get to bank that, and we can use that in offseason when the sun isn’t as bright or high in the sky — it will help keep our electrical costs much lower,” Jay said. “Even over the summer, it looks like it's going to be a net wash. We won't have an electric bill for the foreseeable future.”

Now, the board envisions having more financial flexibility to plan future building upgrades and add more exercise classes or educational presentations.

“There are seniors that are still isolated in the community, and we want to try to get them out and come to the center,” he said. “This will give us a little more of a footprint to get out there and get more seniors to come out, socialize, and be more active in their communities.”

Christine Rice, who coordinates activities at the center, said she visited a few years ago to play Bingo and kept coming back. And she’s excited to imagine new programs that the center could offer, thanks to savings from the solar project.

“It is so important for seniors to socialize because it does help prevent isolation,” Christine said. “It helps with dementia. It's good physically and mentally. So, the programs are designed to get them to come out and just talk — have a good time.”

A Center of Community

“The goal of the project was to cut down on our overhead costs and not have to have that electric bill every month and eventually, we'll be able to utilize those funds to directly impact our seniors,” Jay said.

A Center of Community

“The goal of the project was to cut down on our overhead costs and not have to have that electric bill every month and eventually, we'll be able to utilize those funds to directly impact our seniors,” Jay said.

Finding the Funding for Energy Solutions

Turning Sunshine into Services

“There are seniors that are still isolated in the community, and we want to try to get them out and come to the center,” he said. “This will give us a little more of a footprint to get out there and get more seniors to come out, socialize, and be more active in their communities.”

Christine Rice, who coordinates activities at the center, said she visited a few years ago to play Bingo and kept coming back. And she’s excited to imagine new programs that the center could offer, thanks to savings from the solar project.

“It is so important for seniors to socialize because it does help prevent isolation,” Christine said. “It helps with dementia. It's good physically and mentally. So, the programs are designed to get them to come out and just talk — have a good time.”

By the Numbers

6,500

30%

200+

15%

119%

1979

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