CRANBERRY, Pa. — Yesterday Cranberry Place in Venango County was named a recipient of a $25,000.00 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Aging.

The Cranberry Place is one of 43 Senior Community Centers across the commonwealth that is a recipient of the 2015-16 grants.

The grants total over $2 million from the Pennsylvania Lottery.

“Senior community centers serve as accessible, safe harbors and local gateways to a robust system of home and community-based services that older adults can rely upon as they strive to age in place,” stated Secretary of Aging Teresa Osborne. “These grants will make an important difference in the lives of countless older Pennsylvanians.”

The grant awards will advance senior community center projects to modernize facilities, encourage technology improvements, enhance innovative programming, attract new members, build on successful practices and, overall help to meet the needs of their participants.

“One of the most important things we can do for Pennsylvania’s seniors is to provide the means for them to stay active and involved in their communities,” Osborne said. “We are grateful that the General Assembly authorized the grant funding, which exemplifies our shared recognition that senior centers boost the physical, nutritional, social and intellectual activity of older Pennsylvania’s and supports their desire to live and age well.

Recognized by the Older Americans Act as a community focal point, senior community centers serve as a resource for older adults by connecting them to vital community services that can help them stay healthy and independent. Centers offer a wide variety of programs and services that may include: healthy and nutritious meal programs; enrichment programs; educational opportunities; transportation services; financial and insurance counseling; and social and recreational activities.

For more information on senior community centers, visit aging.pa.gov.

Below is the list of the Senior Community Center awardees and grant amounts by county:

• Adams County: McSherrystown Senior Center; $12,646; Upper Adams Area Senior Center; $12,100
• Allegheny County: Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh; $132,542; Vintage, Inc.; $88,400
• Bedford County: Bedford Area Senior Center; $11,142; Chaneysville Senior Center; $5,000
• Bucks County: Benjamin H. Wilson Senior Center; $49,925; Central Bucks Senior Center; $48,700
• Centre County: Centre Region Senior Center; $65,774
• Clearfield County: Clearfield Center for Active Living; $36,208
• Crawford County: Meadville Senior Community Center; $27,048
• Cumberland County: Branch Creek Place; $32,600
• Dauphin County: Capital Area Late Start, Inc. (D.B.A. The Rutherford House); $55,230
• Delaware County: Chester Senior Center; $41,000
• Erie County: LifeWorks Erie; $20,450; Northwestern Senior Center; $6,525; R. Benjamin Wiley Central City Senior Activity Center; $19,700; The John F. Kennedy Center Inc.; $77,235
• Fayette County: Bullskin Township Senior Center; $9,980
• Greene County: Carmichaels Activity Center; $66,948; Waynesburg Community Center; $47,850
• Indiana County: Indiana Social Center; $75,910
• Lackawanna County: Dunmore Senior Center; $8,935; South Side Active Adult Community Center; $115,222
• Lehigh County: Lehigh Valley Active Life; $37,500
• Luzerne County: Edwardsville Active Adult Center; $45,509
• Lycoming County: The RiverWalk Center for Healthy Aging; $90,000
• McKean County: Mount Jewett Senior Center; $20,590
• Montgomery County: Generations of Indian Valley; $50,000
• Northampton County: Basilio Huertas Senior Center; $134,935
• Philadelphia County: Cassie L. Holley Senior Community Center; $3,499; Norris Square Senior Community Center; $80,877; PCA Older Adult Sunshine Center; $8,300; PHA-Emlen Arms Senior Community Center; $6,135; South Philadelphia Older Adult Center; $82,500; Southwest Senior Center; $150,000; West Philadelphia Senior Community Center; $13,426
• Potter County: Ulysses Senior Citizens Center; $17,850
• Venango County: Cranberry Place; $25,000
• Washington County: Claysville Senior Center; $42,000
• Wayne County: Honesdale Senior Center; $15,160
• York County: Red Lion Area Senior Center, Inc.; $93,867; Susquehanna Area Senior Center; $18,000