Mona Kaiser- Buckham West
On Wednesday March 27th Faribault Rotary Club hosted our weekly meeting at Buckham West A/K/A the Faribault Senior Center. We were treated to a fabulous lunch from their cafeteria and our presentation was Buckham West Director Mona Kaiser. Mona has been the director since 2003. Buckham West staff include Mona, Brenda Johnson, RN, and Deb Kaufman, Business office manager.
We have a state-of-the-art conference room, at our finger tips through a partnership with the City of Faribault. Buckham West also offers a studio space for different types of activities including barre class, not "bar class" President Kramer!
The cafeteria provides lunch Monday through Friday for a few hundred people. at 11:30 Monday -Friday seniors gather to have lunch together serving 40-50 people. Meals on wheels is prepared and picked up from Buckham West serving about 70 currently. There are 120-130 Headstart children who get a meal, and there at 10-20 meals that go to an assisted living facility in town.
The expansion that is Buckham West was first discussed around 2008, fundraising for a 1.9-million-dollar capital campaign started in 2015. Currently 1.6 million has been raised for local companies, citizens, and grants. There is currently a 5 year note on the remaining funds, and the hope is those funds will be paid off before 5 years.
If you are interested in a membership to Buckham West, see Mona. You have to be age 50 or older and membership will be $35.00 if you are single and $60.00 for a couple. If you have not toured this beautiful facility, do so soon, it is a treasure in our community. The physical space is amazing and the staff and members at Buckham West could not be more friendly and welcoming!