A letter to the editor from Mary Kay Walker
To the editor:
How can we say thanks? For over 15 years the senior citizens of Flower Mound have been wishing and working for a senior center. In July the Seniors in Motion group will move into the Shirley Voirin Social Senior Center next to Town Hall. The town is working to make the best use of the 4,800-square-foot building to meet the needs of the seniors. SIM Auxiliary, Inc. has held fundraisers to help furnish the building. The seniors are making progress.
One of the activities the seniors enjoy is traveling to local events. Last Wednesday, May 25, the seniors attended an afternoon game of the Texas Rangers in Arlington. The game went down to the last inning, so not many people had left early. (The Rangers beat the White Sox 2-1!) This made for a big traffic jam trying to get away from the stadium.
The town has provided a bus to the senior program for years, but the bus was purchased secondhand. We have babied this bus, but Wednesday it went on its last trip. The bus died on us on Highway 360 at Glade Road. As steam poured from the broken radiator, we said our goodbyes on the side of the freeway. We must have made quite a sight.
The seniors want to thank Christine Diamond-Bond for coming to our rescue and taking a group for a restroom break and to buy water. To all the others, including the Euless police, who stopped to make sure we were OK and verify that help was on the way, we say, “Thanks.” Highland Village sent their bus to pick us up. Don had just completed a trip for the seniors to the Dallas Zoo, but he hopped back in his bus and came for us. We are most appreciative.
The Town of Flower Mound has a replacement program in place for the bus, but the money is not there yet. The seniors need a bus now.
SIM Auxiliary was formed to assist the SIM program. For two years we have held fundraisers with the main goal of helping furnish the senior center. But there are many more needs, as demonstrated last Wednesday.
Our next fundraiser is scheduled for Tuesday, June 7, at Fish City Grill, 2628 Long Prairie Road in Flower Mound. This is an all-day event, with a portion of the day’s sales going to SIMA to help the seniors. Please support the seniors by coming out for a great meal. I usually get the honey chipotle shrimp tacos, but everything is good.
Mary Kay Walker
President of SIM Auxiliary, Inc.
Thank you for attending SIM Auxiliary’s first Casino Night! All profits from this fundraiser will go to furnish the Shirley Voirin Social Senior Center scheduled to open in July 2011.
The sponsors listed below have given generously to help support the seniors. Please remember them as you go about your daily business. Tell them ‘Thank You’ for their support.
American Physician House Calls
Frisco Roughriders
Point Bank
Autumn Leaves of Flower Mound
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop
Senator Chris Harris
Belk
Hilton Garden Inn Dallas Lewisville
Silverado Senior Living
Ben E. Keith Company
Home Helpers
Southern Care Hospice
In Bloom Flowers
Home Instead Senior Care
Sprouts Farmers Market
Casino Connection
JM4Energy
Starbucks (Lewisville 121 location)
Chicks Dig It…and Guys do too!
Karen Gattis
Starbucks (Cross Timbers location)
Coldwater Creek the Spa
Kwik Kar Automotive Center Vista Ridge
Super Target (Flower Mound)
Cotton Patch Cafe
Kroger
Swirl Bakery
Cross Timbers Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center
FLOWER MOUND, TX, Feb. 8, 2011 — SIM Auxiliary Inc. raised more than $10,000 in 2010, its first full year in existence, to support Flower Mound’s Seniors in Motion program.
“We exceeded our own expectations,” said Mary Kay Walker, president of SIM Auxiliary. “That’s more than $10,000 after all expenses. We have big plans for that money as the SIM program moves into a standalone senior center in late May or early June.”
The year got rolling for SIM Auxiliary in the spring, when the group was certified as a 501(c)3 organization by the IRS, meaning donations are tax-deductible.
In June, the CoServ Charitable Foundation awarded the group a $5,250 startup grant. SIM Auxiliary is limited to using the grant to produce brochures, build a Web site and purchase computer equipment and supplies. Through December, SIM Auxiliary had spent $4,166.88 of the CoServ grant. The biggest expenditures were on a laptop computer and the group’s web site, www.flowermoundseniors.org.
The group’s only other expenses in 2010, outside the targeted CoServ startup grant and the 501(c)3 filing fee, were $750.75 related to the group’s sock hop fund-raiser in November and $58.63 for a post office box, stamps and other ongoing miscellaneous expenses.
On the positive side of the ledger, the CoServ grant enabled the group to produce brochures promoting its membership program, which raised $2,435 in 2010. The roster of member supporters in 2010 included 11 annual memberships ($15 for an individual, $25 for a family) and eight lifetime memberships (starting at $100).
“Boosting our membership ranks is a major goal in 2011,” Mrs. Walker said. “Larger donors want to see a groundswell of community support. We saw that in 2010, but we want to be able to point to a long list of member supporters.”
SIM Auxiliary also received $1,500 in unrestricted gifts; a $1,000 restricted gift designated to help purchase a sign for the new senior center at Cross Timbers Road and Morriss Road; and a $250 memorial gift – for a total of $2,750 in non-membership gifts.
In November, the group hosted its first major fund-raiser, “IHOP at the Sock Hop,” at Pinewood Hills senior living community, 3901 Kirkpatrick Lane in Flower Mound. More than 100 people attended the event, which included dancing, catering by IHOP, a silent auction featuring a state-of-the-art hearing device from American Hearing Laboratories, and a Family Feud game that pitted Town Council members against town employees (the employees won).
After the expenses of $750.75 for signs, prizes and partyware, the fund-raiser netted $5,282.53.
“We want to again thank everyone who attended, and especially our sponsors,” Mrs. Walker said.
In addition to IHOP, Pinewood Hills and American Hearing Laboratories, sponsors included: Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Flower Mound, 8th Wonder Cupcakes, Cross Timbers Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, Family Staffing Solutions, J & J Printing, Point Bank, Texans Credit Union, CoServ, Advanced Rehab Trust Home Health, Best Buy, Courtyard by Marriott Dallas/Lewisville, the Edward Jones Investments office of Paul Foutch, Excite! Gym, Cheer & Dance, Flower Mound Pharmacy & Herbal Alternatives, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Hilton Garden Inn of Denton, Indian Creek Golf Club, Kwik Kar Vista Ridge, Mature Texan Magazine, MetLife Home Mortgage, Rambling Oaks Courtyard, State Rep. Tan Parker, Tommy Chandler Uptown Music Review, Wells Fargo Advisors, AAA Texas, Autumn Leaves of Flower Mound, Brenda Lawson, Clare’s Creations Gemstones & Crystals, Community Care Compounding Pharmacy, Corner Bakery Café, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Edible Arrangements, Fish City Grill, Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, Harry & David, Lake Village Nursing & Rehabilitation, Learning Express Toys, Lonestar Gourmet Popcorn, Lorraine Gonya, Massage Envy, Outback Steakhouse, Pinnacle Home Health, Sigma Signs and Printing, Target Flower Mound, Tierney’s Café and Tavern, and Tom and Mary Hayden.
Finally, a fund-raiser in December at Fish City Grill, 2628 Long Prairie Road, netted $375.80 for SIM Auxiliary.
“This job is easy with community support like that,” said Mrs. Walker, who is supported on the SIM Auxiliary board by vice president Paul Foutch, secretary Sandra Gonzalez, and treasurer Leo Gonya.
Flower Mound, TX, Jan. 18, 2011 — Victor Myers Real Estate has become the first corporate lifetime patron of SIM Auxiliary Inc., the nonprofit fundraiser supporting Flower Mound’s Seniors in Motion program.
The Bartonville-based company’s $500 donation is part of a campaign of giving that has included a $500 matching grant to the Flower Mound Santa Cops program; a cookout that raised more than $2,500 for PediPlace, the nonprofit Lewisville children’s clinic; and the adoption of a family in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Remembering their own families’ struggles as children, Victor Myers and Bryan Hutchinson have incorporated a culture of giving into their custom homebuilding and real estate companies. “The business model we established assists us in doing exactly this,” said Mr. Hutchinson, president of the real estate company. “With each dollar earned we have specified percentages that go toward making this world a better place.”
Recognizing the growing need for senior services in Flower Mound, Mr. Myers and Mr. Hutchinson have identified SIM Auxiliary as a worthy recipient as the group raises funds for a standalone senior center in Flower Mound. “We are so grateful for this gift,” said Mary Kay Walker, president of SIM Auxiliary. “We have had a good year. The Seniors in Motion program is communicating to us their needs as the town remodels the building at Morriss Road and Cross Timbers, and we’re pleased to be able to begin providing that support. It’s our intention that anything purchased with these funds be transportable to a permanent senior center in the future,” she continued. “We also want to ensure that Victor Myers Real Estate will always be recognized as an early, generous supporter.”
Victor Myers Real Estate agents Noelle Claassen and Adrienne Kieschnick presented the $500 check to Mrs. Walker and SIM Auxiliary treasurer Leo Gonya on Dec. 14 at Seniors in Motion’s Golden Lounge at the Flower Mound Community Activity Center. Ms. Claassen and Ms. Kieschnick plan to continue the Victor Myers tradition of giving through a referral program of their own. For every referral that mentions Seniors in Motion and results in a closing, the agents will donate another $250 to the SIM Auxiliary. The company’s mortgage partner is promising a similar referral donation of $300 for each new mortgage or refinancing. For contact information, call 214-636-6829 or see www.victormyers.com.
SIM Auxiliary recognizes donors as Lifetime Patrons at the $500 level; Friends, $1,000; Benefactors, $5,000; and Founders, $10,000. “We intend to continue moving up the ladder,” Mr. Hutchinson said with a smile. “Seniors move to this area every week to be near children and grandchildren, and the current residents get older every year. We want to help them with their housing needs and, through our donations, with senior community services.”
Victor Myers Real Estate agents Noelle Claassen (from left) and Adrienne Kieschnick presented a $500 check to SIM Auxiliary president Mary Kay Walker and treasurer Leo Gonya at the Seniors in Motion room at the Flower Mound Community Activity Center in December.
