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Sun City clubs adjusting to closures

Some hit harder than others

Posted 4/1/20

Sun City clubs, both Recreation Centers of Sun City chartered and independent, are finding ways to adjust to facility closures and self-quarantines.

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Sun City clubs adjusting to closures

Some hit harder than others

Posted

Sun City clubs, both Recreation Centers of Sun City chartered and independent, are finding ways to adjust to facility closures and self-quarantines.

Many of the RCSC chartered clubs sell items made by members, making small amounts for the clubs and providing extra income for members. Those clubs and their members are seeing a financial impact in varying degrees. Other clubs donate items made to charities.

However, the biggest loses to Sun City clubs may be the social aspect.

“Our members were not happy when the rec centers closed,” said Larry Carr, Sundial Men’s Club president. “They enjoy the socializing, and for some of our members our lunch was their only real meal of the day.”

He said club officials have talked about getting together in small groups at different homes, but nothing was implemented by last week.

Getting together with friends is sometimes as much a part of club activities as what is done in club rooms, according to John Schmidt, Oakmont Jewelry Club president.

“Most of us can do our hobbies at home, but people miss the time they can spend together,” he said.

The club is losing sales of member-made items. Mr. Schmidt estimated the loss at up to $3,000. But even if the centers had stayed open, some members would have seen a drop in revenue from their items anyway.

“Winter visitors are going home earlier,” he said. “They are all eager to get back.”

Those chartered clubs that made products were able to allow members to retrieve their items from the club rooms as RCSC officials allowed a little more than 24 hours for that before centers were closed March 17. But their opportunities to sell their items are now limited.

“There was a Palo Verde Art club show that was canceled and many of our members would have participated in that,” Deb Dahlin, Artists by the Lake Club spokeswoman, stated in an email. “There are many local shows and competitions that artists can display and sell art, but many of them are closed as well.”

The Palo Verde show is rescheduled for October, she added.

“The financial impact is unknown at this time,” Ms. Dahlin stated. “Instructors are at a loss because they can not teach.”

Possibly the hardest hit club financially is the Sundial Men’s Club, which operates a weekly bingo game September-May. Mr. Carr said club officials decided to close their bingo games before RCSC officials shut down the centers. The club donates all funds raised from bingo to various organizations in the community, more than $40,000 in single presentations annually.

“We will lose about up to $3,000 per week as long as we’re shut down,” Mr. Carr said. “That doesn’t hurt the club itself, but it does hurt our ability to donate to those organizations.”

Like the Men’s Club, some groups are more charity than revenue driven.

“Because we are 100% charity driven, we are affected only in the social aspect,” said Terry Buckley, Bell Stitchers president. “Members miss that person-to-person contact.”

The club was getting ready to make donations to schools when they were ordered closed, Ms. Buckley explained.

This not the first time the Stitchers, as well as other craft clubs at Bell Recreation Center, 16820 N. 99th Ave., faced a closure. Electrical problems shut down the club area there for multiple weeks in the fall.

“So we were somewhat prepared,” Ms. Buckley said.

Club members are keeping busy during the closure making masks for people to wear when they go outside their homes, according to Ms. Buckley. They are well set for materials, except elastic. Anyone who has elastic they want to donate can text 315-778-9237.

Members are communicating via email, Ms. Buckley said.

Because of its outdoor nature, the Garden Club of Sun City continues to operate the community garden at Greenway Road and 91st Avenue, although other club meetings, field trips, social events and monthly social breakfast are canceled, according to Mike Model, club first vice president.

“The garden remains open only to the members of the Garden Club who have active plot leases to maintain their gardens,” he stated in an email. “Social distancing and no gatherings policy is in place, as well as frequent sanitizing of the gate’s lock, and porta-potty.”

Any visitors who come into the garden to look around while members are working there are asked to leave, according to Mr. Model.

Produce grown in the garden is sold or donated to food banks. But since it is just the beginning of spring planting season, there is no produce from the Community Garden plot, called Pete’s Patch, available for sale or donation at this time, Mr. Model stated.

“The Garden Club is focusing on the Fall Arts and Crafts Fair to sell available produce from Pete’s Patch,” Mr. Model stated. “Hopefully, this event will still occur after Thanksgiving 2020, minimizing any impacts to the club.”