WOODLAWN, Md. — “3-2-1! Woodlawn!”
Delores Douglass has waited for this day for almost 20 years.
“Promises made, promises kept,” she says.
And Wednesday, she was called up to the front with Baltimore County officials as they cut the ribbon on the newly expanded Woodlawn Senior Center.
“This is my dream come true,” she says.
Delores has lived in the Woodlawn area over 50 years. She retired from the Social Security Administration in 2005, and that’s when she got involved with the senior center.
“When I started out, I’ll say that my dream was to make this a home away from home, not a senior day care,” she says. “We were active seniors, and I wanted that displayed.”
Delores was one of the first seniors to reach out to county officials about a new senior center. That was four county executives ago, she says.
“And Delores, I’ll never forget,” says Laura Riley, retired director of Baltimore County Office of Aging. “You said, ‘Will I live to see this new center?’ And here you are.
Delores never gave up hope. This expansion more than triples the space at the senior center.
“This means so much to me,” she says. “To see the growth from a one room to now. This is unbelievable.”
And what is Delores most looking forward to in the new senior center?
“Just coming in and looking at the people,” she says. “Just seeing them and knowing that they’re enjoying, means a lot to me.”
People 65 and older make up the largest population in the surrounding area. The expanded facility will allow the senior center to expand its offering of classes and social activities, from pickleball to dancing.
