Mooncrest Center Unveils Addition, New Programs

Sister Rene Procopio said the best part of the  might just be the spaghetti dinners. 

With its recently completed 22-by-35 foot addition, Procopio said the center can now invite more residents to the community pasta dinners it hosts each week. 

"Normally, you see a line out the door," said Procopio of the dinners. "Some nights it feels like this is the Olive Garden. So it will be nice to get more people inside."  

The center hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month, unveiling the bright space to township officials, center volunteers and Mooncrest residents alike. 

The addition includes an extended activity area, study space and outdoor deck. 

Soon, the center will begin offering a series of new classes and workshops, including health consultations and exercise courses, to Mooncrest's adult residents. 

"There will be classes on parenting skills, GED preparation, healthy living," said Sister Rene Procopio. "It will be a little bit of everything." 

The center's long-running after-school program will get underway for students in the neighborhood on Sept. 5. 

With more than a dozen students on a waiting list to attend the after-school program, Procopio and the Felician Sisterhood spearheaded the effort to fundraise for a building addition, which will allow the center to expand upon its art and music class offerings. 

The center was awarded $120,000 in grant dollars to fund the project, including a $50,000 grant from the Wisebord Foundation and a $50,000 grant from the Felician Sisters Order.

Propocio said the center pays for all of its more than $60,000 per-year operating costs with dollars obtained through grants. 

"We had so many people come out (for the ribbon-cutting)," Procopio said. "The center was filled with people. It was just so nice to see the support from the community."