A group of Capitola seniors needed to think outside the box when it came time to cover the cost for new solar panels at their social center. The panels were installed last month at a cost of approximately $67,000, but even with funding through potential grants, donations and federal tax credits, the center still needs to raise an additional $17,000.
That’s when ADAMM was born.
ADAMM—A Dollar A Minute Massage—is held Mondays from 9am to 3:30pm at Mid-County Senior Center. Since its humble beginnings, the fundraiser has generated more than $1,000 for the initiative.
Major funding for the solar panels was allocated in a grant from the county, along with $5,000 in member donations and a 30% federal tax credit, according to Kurt Jewell, MCSC board president. “We have 36 panels up there, and it’s expandable,” Jewell says.
Certified massage therapists Susan Raay and Tony Alonzo are donating their time and talents for the ADAMM program, available to all ages, 18 and up. Appointments run anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.
Massage therapists use three modalities, according to Alonzo, who also serves on the MCSC board of directors. Effleurage is the long, gliding strokes commonly used in Swedish massage, and petrissage is a deeper massage technique, along with tapotement, a tapping motion, he said.
The benefits of massage include reduced stress and anxiety, and improved blood circulation and flexibility. Massage therapy that targets specific muscles is also effective for short-term pain relief.
“We know with touch there’s that connection,” Alonzo says. “There’s the receiving and the giving of energy, so we need more of that. … Especially as we age, we don’t get touched. There’s a lot of reasons why.”
Raay’s previous experience includes massage at Green Valley Athletic Club and in a chiropractor’s office. “I was certified in ’79, and I’ve been working ever since,” she says.
Jewell says the initiative has been well-received. “I told him I had bulging discs down in my back, and he got right down in there,” local customer Elaine Nicholson, 78, said of Alonzo’s technique.
The center is already saving about $20 to $30 a day in electricity costs. “We are not going in the hole on this deal,” Jewell says. “Today we will generate about 60 kilowatts, which is about $25 in savings. It’s going to pay for itself in about six and a half years, and then we’ll be in the pink.”
MCSC contracted with local company Sandbar Solar & Electric. “They were very professional,” Jewell says. “They did an excellent job.”
MCSC is located at 829 Bay Ave., Capitola. For appointments, call 831-476-4711.
