April Shauf

Over the past couple of years, the walls of an enlarged facility for adult daycare have slowly been taking shape on the Kings Mountain Boulevard. In just a few weeks, the construction will come to an end, and a dream that started six years ago will finally be a reality.

"It was in 2016 that our board decided to proceed with a 10,000-square-foot addition to our 14,000-square-foot facility," says Life Enrichment Center (LEC) Executive Director Toni Camp.

In November of 2019 the Kings Mountain LEC broke ground. Things were going along quite well - for a while.

"Then Covid happened," says Camp. "What were we to do?"

The need was too great to be ignored, says Camp, and families were struggling more than ever to find relief from the grind of in-home caregiving.

"So we continued with construction," says Camp. That commitment proved difficult at times during the past two years, but the process is finally nearing completion.

With locations in Shelby and Kings Mountain, the LEC offers adult day care services to the aging population as well as younger adults with physical and developmental disabilities.

When it opened in 2004, the Kings Mountain location served six participants. By the time the renovation was approved, it was serving 65 participants a day with a growing waitlist.

"There were just so many families who needed our services," says Camp.

The LEC got its start in 1980 in a Sunday school room at John Knox Presbyterian Church, and it grew from there.

The first center, located in Shelby, was built in 1995, and was eventually replaced by a new, 25,000-square-foot facility in 2011.

The new addition will allow the Kings Mountain facility to echo the Shelby location's ability to serve younger and older adults in different areas of the same facility.

The calendar at both LECs keeps participants busy with activities like horticulture, talent shows, cooking and music therapy.

Sara Renner knows first-hand how amazingly helpful the LEC's services can be. Her 22-year-old daughter, Mary, has been a participant at the Kings Mountain facility for more than two years.

"I just love the staff there - I can't say enough wonderful things about them," says Sara Renner. "They provide so many activities - it has allowed Mary to develop her skills and keeps her active and happy. Many times she doesn't even want to come home!"

The enlarged Kings Mountain LEC is located at 222 Kings Mountain Boulevard, and the Shelby LEC is located at 110 Life Enrichment Center Boulevard. For more information about either of the LEC locations, visit the organization's website at
www.LifeEnrichmentCenter.org.