It was 25 years ago this month that Altrusa House in Gainesville first opened its doors.

The adult day care center offers a place where adults who need supervision and companionship can get meals and spend some time and offer a break to their caregivers.

Altrusa House is marking its anniversary with an ice cream social for its participants and others in the community who applaud the services the organization provides.

“We got it in our minds that we wanted to have a big project to meet a big community need,” said Barbara Scott, one of the Altrusa House founders and a current board member. “It took almost 10 years to finish the project. “We raised most of the money by giant garage sales It was a unique situation, but we got help from some other community organizations and individuals.”

The city of Gainesville donated the land where Altrusa House sits.

Altrusa House partners with Easter Seals to operate the facility, which serves about 18 people a day.

“Families who are committed to keeping their loved ones at home can look to Altrusa House as an alternative to nursing home care,” according to the organization’s website.

Scott said scholarships are available for clients who cannot afford the fee charged by Easter Seals. She said Altrusa House also has a contract with the Veterans Administration to assist those who qualify for VA support.

Altrusa House also gives family caregivers a break by allowing them to return to work or run errands or just take a timeout from the stress of caring for a loved one.

Clients must be at least 18 years old, but most are elderly adults.

“If it wasn’t available many of our clients would be in institutions 24 hours a day, which of course is not necessarily the best for them,” Scott said.

And then there’s the cost factor when daycare isn’t available.

“It particularly is very expensive, in some cases with private funds, but mostly in taxpayer money. We provide a service that helps the client live in their own home with their family but is also a service to the community because it is a cost saver in the health care community,” Scott said.

Altrusa House is a licensed healthcare facility with a nurse on site and is open five days a week.