Breakfast is the first meal of the day for most people, and while people might not think much of it, for the Elizabethton Senior Center, breakfast is more than a meal. It is a chance to raise awareness and money to keep the center going year after year.

The Elizabethton Senior Center is preparing for their biannual pancake breakfast, their only fundraiser for the summer.

Director Kathy Dula said this and several other fundraisers can constitute up to 20 percent of their annual budget.

“The money we make, after the expenses, goes to the center,” Dula said. “This will be the first fundraiser of our fiscal year.”

The rest of their funding, she said, comes from the city and county, as well as United Way.

“It is important we make a little money around this time,” she said.

The pancake breakfast Friday is one of two they put on throughout the year. For $5 a person, participants can enjoy an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast.

“It has been effective,” Dula said. “We get a lot of volunteers, and it is something we can manage. We always get good crowds.”

Other breakfast fundraisers typically have anywhere from 70 to as many as 140 people. Other times during the year, the event will include a wide variety of breakfast foods, but Dula said the July heat makes it difficult to do more than just pancakes.

“It is really good food,” Dula said. “Everything is fresh, and it is a good price.”

She said many people may want to attend the breakfast but cannot due to work that morning. That is why they accept carryouts for the same price as a walk-in.

“You can take some to your friends,” she said. “Some employers will come by to get trays.”

Elizabethton’s Senior Center provides dozens of programs on a regular basis for older Elizabethton residents, providing activities like yoga and other social events.

As part of their fundraising, she said typically their fundraisers revolve around food. In October, they typically serve homemade apple butter.

She said everybody comes together to set up these fundraisers. The pancakes alone take a full day of preparation beforehand before they can serve anything.

The breakfast itself will run from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Friday, July 12, at the center, located at 428 East G St.