There’s a new sign welcoming visitors to the senior center and library in Groton.

The LED-lit sign is the product of two years of work by Club 55, a seniors’ club launched in 1968. Helen Rush came up with the idea for the sign while serving as club president in 2016 as a way to let residents know about what’s going on in town without having to rely on sandwich boards, which are cumbersome to change and don’t hold up well to rough weather.

In addition to promoting activities on-site, she said it would be a good place to advertise public safety information in the event of a storm or other emergency, since many people drive past it on Route 117. On Sept. 10, for example, the sign included information on flood watches ahead of the rainy weather, and she hoped to get something up about bus safety with school back in session.

Rush said she knew the town wouldn’t be able to fund such a project — when she and other club members got estimates, the project tallied around $38,000 — so they started reaching out to other organizations for grants and donations.

To raise money, Club 55 hosted a series of events, including dance performances and a concert by Braiden Sunshine. Town officials pointed them toward a grant from the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and they also received a lot of support from the Groton Parks Foundation as well as members of Club 55, Trillum Garden Club, and the library Circle of Friends.

The winning bid for the sign, which came in at $30,000 after they got a smaller sign to conform with town regulations, came from One Look Signs in Centerbrook. Club 55 member Bob Dragoo said the club had wanted a “made in the USA” sign, and he sought companies that sourced all their products in the U.S. Electrical work for the sign was done by DB Electric in Mystic, and landscaping will be done by Trillium Garden Club.

The sign was unveiled Sept. 7. Rush said it had started raining just before the unveiling, and she joked that it was her tears of joy seeing the project come to fruition.