San Diego Senior Centers Receive Grants
Last updated 12/15/2020 at 11:59am
The San Diego Seniors Community Foundation Monday announced grants totaling $31,585 to a dozen local senior centers.
The second round of grant funding through the foundation’s No Senior Alone Initiative is tailored to support centers and nonprofit agencies creating holiday-themed events for older people who are isolated and apart from family and loved ones this holiday season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The centers – which serve more than 2,200 isolated older people across the region – collectively aim to bring seniors joy through a variety of holiday activities, including drive-thru parties, meal and gift deliveries and virtual gatherings.
The Ramona Senior Center is using its $3,000 grant to organize a holiday drive-thru party where senior clients will receive poinsettias, gifts, cards and festive treats distributed by staff and volunteers. The Fourth District Senior Center received a like amount to provide 150 seniors with a hot curbside meal, a potted poinsettia/Christmas cactus plant, stocking stuffers and hand-crafted greeting cards.
Also receiving grants are:
Serving Seniors: $2,520 for succulent plants and hand-written greeting cards from volunteers and donors to 800 isolated older people.
Sharp Senior Health Center: $2,225 for The Giving Tree program, providing 150 seniors with gifts bags filled with gift cards of various types, as well as mailing holiday greeting cards and gifts for older people who cannot physically come into the clinic.
Borrego Springs Senior Center: $3,000 for the delivery of 100 poinsettias to the clients of the home-delivered meals program and a one-year subscription for 50 older people to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Jewish Family Services College Avenue and Balboa Avenue Senior Centers: $2,500 for a variety of Zoom programs involving drawing, sing-alongs, trivia, social hours, music and poetry, and more as well as 250 New Year’s party packages with glasses, necklaces, hats and noise-makers, and greeting cards.
La Jolla Community Center: $3,000 for Holiday Cheer and Meal program, which will deliver hot meals, handwritten cards and bouquets of flowers to 100 isolated seniors.
Fallbrook Senior Center: $3,000 to grow its 10-member volunteer outreach team, which will provide 200 isolated older people with holiday decor, handwritten cards and deliver poinsettias to home-bound and Meals-to-Go members.
Neighborhood House Senior Center: $2,840 for the delivery of 70 hot meals and holiday gift bags for isolated older people.
Escondido Senior Center: $3,000 to provide festive holiday decor for 200 isolated older people or gift a poinsettia to place in their homes.
Del Mar Community Connections: $2,500 to deliver greenery arrangements and gift bags containing word puzzles, books and sweet treats to 70 isolated seniors.
Norman Park Senior Center Chula Vista: $1,000 for holiday packages that include Christmas cards, PPE supplies, cookies as well as turkeys and/or hams to families in need.
