SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — The senior program at the Lawrence Family JCC is among the 26 programs receiving financial grants from the San Diego Seniors Community Foundation (SDSCF), it was announced Thursday, Nov. 18.
With the San Diego Seniors Community Foundation’s “No Senior Alone Holiday Grant,” the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS will host its Annual Senior Hanukkah Party in person after having to take last year off due to the pandemic.
Attendees will have lunch, including homemade latkes, cooked and served by volunteers and staff. In addition to having time to eat and connect again with their peers or meet new friends, participants will also learn about the holiday, its traditions and the meanings of the symbols. Some of JCC’s preschoolers will sing a few songs, and a singer/guitarist will provide entertainment.
In addition, the nonprofit will assemble and deliver 100 Hanukkah care packages to isolated seniors to brighten their holiday, especially if they are unable to celebrate in person. Care bags will include traditional Hanukkah items: an 8-branched menorah known as a hanukkiah, candles, dreidels, chocolate gelt, a box of potato pancake mix, an educational flyer about the holiday with the blessings, as well as a special “Thinking of You/Happy Hanukkah” card made by JCC preschoolers and youth in the afterschool program, Club J.
“We are honored to be a recipient of this grant from San Diego Seniors Community Foundation to help brighten Hanukkah for some seniors in our community as they celebrate with peers and feel a little less isolated during this ongoing pandemic!” said Melanie Rubin, the JCC’s Director of Senior & Adult Programs.
Now in its second year, the SDSCF grant program represents the largest collective senior holiday effort in the region, partnering with an unprecedented number of nonprofits to support 4,000 older adults. The grants are funded through SDSCF’s No Senior Alone Matching Holiday Challenge, an ongoing fundraising campaign that hopes to double the amount raised in 2021 to $100,000 to benefit twice as many seniors as last year.
The matching campaign is anchored by a $50,000 grant from the Sahm Family Foundation, and runs now through Giving Tuesday, Nov. 30. Donations can be made at sdscf.org/givingtuesday.
The grants, currently totaling $85,000, are tailored to help senior centers and nonprofit agencies create holiday-themed events and programming. The goal? To bring joy to socially isolated seniors through a variety of holiday activities including drive-thru parties, meal and gift deliveries, and safe, in-person gatherings.
“Social isolation among seniors was already a public health crisis before COVID-19, and it’s worse than ever. Many of our oldest community members are homebound and alone during the holidays.,” said Founder Bob Kelly. “This grant program brings holiday comfort, company and celebrations to San Diego’s older adults throughout the county thanks to a strong network of nonprofits that support this population. We are proud to fulfill every holiday grant request received this year.”
As part of the same SDSCF program, Jewish Family Service has agreed to cater a lunch for the seniors at Bayside Community Center in the Linda Vista neighborhood.
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Preceding provided by the San Diego Seniors Community Foundation