Costa Mesa Senior Center is a ‘treasured heaven’

Every day since my August 2000 appointment as executive director of

the Costa Mesa Senior Center, I have felt so fortunate to serve in a

place that is bright, vibrant and always filled with the chatter and

laughter of active people enjoying the golden years of their lives.

The center truly is one of Costa Mesa’s best treasures and is vital

to the fabric of our community.

As I get around this city, I find citizens who have lived in our

community for many years. Yet many have never heard about us.

The center is a nonprofit governed by a caring and committed board

of directors. We survive, quite literally, through corporate funding,

grants and personal donations. But these days, funding sources are

very scarce.

The center offers so many reasons for our community’s seniors to

be a part of our family. New and wonderful friendships bloom here.

There is lively conversation about the issues of the day. It is a

place to learn and be entertained.

But the center nourishes more than just the spirit. Our members

enjoy a hot meal at noon. And if they’re homebound, we deliver meals

to them. We provide them transportation to their doctor appointments

and provide rides to the center so they can enjoy all of our

activities.

If you poke around the center -- and I encourage you to do so --

you will witness a hive of activity. Our members socialize while

playing bridge, bingo and pinochle. They play pool in our billiard

room and talk politics in our beautiful library.

Our health-conscious members participate in our many health and

wellness programs -- from chair exercises, balance and mobility, and

Tai Chi to yoga, aerobics and jazzercise. And we enrich their minds

through classes on cooking, computers, health issues, financial

management and even organizing a photo album. Equally important, we

help them keep in touch with family and friends through e-mail. Where

else would you find all of these under the same roof?

Don’t think the center’s members don’t get around. We’ve taken

trips to China, Russia and Canada, the latter to see its beautiful

fall colors. In September, we have a 10-day visit to Japan scheduled.

And for the gamers among us, our day-trip and overnight excursions to

casinos are wildly popular.

What’s remarkable is that our annual membership fee is just $18.

It’s a small sum that provides seniors 55 and over with a monthly

subscription to the center’s newsletter and access to our many

special events during the year. These include our Fourth of July

celebration, Monte Carlo night, Luau and Step Out For Seniors beach

walks.

The center’s importance to our community was best described by

former Daily Pilot columnist and current Costa Mesa Parks and

Recreation Commissioner Byron de Arakal in his Between the Lines

column in June 2001:

“As time has hurtled forward in their lives, they have often found

themselves abandoned, without friends or companionship. Our toss-away

culture is more content to warehouse them instead of engage them.

We’re just too busy swilling our lattes and managing our portfolios.

All of which is why the Costa Mesa Senior Center is a beacon in our

community.”

As the director, I have the privilege of being there every day

enjoying their stories of yesterday and looking forward to each day

as a new adventure. I am not alone in this, as the center has a

wonderful caring staff and board of directors. It takes all of us to

make this the special place it is. Please stop by and visit or join

the seniors for lunch. Get to know our older citizens who have

contributed so much to our country and our community.

Byron de Arakal said it best: “We owe those folks.”

* AVIVA GOELMAN is the executive director of the Costa Mesa Senior

Center and will write occasional columns about the center, its

members and senior issues.