The doldrums of the pandemic, as millions of older adults were killed by the coronavirus across the country, were a wake-up call to local leaders who watched seniors too-often suffering in isolation.
And now, as the novel coronavirus fades from memory for many, efforts to build a suite of services to ensure people in this part of Silicon Valley live full and rewarding lives as they age are ramping up, including with the establishment of the Los Gatos Foundation for Older Adults to Thrive.
“We’re gaining more and more momentum,” said Tom Picraux, who headed up recruiting for the body, which will largely be focused on building an intergenerational community center in the next decade. “We started in the spring with the fact that, this is what we need to do.”
The inaugural meeting was a luncheon of the Board at the Wine Cellar, Sept. 29.
This was followed by a business meeting to adopt the Foundation’s incorporation papers and to plan for the future.
The names of the officers will be familiar to many: Sandy Decker, chair of the board; Tom Picraux, president; Councilmember Matthew Hudes, vice-president; Ginger McDonald, secretary; Tim Lundell, treasurer.
Teri Hope of Los Gatos Roasting Co. and Alan Feinberg of Discover LOST Gatos will also serve on the board.
“When I was elected to Los Gatos Town Council, I learned that our older adult community would soon be over 30% of our population—yet at the same time our senior services had fallen dramatically behind,” Hudes said in a release. “Older Adults Thrive aims to fill the funding gap and help create a world-class community center and services that our older adult community and broader community deserve.”
The board will have three advisory committees: the Community Center Committee, the Fundraising Committee, and the Initiatives & Publicity (I&P) Committee.
Hope will chair Fundraising and community leaders Catherine Somers and Nancy Pearson will co-chair I&P.
The Town has set aside $866,000 in remaining federal pandemic funds for community center development, the County is contributing $125,000 for case management services and the State is giving $250,000 each year for the next four years for LGS Rec’s 55+ program, Picraux added.
“It’s probably going to be 10 years until we have a new community center,” Picraux said. “The concept is to do some interim work and particularly do a few things that demonstrate to the community what could be.”
The type of building being envisioned might carry a price tag in the $40 million range, he added.
Picraux is hoping to have a community center room that different groups could use, as well as rooms that nonprofits could use to provide services to seniors.
He was pleased with how the initial meeting went, and was left with a sense of optimism about the likelihood of a big new capital project.
“We know it’s a big lift, but it’s possible,” he said of the community center plan. “If you don’t go for it, it’ll never happen. Very much like the library experience.”
