Chu Honors Pasadena Senior Center as Nonprofit of the Year

Akila Gibbs Pasadena Senior Center Executive Director holding Non Profit of the Year plaque via Facebook

U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) recently honored the Pasadena Senior Center as Nonprofit of the Year during her Congressional Leadership of the Year awards ceremony.

“We are so grateful and pleased to receive this distinction,” said Akila Gibbs, executive director of the Pasadena Senior Center. “This is a pleasantly surprising validation of the broad array of innovative services, programs and activities older adults have come to expect here for more than 60 years.”

The annual awards recognize individuals and organizations that have provided exceptional leadership in the district, which encompasses 16 cities from Pasadena to Upland.

Unlike most senior centers nationwide that are managed and funded by local government organizations, the Pasadena Senior Center is an independent, nonprofit organization that receives no government funding and relies solely on shared investment by the greater Pasadena community, foundations and other sources that make it possible to provide social services, offer classes, pay instructors, maintain facilities and more.

With the population of older adults in the U.S. increasing exponentially every year due to longer life expectancy, the Pasadena Senior Center continually serves as a vital community asset that offers new and inventive programs and services to meet every need and interest. Annually, in recent years, more than 10,000 adults 50 and older have come to the center for a sense of community, to continue lifelong learning, discover new opportunities for social interaction and engage in a multitude of activities to keep their minds sharp, bodies healthy and spirits soaring. Services also are provided for frail and homebound older adults.

In 1999 the center earned national accreditation by the National Council on Aging’s National Institute of Senior Centers, which made it the first nationally accredited senior center in California. To date, of 1,100 senior centers in the U.S., about 200 have earned accreditation based on a number of criteria ranging from group and individual activities and services that respond to the needs and interests of older adults to sound fiscal planning and management.

For more information visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org or call (626) 795-4331.