St. Paul’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly is giving its seniors something to be thankful for.
The non-profit day center designed for low-income seniors, will hold its sixth annual Thanksgiving lunch for its members.
Seniors will get to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal that includes turkey, mash potatoes, yams, beans and pies.
Amanda Gois, marketing director of PACE, said the four-course meal will be cooked from scratch and will be prepared fresh in the center’s kitchen.
Gois said she knows the type of impact a Thanksgiving lunch makes on the seniors at the center.
“To be able to enjoy a nice thanksgiving meal with their friends just means the world to them,” she said. “Often times that’s the only Thanksgiving lunch they get to have.”
Gois said many of the seniors at the day center do not have family in town so PACE serves as a family unit for them.
For those who have no way of getting to the event on their own PACE will provide transportation.
Singer and dancer Juan Robles will provide entertainment.
Gois said she noticed in years past that a Thanksgiving meal makes seniors feel appreciated and cared for.
“I have had seniors in our program who sit down to eat their Thanksgiving lunch with tears in their eyes saying ‘This is the first thanksgiving I’ve had in 20 years,” she said.
To be sure the 150 PACE members at the Chula Vista center get a Thanksgiving lunch, the event is being held for two days, Tuesday Nov. 26 and Wednesday Nov. 27 from noon to 1 p.m.
The downtown location will also have a Thanksgiving lunch.
“Our goal is to be sure that everyone gets a nice hot lunch,” Gois said.
