The National Charity League, Inc. Del Sol Chapter has been awarded the Philanthropy Award from Serving Seniors of San Diego. Coronado High School students and NCL members Valerie Accetta, Molly Lancaster and Caroline Massie represented their classes of 2017 and 2018 in receiving the award May 4 at the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center in San Diego.
The students and their fellow NCL members and their mothers from Coronado and elsewhere in San Diego have collectively contributed hundreds of hours to Serving Seniors, which provides meals, supportive services, health education, affordable education and lifelong learning opportunities for seniors in San Diego County.
Serving Seniors President and CEO Paul Downey noted at the event that 30 percent of San Diego’s homeless population is elderly and that many of these are living well below the federal poverty line, many in single-occupancy residential housing facilities. There are hundreds of seniors on wait lists for the organization’s housing units and for other affordable housing options in the county but with a vacancy rate of three percent overall, housing is very difficult and unaffordable for many seniors. The senior center provides a welcome refugee for meals, social activities and wellness, including dental care.
The NCL chapter has participated in serving meals during the week and on weekends and coordinating bingo and other social programs at the center. Serving Seniors also delivers more than 240,000 meals annually in addition to service of breakfast and lunch daily across its senior centers.
Serving Seniors has been a favorite for many CHS students in NCL because of the hands-on nature of the service and interaction with the seniors.
The Del Sol Chapter of NCL has members from Coronado to Carlsbad. The nearly 300 members serve over 25 local philanthropies. To be eligible for membership in the Del Sol Chapter, daughters must currently be in 6th, 7th or 8th grade. To learn more about NCL Del Sol, visit the website: http://www.ncldelsol.org/
