Older adults at the North Central Optum Community Center created bags in September for children in foster care (photo courtesy of Optum – Arizona).
In recognition of Grandparent’s Day in September, 250 senior citizens who go to the Optum Community Center at 12th Street and Glendale Avenue joined four other Optum Community Centers across the Valley, to create necessity bags for the foster children of local nonprofit Southwest Human Development. The bags included personal messages of hope and inspiration.
When children are placed in foster care, their lives are turned upside down and they need a way to contain their most important possessions, the center said. Many of the seniors at Optum are grandparents and great grandparents. They want to help these children, and this is their way of giving back.
Optum Community Centers are neighborhood hubs for local seniors 55 and older to gather with friends in a shared journey of physical and social well-being. The centers provide interconnected, wrap-around services to help seniors at no cost so they can stay physically active, socially engaged, mentally stimulated and emotionally supported. Learn more at www.optum.com.
