Over 50 seniors and 18 vendors attended the event last week
Over a dozen local service providers and organizations attended the Senior Resource Fair on Thursday, Oct. 19, and provided information on medical doctors, health and wellness businesses, and senior care providers. The last resource fair was before the pandemic.
Seniors were also able to participate in a raffle with gifts such as headphones and safety gear provided by each vendor.Â
Information such as where to get resources and flyers with upcoming events was provided by each vendor. It was also a day for seniors to reconnect with others in the community.
Organizations such as the Malibu Boys & Girls Club were also at the event. BGCM Director of Community Affairs and Outreach Siugen Costanza thanked the city for holding a successful and informative event.
“The fair was well attended; we had a lot of seniors asking questions, and they were so excited and grateful,” Costanza said. “One of the seniors told me, ‘You know, we’re so alone, we don’t socialize, but this is a way for us to socialize,’ but also to find out resources. Kudos to the city and kudos to Amanda [Rigali] because they put a really good fair and it was well attended.”
Costanza said the seniors did the Kindness Pledge and were able to take a kindness card created by the BGCM students.
“They did the kindness pledge and they were lovely to take the kindness cards the teens did, some seniors said, ‘Can I take two?,’ so they really enjoyed that,” Costanza said. “They didn’t know that we had a wellness center at the Boys and Girls Club, that we provide social services and mental health for them and they were really glad that we were here and I think all the vendors were really excited because it was a really good turnout and I think Amanda and the city did a really good job.”
BGCM raffled off a 2023 Malibu Chili Cook-Off sweater and hat at the event.
Community Service Department Recreation Coordinator Amanda Rigali said a little over 50 participants attended the event.
“It went great today; we had 18 vendors come out, we had caregiver services, at-home care, the California Department of Insurance, some of the city public safety department, so it was really great, it just shows the seniors that they have other resources and other organizations that are here to support them,” Rigali said. “We had a lot of new seniors join the senior center since we reopened last year, so a lot of them have not experienced a resource fair before, so they were very surprised by it, and they loved coming, checking out the vendors, having a lunch which was great, sitting out in the patio with their friends it was like an extra event for them.”
Rigali said all the vendors provided much-needed information but said the at-home care was one they weren’t expecting to receive positive feedback.
“They don’t think they need that, but it’s great to plan for something like that,” Rigali said.
Each month, Community Services Department staff leads participants on an exciting day trip to a location within Los Angeles County for their monthly excursions.
“We just went to the zoo on Tuesday, and that was really fun,” Rigali said. “Coming up we have the Peterson Automotive Museum [on Tuesday, Nov. 28] so we choose places around Southern California to go and explore and the seniors love having a day trip to escape their little paradise.”
“We just want to keep growing next year and hopefully have more vendors,” Rigali said. “We had people [vendors] trying to reach out to us to get in, but we want to keep growing next year and see what more we can do.”
Participants will meet at Bluffs Park at the time they are told and then take a bus to the location. To learn more about the senior programs and upcoming events, visit malibucity.org/calendar.