By Khalida Sarwari
The Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Center is inviting the community to spend a night in Tuscany, complete with food, music and wine. And the best part? Passports are not required.
The organization, which goes by SASCC, will host an Italian-themed dinner on March 8 to raise funds for services and programs at the Saratoga Senior Center and Adult Care Center. The event will be held at the Joan Pisani Community Center, which will be transformed into an authentic trattoria for the evening, and will feature music by Jerry Sauceda and his band as well as a silent auction. The food will be catered by Frankie, Johnnie and Luigi Too! and from Cooper-Garrod Winery in Saratoga will pour three different wines for tasting.
The last such event held by SASCC took place in 2011 and raised about $2,000. This year’s dinner is projected to raise about $3,000.
The funds will go toward maintaining programs at the senior center, such as fitness classes, regular Wednesday lunches and game nights. The services are especially essential for less independent adults who rely on the center for their socialization and fitness needs. The center also offers respite for the families of caregivers, who use the space to do their work and relax.
According to executive director Susan Huff, one of the center’s most valuable assets is its partnership with nearby Saratoga Community Preschool. On various holidays, children from the preschool come over to the center to participate in holiday-themed activities to entertain the members.
In recent years, the center has been struggling to stay afloat and has relied upon financial help from the community to run its programs and services, Huff said.
The center was recently chosen by the Sereno Group for its “1 Percent for Good” philanthropy program, in which the real estate agency donates 1 percent of its gross commission sales to a community organization.
Last year, the Saratoga Cares Foundation donated more than $18,000 from its Saratoga’s Got Talent fundraiser. Rishi Kumar, founder of the nonprofit and talent show, said the group is considering donating to the senior center again this year.
“The objective for us is to unify our community and to care for one and all, especially the needy,” Kumar said. “This year the board of directors decided to support the kids of the community, but we said we should also look at addressing the needs of the seniors. So depending on how much money we raise, we’d like to also help out the senior center.”
The community’s fundraising efforts are especially essential at a time when federal funding is sparse. According to Saratoga City Councilman Manny Cappello, for years the center has relied on funding from community development block grants via the Housing and Community Development Advisory Committee of the county’s Office of Affordable Housing. But Cappello said those funds are diminishing every year. This year, the center will receive $15,000 from the program, half of what it received in years past. In 2012 the center didn’t receive any money from the CDBG program. The grant funding will go toward covering the center’s operational costs, Huff said.
Federal funding is not enough to sustain the center, Cappello said, so it must depend upon the generosity of members of the community.
“The city recognizes this is a vital resource,” he said. “A great community is one that takes care of its poor and its elderly.”
The “Night in Tuscany” event will take place on March 8 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Joan Pisani Community Center, at 19655 Allendale Ave. in Saratoga.
Tickets are $35 in advance and $44 on the day of the event and at the door.
For more information about the event or SASCC in general, visit sascc.org or call 408.868.1255.
Senior center will benefit from Italian-themed ‘Night in Tuscany’
