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Speaker Series presents Marcy Sheinwold, President of The Foundation of Laguna Woods Village.

The Foundation has been the Village’s very own charity for the past 27 years — its safety net — to help residents who are experiencing financial issues. More than 92 cents of each dollar spent by the Foundation goes directly to benefit Village residents. The day-to-day operations of The Foundation are provided by an all-volunteer board.  It is their time and expertise that helps The Foundation meet its goal of providing temporary financial assistance to Village residents

Speaker Series presents Melinda Forstey, CEO Serving Seniors

She is responsible for the oversight and overall management of all programs, services, housing operations, and human resources. Founded in 1970, Serving Seniors is a San Diego-based nonprofit dedicated to serving low-income adults aged 60 and over.

Her talk will overview their recent report, Senior Homelessness: A a needs Assessment. This report revealed significant differences working with older adults experiencing homelessness as compared to the general adult homeless population. While homelessness is an increasingly common issue for all age groups, the study found that seniors are largely becoming homeless because of economic stresses and the inability to keep up with housing costs. The report showed there are readily achievable solutions that can be implemented immediately at low cost in an older adult’s lifetime. One of the key recommendations is establishing a Shallow Housing Financial Subsidy Program. The Program is designed to improve housing stability for low-income older adults who, without financial assistance, may be at risk of losing their housing.

Leisure World Cares Fund hosts a table at the GRF 8th annual Life Options Expo. Visit it at table 85 and receive a free first aid kit.

April 8, 2025

Recently several concerned Leisure World residents stepped up to form a new nonprofit charity within Leisure World. The founders’ expressed purpose is to provide their struggling neighbors with subsidies for their HOA assessments. High inflation, high insurance premiums, high food and other costs have driven some residents who are on fixed incomes to the brink. They can no longer afford their GRF and Mutual assessments and they may face having to sell their units and leave. That is where the newly incorporated Leisure World Cares Fund can help.

The concept is to generate sustained income from donations by more financially secure residents, government grants to prevent homelessness and other means. With that income a small independent review board will find and vet the neediest members in Leisure World and provide a small subsidy toward their assessments. The idea is to provide housing security and peace of mind to the most vulnerable.

The idea for the Leisure World Cares Fund has been a long time in the making. GRF Director Nick Massetti began introducing the idea to fellow board members about 5 years ago. As assessments have gone up and out of reach for some, more Directors and community members have expressed support for the idea. Besides Massetti, the founding members of the new charity include GRF Directors Don Horning and former GRF Director Stephen Hendrickson, former Mutual Presidents Beth Mayer and Jackie Dunagan, City Councilman Ben Wong, and Mutual 17 resident Shannon Brennan. The group has provided the initial funding along with extensive expertise in community governance and how to get things done in Leisure World. Full implementation of the resource is pending IRS approval of 501(c)(3) status.

More members are welcome and joining is free. The first order of business is to establish a sizeable set of donors from the community who will consistently provide the needed funding. That will enable commitments to be made to those at risk. 100% of donations made on a sustaining basis will be applied to a struggling member’s assessment. Anyone considering becoming involved either as member and or as a donor may contact Leisure World Cares Fund at lwcares@lwcaresfund.org