Amid the pomp and fun of The Terraces of Los Gatos’ Groundbreaking Gala and Auction April 21, the reason for the celebration was never lost on participants.
As residents and friends from the wider Los Gatos, Calif., community bid on prizes like luxury vacations and life experiences, the unspoken motivation was the challenge of the husband who must travel to the next town to visit his wife who has Alzheimer’s disease because The Terraces of Los Gatos can’t accommodate her needs.
“For us, it’s important to have a memory care center in our community — both at The Terraces of Los Gatos and the town of Los Gatos at large,” says Alex Candalla, executive director. “We’re delighted that we can have this program here on our campus.”
The event, which featured a live and silent auction with prizes donated by residents, local merchants and anonymous donors, raised a total of $32,073 toward the construction of The Grove, a memory support program, and The Lodge, an assisted living residence. That figure is considerably higher than the event’s original fundraising goal of $25,000.
“We exceeded the monetary goal, but I think we really especially exceeded everyone’s expectations in getting the community excited and working together about The Grove and The Lodge,” he says. “It really generated a lot of fun and excitement about the project.”
The 22,000-square foot, $5.5 million addition, which will include 16 private rooms in the ground-floor Grove and 10 one-bedroom assisted living apartments in the second-floor Lodge, was approved by the Los Gatos Town Council last November.
The Terraces of Los Gatos committed to raising $500,000 towards construction of the new building, and the money raised from the gala and auction brings the total to $430,977, Candalla says. The community anticipates opening the new building in spring or summer of 2013.
For residents, many of whom helped prepare for the event over the course of five months, the addition will mean those who need memory support will no longer have to be “outplaced,” or transferred off campus to a community that can provide the care they require.
“For residents who see these sorts of issues among their close friends, it gives them a higher level of comfort knowing what they’ve seen with others who have been outplaced won’t happen to them,” Candalla says. “I think it makes it easier, despite the dust and noise of a yearlong construction project, because they know the end result will be a good one.”
About ABHOW
Founded in 1949, ABHOW is widely known for its pioneering leadership in senior housing and health care. The company serves more than 5,000 residents in 42 retirement communities in California, Arizona, Nevada and Washington.
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This article appears in the May 2012 issue of ABHOW Words.
