An historic shift is taking place in our country, and Pasadena has landed in the middle of it. Our community, like so many others, is facing dramatic growth in its older population as members of the baby-boom generation turn 65 in unprecedented numbers.

This year, our retiree population will grow faster than the population of young people. And next year will see the same, and the year after that.

In fact, the historic makeup of Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley insures we will see a demographic shift that is more dramatic than in many urban areas.

And we are not ready.

It is estimated that older adults lose billions of dollars to scammers each year. But there is good news—last year the Federal Trade Commission noted that older consumers are more likely to report they’ve been victimized by financial exploitation than their younger counterparts.

Here are three scams that are notably making the rounds.

The Pasadena sponsored team, Whose Your Daddy, won the championship of the Intercity Senior Coed Softball League, defeating the Diamond Bar Rascals, 7 to 6. It was a close game, with the lead changing several times before Whose Your Daddy pushed across the winning run in the final inning. The championship game, played November 8, was in Diamond Bar at Pantera Park.

You might think you’re never going to fall, but the truth is 1 in 4 older adults fall every year in the U.S. The good news is that most falls are preventable. Start by learning 6 easy steps.

Byron, at 104 years old, came to the Senior Center for his daily fix—working on a puzzle. Six days a week, he arrived at his usual spot. At the beginning, he worked on his puzzle alone, with Center members sometimes stopping to say hello and chat about this or that. In the last few years Marilyn, another Senior Center member, joined him and she would work on his puzzle too. The two of them would sit together, heads bowed over the puzzle table, stopping only at lunchtime for a bite to eat. After lunch, he’d go home. Byron recently passed away,

I’m not much of a gambler, but I like the saying about making the most of the hand you’re dealt in life. The truth is, there are no guarantees, and no promises of a tomorrow. We all need to make the most of today. Whether we have been dealing with a debilitating illness for many years, or we get sudden bad news, we need strength for this life.

I was reminded of this recently,

A few months ago, I did something I never thought I’d do: I boarded a plane for South Korea to watch my daughter, Lauren, win a silver medal in the bobsled competition of the Winter Olympics.

Every single word in that sentence is surprising and amazing to me, so I will go in order:

1. I’m scared of flying, and boarding a plane for that long was never going to be something I chose to do. But, when your youngest child is competing in THE OLYMPICS, you go. I did a lot of deep breathing. The experience of flying for close to 14 hours wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

The New Year begins and I find myself thinking about how lucky our Center is to have strong community support. Whether in our growing membership and volunteer rosters or in reaching ambitious fundraising goals, our neighborhood responds in a big way.

The Center recently held its annual “Zest” gala, which raises money for the Center to continue and expand its service offerings. Non-profit organizations, like the Center, operate differently than a business in that any surplus revenue is put back into our budget rather than distributing it as income to shareholders.

What this means is that donors, whether they give $3 or $1,000, can rest assured that the money they give to the Center directly translates into supporting the programs that bring more than 10,000 seniors annually through our doors.

 

In 1957, Pasadena’s city leaders hopped on a national bandwagon to take better care of seniors. They wanted to provide seniors a place for social interaction, and opened the Pasadena Senior Center in May 1960. The Junior League, a fantastic women’s organization that was heavily involved in civic projects (and still is today), adopted the Center as its pet project, provided volunteers to staff the facility, and raised