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ACC Fall Gala 2024

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The evening honored the inaugural ACC Founders Award recipients, Mr. Angelo Tsakopoulos and Congresswoman Doris Matusi. Mr. Tsakopoulos made the dream possible when he donated his 3.5 acres of land that the Care Center sits on today. Congresswoman Doris Matsui and her late husband, Congressman Robert Matsui, were instrumental in taking the idea of culturally sensitive senior care and making it a reality! Without the support of Mr. Tsakopoulos and the Matsui Family, alongside the powerful Bingo volunteers, the ACC Care Center would not be where it is today.

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Garden Club Turns Bare Dirt and Weeds Into A Social Opportunity

by with No Comment blogHome & Community Based Services

What happens when you get two ACC volunteers looking at soil? Well, you get the start of the ACC Garden Club. Mid 2023, Mike Lee was digging up the dirt from the unused garden planters to fill in the low spots by the walkway in back of ACC, so people wouldn’t trip stepping onto the grass during events. One day, Mike was thinking, maybe we could start a garden again. After a month goes by, Mike chatted with Alfred Yee about it, and Alfred thought it was a great idea. Alfred looked at the remnants of the garden area and the old planter boxes beside the shed in back of ACC. He thought about the hard work Mike was doing moving soil to fill in low spots, and thought, why not start a garden club and rejuvenate the garden area.
Alfred approached Mike about starting a garden club with each of them co-managing the effort. They tossed around ideas for a month or so and thought there should be a sizable group of people who like to garden and want to socialize. They put an announcement in the ACC Newsletter on starting a garden club, inviting anyone with intertest to join. The first Garden Club meeting was April 15th with about 10 people showing up. Word got around and as of May 7th there are 24 participants and growing weekly. Veggies for the sight impaired who come to ACC were planted by Mike for them to enjoy the garden and harvest what grows.
People are still welcome to join the Garden Club to help. Alfred meets Garden Club members on Mondays at 9 am to answer any questions. All the gardening space is taken up right now and if more gardening space becomes available, the new members can get to plant.
Alfred and Howard Lockard did a lot of prep work clearing out the weeds and surrounding areas the week of April 15th. Many thanks to them and others who did the heavy weeding. Alfred and Mike’s goal, socialize, make new friends, learn from each other, work as a team, and of course, plant anything you want, veggies, succulents, flowers, herbs, what ever you want! There is excitement among the gardeners planting, watering, and watching the plants and flowers flourish. Numerous people have donated to the Garden Club, sharing supplies. Many thanks to the Garden Club participants and who also look out for each other’s plants. Everything is flexible and a work in progress. So far, we have been successful in all respects, with the anticipation of a bountiful crop this summer!

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ACC ranks 7th on BDOG Leaderboard

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Thanks to all of our ACC supporters, donors and community members, ACC Senior Services ranked #7 on the Leaderboard for Sacramento’s Big Day of Giving out of 826 other local organizations!  With well over 500 individual gifts, we were able to raise $288,247.40 to date!  We are keeping the fundraising going until the end of May to help us get closer to our goal of $400,000.  To donate, and help us close the gap, please click here or drop off/mail your donations to ACC Senior Services: 7334 Park City Drive, Sacramento CA 95831. 

On May 2nd, 2024, ACC hosted a 5 hour livestreamed telethon for the Annual Big Day of Giving.  Viewers were entertained by musical talents such as Broadway star Dina Morishta, George Connor and Mary Nakamura (Asian Pair), Clementine Brass Band and so many more!  Tastebuds salivated with cooking demos by Lana Chong, Jonathan and Katie of local favorite Cacio and our very own Chef Tim Hirabayashi from ACC Maple Tree Village.  We heard messages from our local elected officials Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, Councilmember Rick Jennings and Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen.

During the evenings, we showcased many of our ACC programs, services, residential communities and clubs.  Honoring longtime volunteer Art Imigire and a wonderful heartfelt tribute to an ACC pioneer, Mickey Yamadera.

Our in-person audience enjoyed friendship as they enjoyed the wonderful food and bake sale.  A special thank you to volunteer Debbie Seid and her crew of ladies who worked all afternoon to get everyone’s orders packed up and ready to go!  From chicken teriyaki bowls to spam musubi, it was a sell out!   

Another big thank you to Jean Shiomoto and her crew of volunteer bakers who made the amazing spread of baked goodies!

Big Day of Giving is a 24-hour fundraising event that supports local nonprofits in the Sacramento region. BDOG enhances community-building and collaboration among area non-profits, organized by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation with backing from partners like Western Health Advantage and generous individuals like you!

Annually, the Big Day of Giving is ACC’s largest fundraiser of the year and enables us to continue to offer many of our services and programs at low-to-no cost to our participants. From participants and volunteers with ACC Rides and Senior Escort Program, to residents of ACC Skilled Nursing and Independent Living – your donation makes a direct impact in our community!

For more details and a listing of our Big Day of Giving donors, please visit www.accsv.org/bdog2024

To watch a replay of our ACC Big Day of Giving telethon, click here.
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ACC Golf Tournament 2024

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What a spectacular April morning it was for golf!  148 golfers embarked on a full day celebration supporting ACC Senior Services.  Beginning with breakfast burritos, coffee and juice, sponsored by Winston Ashizawa (past board chair) & Jean Shiomoto (current board chair), the Teal Bend club house was a-buzz with excitement as Jean Shiomoto and Connie Rusynyk (President & CEO of ACC) gave a warm welcome and sent the golfers on their way.  As the golfers departed in the golf carts and moved about the course, you could see the joy and excitement in catching up with old and new friends alike.

From the Ladder Game to Hole-in-One cash prize opportunities, thank you to Winston Ashizawa and William Yee for their sponsorship, there was excitement around every turn.  Thank you to hole sponsor Connie Van Real Estate for providing warm homemade chicken Pho as golfers approached Hole 10.

As the golfers finished their last hole, they hopped on over to ACC Campus to hear the results of the morning.  Thank you to Herbert & Inez Yee Foundation and the Yee Law Firm for their sponsorship of the L&L BBQ bento lunch that followed.  A special thank you to our crew of volunteer bakers who brought in trays of freshly baked goodies for dessert!  What a treat!

Thank you to all of our hole sponsors, in-kind donors, army of volunteers & committee members – your support of ACC Senior Services is very much appreciated and helps to impact the lives of those in our community.

The photographs below were made possible by our wonderful volunteer Photographers who showed up early in the morning to document the day: Jeff Jong, Jonathan Sakakibara, Jeannie Fong
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Senior Escort Program celebrates 1500 Walks!

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Since its inception in 2022, ACC’s Senior Escort Program celebrates the incredible milestone of completing 1500 walks. In response to anti-Asian hate incidents, the Senior Escort Program was formed as a collaborative effort to protect seniors while out in the community. Over time, the program has evolved from a safety initiative to a source of independence and social connection for seniors – one walk at a time.

The Senior Escort Program matches seniors with friendly volunteers who meet them at their home or a location of choice to take walks around the neighborhood, shop at local grocery stores, or navigate through doctors’ offices for appointments. During walks, participants are able to connect with volunteers one-on-one and boost their physical and mental health. Based on our 2023 survey, 90% of participants feel safer using the Senior Escort Program, and 72% of participants have felt an improvement with their mental health since starting the program.

In addition to daily walks, Senior Escort Program staff schedules multiple shopping trips and group outings for participants and volunteers. These outings not only give participants a variety of opportunities to get out safely, but also provide extra socialization between participants at a similar stage in life. Volunteers have also shared their joy in meeting other volunteers, and connecting on their passion of giving back to the community. “I love meeting such a wide range of individuals, providing a safe feeling outside, and letting seniors know that they are not alone. I enjoy this program so very much, and I am sure I get more out of it than the seniors,” says Senior Escort Program Volunteer, Julie Zumalt.

Another goal of the Senior Escort Program is to combat isolation – physically and emotionally. 83% of participants feel less socially isolated since starting the program. “I feel that having an escort improves my social isolation since I am a widow and cancer survivor. Despite having family members to help, it’s better having a neutral party to talk to,” says Senior Escort Program Participant, Mariko Yamashita .

ACC’s Senior Escort Program has been able to expand, not only in size, but across generations, race/ethnicity, and disabilities. In creating a safe space for seniors and volunteers, we’re able to work towards creating a community of caring and sense of belonging. “I appreciate and love all of the escorts. I always look forward to walking with them. I feel like I can be myself and become more independent,” says Wanda Thomas, a blind participant of ACC’s Senior Escort Program.

Reach out to our Senior Escort Program Coordinator and learn about ways you can become a participant/volunteer, or support our program!

Click here to Learn More about Senior Escort Program
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K.W. Lee Comes Full Circle at ACC

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When ACC was founded in 1972, K.W. was a 43-year-old investigative reporter for The Sacramento Union. He wrote a series of articles about Leo Goto’s pioneering efforts to build a Japanese community and cultural center in Sacramento. This helped Leo galvanize community support and incorporate the Japanese Community Center of Sacramento Valley (JCC), which today is ACC Senior Services.