Protecting the community, one mask at a time

GOLDEN AGE FOUNDATION

The Golden Age Foundation is like Leisure World’s guardian angel.

The philanthropic self-help group is at the ready to take on special projects to help LW residents make the most of life here.

The GAF has paid for bus benches— or coordinated to get them on behalf of LW clubs and shareholders— throughout LW, sponsored transportation help, including paying for an ACCESS bus. It loans mobility aids like walkers to residents for free and offers free tax assistance and a variety of other resources in normal years.

This is not a normal year, but the GAF found a way to support residents by overseeing the production of cloth masks and then distributing them by the thousands to residents, for free.

It takes a village to be “Community Strong,” an effort the GAF has supported since the beginning of the pandemic.

GAF President Anna Derby and co-chair Diana Harrison marshaled a group of residents to produce the washable cotton masks.

“Providing washable masks is the perfect project in the difficult times we’re facing with stay-at-home orders and social distancing,” said Derby.

About 50 volunteers sewed fabric, cut elastic cutters and distributed finished masks for bagging. One of a handful of mask baggers is Yo Kishi of Mutual 12. She has lived in Leisure World for over 19 years and is widely known for her participation with the Hui O Hula dancers.

Since the COVID-19 shutdowns, Yo has put her time to a use that has benefited hundreds of her fellow shareholders. She is the person who carefully folds the colorful cloth masks and tucks them in a plastic bag, one by one. Each bag has with a note from the GAF thanking people for doing their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 with mask washing instructions. She has spent countless hours bagging thousands of masks and has earned the gratitude of the GAF.

Anna Derby has collected hundreds and hundreds of face masks from Diana Harrison, who supplies volunteers with fabric and elastic and picks up finished masks. The final stop is Yo Kishi, who makes sure each one is carefully bagged before it goes out to the community. The masks have been distributed in two large-scale giveaways and in several smaller impromptu events.

The Golden Age Foundation is an independent nonprofit, 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to serving the residents of Seal Beach Leisure World. Its purpose is to make the community a better place to live. The Foundation was established in 1973 and is not affiliated with the Golden Rain Foundation.

Because GAF is certified as a nonprofit organization by the Internal Revenue Service, contributions made to it qualify for exemption from income taxes, in most cases.

For more information, contact Anna Derby at (562) 301-5339.