Altavita Village is a continuing care retirement community with an emphasis on giving back and being socially responsible.
Altavita Village staff and more than 400 residents in Riverside have joined together to make contributions to various causes including hurricane relief, Alzheimer’s Disease, and social service projects at the 28-year-old retirement community.
At Altavita Village, technology and fitness combined for a good cause. More than 40 residents and staff participated at the Memory Care Garden Walk at Altavita Village while another group walked simultaneously at the Inland Empire Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Ontario. “We FaceTimed each other as we walked to stay connected to each other,” said Maridel Papica, a Memory Care counselor for Altavita Village, a proud silver sponsor of the Alzheimer Association’s Ontario walk. Participants more than doubled their fundraising goal this year, exceeding $2,600.
“I feel like it was a powerful way to connect to our community, to give back to the larger community,” said Julie Michaels, executive director of Altavita Village. “To realize that Alzheimer’s has an impact on everyone’s life and giving back really pulls us together even more.”
Resident Bette Roberts and Team Member Shayla Glass started a fundraising drive for victims of Hurricane Harvey. The final donation to a nonprofit relief organization in Houston came to $11,600, which included a matching gift from an anonymous donor at Altavita Village.
“There’s a caring group of staff and residents here,” said Roberts, who is a 93-year-old retired realtor and Altavita Village resident of six years.
Mary Mayou’s husband is in Memory Care. He is a retired Navy chaplain. Mayou, an 11-year resident of Altavita Village, started a support group called Savvy Care Givers. “We’re just a bunch of people who have friends or loved ones in Memory Care. We get together and share our feelings and concerns. Staff come and talk to us.” She is also on a committee that brings volunteers to visit residents in assisted living, Memory Care and skilled nursing.
“Residents have been generous in their giving to major projects here and supporting one another,” Michaels said. “There’s a foundation here in the community, should a resident outlive their financial resources.”
This season, plans include to continue an annual Toys for Tots driven and a resident and team member blood drive scheduled for Dec. 19. Family members of some of the team members were at the mass shooting in Las Vegas. “We’re doing it in honor of our neighbors in Las Vegas,” Michaels said.
Altavita Village is a continuing care retirement community that provides an active and maintenance-free lifestyle, while offering peace of mind knowing a full continuum of health care services is available should a resident need it. Altavita’s continuum of care includes independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care and rehabilitation services. For more information, contact 951-697-2100.