“I am interested in reaching a prosperous and good old age…”
Máximo Díaz, 76, of Ecuador, came with his adult center from Queens to spend a day at a conference for older adults, which tries to promote health and wellness among the elderly.
Máximo Díaz comments:
“They call me Máximo, you have to go and I said well, I’m leaving, and here I am, I have received a lot of appreciation, love, gifts, good food and coffee.”
With the logo of a healthy, active, happy and vibrant life. This is how Acacia Network and the Institute for Puerto Rican and Hispanic Elderly received hundreds of seniors at Alfred Lerner Hall at Columbia University.
Lymaris Albors, CEO of Acacia Network adds:
“This is a community that is active, they fall in love, they go out dancing, they go to the casino, they love to do Zumba, they are always there, they ask us to give them a sandwich, as I say.”
And of course, to keep them active, dancing could not be missing with a Zumba class.
“I get distracted because I suffer from depression, thank God that I like Zumba, dancing, enjoying things and sharing with other people,” explains Albors.
They received workshops and necessary information in both English and Spanish about social security, fraud and scams towards the elderly after Covid, how to stay hydrated at this time of year and how to prevent falls at home.
Iris Vigo is another of the attendees who showed this help a lot:
“They give a lot of very important information, especially about falls, I already fell once, and you learn a lot about different insurances, about scams that interest me a lot and about the calls that I don’t answer.”
Acacia Network is one of the leading senior service organizations serving more than 150,000 people of all ages throughout the city.
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Commissioner of the NYC Senior Citizens department states:
“Acacia Network is one of the organizations that is very unique and has a lot of Latinos, African Americans and a lot of Asians, but when they come together, they have a sense of power, strength and community.”
Mayor Adams also attended the event, and took the opportunity to emphasize the importance and contribution of Latinos in the city.
After an afternoon full of flavor, joy, necessary information, lunch and entertainment, and of course another dance class, everyone left happy, looking forward to next year’s event.
2023-08-07 16:06:00
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