CAYMAN ISLANDS (GIS) – The preparedness of the Older Persons Active Ageing Centre’s (OPAAC) opening on Monday, 19 April 2021 was enhanced by the donation of additional furnishings and fixtures for the spacious facility. 

 Lions Club of Grand Cayman’s Current Outgoing President, Ms Carmin Godfrey, gave a $2,500 cheque from the service club for extra items at the multi-purpose centre on Monday, 12 April 2021.

“The sum we’ve donated will go towards purchasing a keyboard, comfortable seating for OPAAC’s library area and a few other items,” said she following the handover to the Ministry’s Chief Officer, Ms Teresa Echenique.

“Giving back to older persons, who are part of our living history, is a good way of giving back to our country,” added Ms Godfrey, whose service club is a longtime supporter of the Ministry’s Older Persons Month activities.

The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association (CISA) has also provided a donation of additional furniture to OPAAC. The non-profit’s gift was similarly acknowledged as a practical gesture which would deepen the association’s ongoing partnership with the Ministry. 

“All of our members are older persons, so we are always supporting older persons initiatives,” remarked CISA’s President Mr. Denniston Tibbetts.

In speaking to the specific need for OPAAC alongside more established/specialised entities which cater to the same age demographic, he said: “It’s important because it serves a bigger purpose.”

Accepting the donations, Ms Echenique hopes that such generosity spurs others to ask how they too, can contribute to OPAAC’s free programmes and resources in the months and years ahead.

“The Ministry is extremely grateful for these donations. We encourage the public, community groups, service clubs and the private sector to visit our centre or call us to find out how they can be part of this process. There will be many ways that groups and individuals can be involved. Donations do not always have to be in monetary form but can be in the form of time. We would invite our local musicians, artist, yoga instructors and various other persons to contribute to the activities which is free of cost,” she concluded.

Staff from the Needs Assessment Unit and Department of Children and Family Services will provide on-site social service advice and support – weekdays from 9 am.  The centre’s leisure and social activities will be introduced gradually in the weeks ahead. At its centralised location on MacLendon Drive, behind Priced Right, OPAAC is a short walk from the George Town Shuttle’s (Line 1) Foster’s Airport Centre stop.

For more details, call 244-2424 and visit [email protected].