Segerstrom gives $10,000 to senior center

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- C.J. Segerstrom & Sons donated $10,000 to the Costa Mesa

Senior Center on Monday.

“The Segerstroms have long supported programs and agencies that have

public benefit in the city of Costa Mesa, and our contribution today

recognizes our belief in the importance of the Costa Mesa Senior Center,”

Segerstrom spokesman Paul Freeman said, adding that the company also

donated $10,000 two years ago. “The programs the center provides are very

important to many people. It provides a sense of place and community for

people who, absent the senior center, wouldn’t have that sense. It’s a

very high-quality place.”

The nearly 4,000-member senior center has been collecting donations as

part of a six-month fund-raising campaign that started in November.

The Segerstrom donation brought the center’s campaign total to

$62,000, said Aviva Goelman, executive director of the center.

This year the center, a nonprofit organization that relies on private

donations and grants from the city, has set its financial goal at

$100,000, she said.

The money raised during the campaign will be used to cover operating

expenses, she said.

“This is a big help, and we hope that when the community sees that the

Segerstroms are behind us, others will come forward,” Goelman said.

“We’re going to begin contacting other businesses and corporations in the

city this month.”