THE two-story Felicidad T. Sy (FTS) Center for the Elderly in Marikina City was recently inaugurated by Mayor Del de Guzman. The former World Health Organization-sponsored Senior Citizen Lifestyle Center established in 2003 that was totally devastated by Typhoon Ondoy has been renovated and refurbished through the auspices of the SM Foundation.

Rodolfo de Guzman, the 81-year-old officer in charge of the Senior Citizens Association of the city, stated that in 2007 the Marikina Cooperative Development Council started the initial funds for the Elderly Center and with the income derived from the livelihood activities, the seniors have a revolving fund for their various activities that keep them ‘busy, hale and hearty’.

The FTS Center for the Elderly boasts of a multipurpose hall and livelihood center and offices on the second floor, complete with a receiving room, dining room, kitchenette, comfort room, stockroom and conference room on the ground floor.

During the inauguration, a number of senior volunteers were hand-crafting beaded wallets, bags and assorted beaded jewelry in time for the Christmas season-one of the numerous livelihood projects that are being undertaken by the senior volunteers in collaboration with the city of Marikina.

Other activities being held in the center are dancing during Tuesdays and Thursdays; tai-chi lessons on Mondays and Fridays; along with livelihood-training programs and other special year-round activities. A group of senior volunteer members of the Marikina Ballroom Club performed a tango dance segment comparable with professional ballroom dancers in the country.

Mayor de Guzman in his message thanked the SM Foundation for heeding the call of the senior volunteers for , assistance. In return, he asked the senior citizens to take care of the center, reminding them to treat it as their ‘second home’. He also assured his constituents that the city government of Marikina will give its all-out support to the center as a way of caring and thanking the senior volunteers for the care they give him and his generation.

The SM family, represented by Connie Angeles, executive director for Health and Medical Programs of the SM Foundation, accepted the plaque of appreciation for and in behalf of SM founder Henry Sy Sr. Angeles reiterated the foundation’s commitment to undertake the yearly maintenance of the center, as well as annual medical missions.

The FTS Center for the Elderly in Marikina is the 61st center nationwide built by the SM Foundation aside from the pediatric activity centers and hospice centers. The foundation has likewise renovated several health centers with the end in view of augmenting the health service delivery of the government as part of public-private partnership and its corporate social resp0nsibility.