For the last year, I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with the seniors at Project Open Door. As one of the Registered Dietitians at God’s Love, I give nutrition workshops at the center. At each presentation, as many as 300 seniors can congregate in the dining room and learn about healthy eating tips. Just last week, I taught them about increasing physical activity to maintain weight and prevent against cancer.

And so yesterday, I was delighted to attend the festivities at Project Open Door Senior Citizen Center celebrating their 40th year anniversary. The event was the talk around Chinatown! The opening reception started with lion and dragon dances performed by the seniors.  Many elected officials attended and gave touching speeches including New York City Comptroller John Liu, Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver, New York City Council Member Margaret Chin and Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez.  Guests had the opportunity to sample Chinese dim sum at the trendy Red Egg restaurant and the all-time popular roast pig. As we all sat and ate, memories abounded.  We shared our experiences about the center and our vision for its future.

Project Open Door was established in 1972 to serve the needs of the growing elder population in the community.  The passionate and energetic director, Po-ling Ng, who have been with the center since its inception, thanked her team and community members for keeping the center alive all these years.  Director Ng called her center a “playground” where all her seniors had fun.  Many recreational activities are offered from calligraphy to tai chi to dancing.  Delicious, nutritious and family-style meals are served at noon every weekday. God’s Love is proud to be such an integral part of the vibrant Chinatown community in such a meaningful way and we look forward to the next 40 years of our partnership with Project Open Door.

Click here for photos from the celebration!

By Pauline Cheung, MS, RD, CDN
God’s Love We Deliver