Center in the Park (CIP) was the site of a tour and visit, on October 11th, from the CEO of Benetas, Sandra Hill, who was in the United States to tour “innovative aged care providers and research institutions” in order to “increase our knowledge of innovative services, models and practices within the aged and community sector,” according to Ms. Hill.

At Left: Seated Sandra Hill, CEO Benetas and Benny The Bears; standing Left to Right - Renee Cunningham-Ginchereau, Associate Director, CIP; Megan McCoy, Director of Grant Research & Development; and, Lynn Fields Harris, Executive Director

Benetas, a large non-profit provider of aged and community care services in Victoria, Australia was founded by a small group of volunteers in 1948 in response to an “urgent need to provide care and support for older Victorians.” Currently, Benetas provides community, home-based aged care services, residential care and respite services to more than 2,000 older people, their families and caregivers. Center in the Park, similarly, provides services and programs for some 3,000 older adults annually and has a membership base of nearly 7,000.

At Right: Sandra Hill, CEO, Benetas and Benny The Bear

“Center in the Park staff and members greeted our Australian guest with much enthusiasm as we shared information about CIP’s programs and services,” according to Lynn Fields Harris, Executive Director, who further stated that “in discussing our mission and objectives, we found that we had ideas to share, facts to learn and common goals of providing exceptional programs, needed services and contributing to the body of knowledge on aging through our research and advocacy efforts.”

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