mission    FOUNDER'S STATEMENT     PROGRAM DIRECTOR     BOARD MEMBERS

There's No Place Like Home!

Nestled along the rugged coastline of north San Diego County, the quaint coastal village of Del Mar is home to Del Mar Community Connections, a volunteer-driven organization providing programs and services that allow our maturing residents to live safely, vibrantly and independently in the homes they love rather than moving to a retirement or assisted living facility – this is known as the Village movement.

Offering numerous social, cultural, health and education activities, DMCC also provides alternative transportation options, in-home care management consultations with a licensed social worker, legal and Medicare counseling clinics, computer tutoring, brain fitness program and weekly health education group discussions with a practicing geriatric physician. If you’re a reader or a knitter, yoga novice or tai chi master, since 1999, DMCC has been delivering a wide range of services our residents desire to enhance their lives.

Do you know of a need we’re not yet providing? Are you interested in becoming part of a growing movement where communities around the globe are creating similar Village models? If so, we invite you to become involved in DMCC!

Our office is located in the Community Building at 225 9th Street.  Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.

How We Came Together:  Founder’s Message

by Nancy Weare

The impetus for creating Del Mar Community Connections evolved from my great appreciation of the nurturing assistance given by the Senior Center in my parents’ town during the period of my father’s death. A counselor was dispatched to the hospital from the Senior Center because someone from the town was terminally ill. Even though we didn’t ask for the help, it made this deeply sad event much more meaningful and uplifting for all of us.

Upon telling my friends in Del Mar of this experience, they spoke about their own or neighbors’ needs, the difficulty of finding support and information in stressful situations, and the absence of local mechanisms to help.

I called a long-time Del Mar activist, Ann Silber, and shared my desire to form an organization dedicated to bringing support services and information to Del Mar's seniors and specific needs population. Since our City was too small to afford municipal Social Services, there already existed an informal network of many caring, active people in Del Mar who regularly and quietly reached out to help others.

Del Mar Community Connections was born in Ann’s living room where we had our first community discussions in September 1999. Everyone without hesitation said let’s get going. With the help of these energetic neighborhood volunteers, a 501 (c)(3) organization was developed with a Founding Board of Directors, all willing to roll up their sleeves and build programs making aging in place in Del Mar more possible for seniors and those with specific needs.

Heather Glenn: Program Director

I returned to the San Diego area in 2007 and joined Del Mar Community Connections after a twenty year absence managing public safety communications and technology for various municipalities throughout California.  Working with our senior community has revived the joy and fond memories created during the time I spent living with my grandparents as a young child. Through my work as Program Director, and alongside our many volunteers and Board members, we strive to create a changing paradigm for aging: one that keeps our residents vibrant, vital and active; safe and secure in the homes they love.