Housing Agency Fund-Raiser to Benefit Seniors

The Resident Relations Department of the city Housing Authority will have its annual Holiday Season Kick-Off Luncheon on Wednesday.

The luncheon, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Independent Square’s Social Hall, 2455 S. St. Andrews Place, will include drawings for 100 turkeys, door prizes and food baskets donated by local businesses and elected officials. Music and entertainment will also be provided.

Proceeds for the luncheon, which costs $2.50 at the door, will benefit the Golden Steppers Senior Citizens Assn., service volunteers within the Resident Relations Department. All senior residents of public housing may attend, said Resident Relations Coordinator Jackie Calloway.

“The response to (the Golden Steppers’) last fund-raiser was great,” Calloway said of an August tea party that generated $3,000 in donations, enough to repair the organization’s van and fund a Halloween party in October. “As long as we get money, we can do bigger and better things.”

The Golden Steppers started in 1990 at two central Los Angeles public housing sites and now work in all public housing in the city. Calloway said the money raised at Wednesday’s luncheon will go toward funding “granny houses”--day-care centers staffed by seniors that provide free services for at-risk children whose parents are undergoing substance-abuse treatment programs.

The deadline for transportation requests for the luncheon is Monday.

Information: (213) 731-9441.