ST. JOHNS RETIREMENT VILLAGE RECEIVES $92,000 DONATION
Donation to help retirement village reopen in the near future
Earlier this week, St. Johns Retirement Village, located at 135 Woodland Ave., received a generous donation from Life Pointe Church for $92,310.
According to St. John's Board of Directors member Stan Levers, the donation was not only beneficial for the funding that is crucial to the reopening of the retirement campus, but it also confirms the widespread community support that underscores the need for the reopening of the only non-profit senior residential care facility in Yolo County.
Inside the St. John's front lobby Friday afternoon, Levers and dozens of community members welcomed the lead Pastor at Life Pointe Church, Cody Cannon, along with the lead Pastor of the Eastside Church, Daniel Orozco, and the Associate Pastor of Life Pointe Church, Matt Crocker.
“A member of our church that served here for many years brought it up to my attention that St. John's was planning to reopen,” Cannon said. “She was originally just asking if we could do the Sunday services that they used to have here, but that idea got lodged in my brain.”
According to Cannon, every Christmas, Life Pointe Church, located at 1616 West St., selects a local or foreign organization to help or support with either practical needs or a financial gift. St. John's remained in his thoughts, and after making a few calls, the church decided the retirement village would be this year's beneficiary.
“The mission to reopen St. Johns has always been to generate support from the community, the financial institution that carries the current loan on the campus, and the Yolo County Board of Supervisors,” Levers stated. “To date, St. Johns has received this gracious donation from Life Pointe Church. Chase Bank is now considering a six
month interest-only forbearance to augment short-term working capital needs. The next step is obtaining the financial support of Yolo County in continuance of the reopening process.”
According to Cannon, the donations collected throughout December came from both Life Pointe Church and its sister church, Eastside Church, located at the Woodland Christian School Performing Arts Center on Matmor Road.
“This donation means to me that the church is living out what we claim to believe,” Cannon said. “We are in this city for the sake of the city, and we love the people here in practical ways. That has been our goal and mission for a long time, and it means something to us to donate here.”
Other projects Life Pointe Church has supported over the years include Sparrow Medical, a women's health clinic located at 120 Court St., a hati ministry that is working on a church and school,
“This donation means to me that the church is living out what we claim to believe.” — Cody Cannon, Pastor
the adoption of an apartment complex down the street from the West Street church, helping out an Esparto church by providing them a van, Fourth & Hope and providing an ambulance for a medical missionary in Africa.
“I think what mostly motivated us to give and support is that these are real live people that will end up here,” Cannon said. “A lot of us imagine that our parents or grandparents or church members will end up in a place like this. It's a need that is obvious, tangible and concrete, so it was good for us to serve something that will turn around and serve us.”
According to Levers, the retirement village has served Yolo County for the past six decades since its inception through the generous donation of land and funds from the Stoll Family.
Although it has been temporarily closed since early 2022 due to the impact on revenue and staffing from the COVID-19 pandemic, a new board of directors, advisory team and friends of St. Johns Retirement Village are working together to reopen the campus.
The new seven-member board, which was named in May 2023, includes former board members Bob Nakken, Chuck Santoni, Debbie Bruno, and Levers, along with Peter Faye, former Mayor of Woodland Dan Parrish, and former President of the Yolo Food Bank Tom Muller.
Levers mentioned the critical need for senior residential care is undisputed.
According to Levers, the U.S. Census Bureau points to 2030 as a milestone year in which older people will outnumber children for the first time in history. Census Bureau data also estimates that one in every five Americans will be at retirement age by that year. Beyond that, by 2035, some 78 million people will be over 65, while 76.6 million will be 18 or younger.