Community Adult Day Center celebrates four decades of compassionate care and connection for local seniors

By Valerie Hardy

One-third of older adults have Alzheimer’s Disease or another type of dementia by the end of their lives. Living with dementia is often challenging for individuals and their families. Thankfully, local compassionate care options are available, including those offered through Community Adult Day Center (CADC), a nonprofit operating out of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Downers Grove.

CADC has provided daytime companionship and dementia support to older adults since the mid-1980s. Last year alone, CADC provided 95,020 hours of therapeutic activities and respite services to “Members (what we call the people who attend the Center),” said Susan Sinderson, Executive Director of CADC, who highlighted key details of the organization’s history, current offerings, and 40th anniversary celebrations. 

Downers Grove Magazine (DGM): Can you share a bit about the organization and how it has evolved over the years? 

Susan Sinderson: CADC is a very special place where families who are facing very difficult challenges can find hope, connection, and care. It was founded with a clear purpose by community-minded individuals, representing 11 different churches in the Downers Grove Area…to provide an alternative to institutional living, assisting frail elderly individuals to remain living in their community for as long as possible. We aspire to lead the way in dementia care by empowering families and communities through innovative programs, compassionate support and collaborative partnerships. Our goals today focus not only offering excellence in care but also in our partnerships with our family members and helping them navigate the journey through the very difficult diagnosis of one of the many kinds of dementia, and through our university partnerships, where we are teaching new professionals how they can be a part of improving the quality of life for older adults.

Members share a meal together. Last year, 4,750 hot meals were served at CADC.

DGM: What programming does CADC provide? 

Sinderson: Our environment is organized based on “hygge,” the Danish art of connection, comfort, and contentment. We offer evidence-based innovative therapeutic activities that are focused on movement that creates both cognitive and physical activity. We actively move between five different rooms during the day… Our “Bloom Room” offers therapeutic horticulture (nature-based activities). Our “Magic Forest” room houses our “Magic Table” and “Virtual Reality” glasses, where motion-based technology is used in creating cognitively stimulating activities. The “Cozy Chair” room is where we start and finish our day with friendly conversation and quiet activities. The “Move and Groove” room is where we focus on chair tai chi and chair yoga, drumming, and chair volleyball, to name a few, and our cafe is where we have lunch and snacks and study and participate in therapeutic art and many games designed to stimulate the brain and the body… In addition, we offer many different ways to support the families of our Members. 

DGM: How is the CADC celebrating its milestone anniversary? 

Sinderson: We started our celebration by [inviting] our Members, families, donors, employees and volunteers to engage in an exercise where they shared words they felt best described CADC. To name a few: holistic, fun, growth, happiness, hope, and engaging. We used these words to come up with our new logo… We have a yearlong effort to raise funds to support our growth and received a grant from RRF Foundation for Aging to update our website. We are also giving tours to community members who are interested in understanding what we offer.

DGM: CADC is also hosting a 40th anniversary fundraising event, is that correct? 

Sinderson: We are holding an event on November 6, 2026 to kick off our next 40 years.  It is called “Forty and Flourishing.” It will be a beautiful night, with many fun ways to support CADC. There will be a wine pull, paddle raise, “Forty Faces” exhibit featuring faces of our community members from the past 40 years, cocktail reception, dinner, music, live auction featuring three pieces of original artwork done by the Members of CADC, …stories from our CADC community members, and the opportunity to meet our sponsors.

DGM: Besides attending the “Forty and Flourishing” event, how can community members support CADC?

Sinderson: We are always looking for volunteers who love to have fun and enjoy making connections with people, using their talents in areas such as creative arts, physical movement and technology. Financial donations are always welcomed and very much appreciated.  The website (communityadultdaycenter.org) will have a wish list soon! 

Left: Therapeutic horticulture in the Bloom Room  Right: A CADC member uses Virtual Reality glasses.

Left: CADC’s Move and Groove Room  Right: CADC Members participating in the Magic Table