It is gratifying to start off the New Year by announcing that we have successfully met the conditions of the challenge grant set by Emilie Roy Corey and Michael Corey. Since we raised $30,000 in Annual Fund gifts by December 31, we will receive their $20,000 gift. Wonderful news! I wish I could personally visit and thank everyone who made this possible, but since I can't we are listing their names and conveying our heartfelt thanks elsewhere in this issue.

Unfortunately, I also have very discouraging news. In the last seven weeks of 2001, the Park Slope Geriatric Day Center lost almost 15% of anticipated funding. The unfunded items in both the city and state budgets will cause a $120,000 shortfall. The most resounding loss will be the $70,000 allocation from the State Office for the Aging. The $1 million allocation that funded programs at 19 Adult Day Services programs was not restored to the current state budget. If funding is not restored, it will mean the loss of 2.5 staff members and the near elimina-tion of the agency's Spanish language program-80% of the funding for this program comes from the State.

Imagine what it will be like for a frail or confused client who must ride the bus to the center without the staff member who translates for him, and who must spend the day not fully understanding the words of the people around him. Then put yourself in the position of the caregiver who needs to communicate with a social worker or would like to attend a support group, but doesn't speak English. Approximately 50-75 clients and family members each year, at both the Center for the Physically Frail and at the Dementia Center, will be in this position.

An additional $50,000 in unrestored funds from the New York City budget will mean a decrease in the services we will be able to offer through the Transportation Program. Instead of increasing our fleet of buses from six to eight, we will be forced to cut staff and reduce hours, thereby limiting the number of seniors we can transport. Since our buses carry seniors to other programs as well as our own, and also can be scheduled to bring clients food shopping or to medical appointments, the loss of funds will greatly effect the quality of life of the participants. We had hoped to increase service this year, to allow seniors to use the buses to go to religious services on weekends-sinstead, we will be cutting back. This is a sad and disappointing course of events. We are working with city and state political leaders in an effort to have these funds restored, but the outcome is uncertain. The situation can only get worse if the anticipated cuts to city, state and federal budgets become a reality. We must continu-ously reach out to politicians and the media to make the case for continued funding for Adult Day Services in our community. With the senior population booming to over 70 million house-holds by 2030, family caregiving is crucial to the nation's health system. Today, caregivers provide an estimated $196 billion of informal care, the equivalent of 18% of national health care spending and exceeding both home-care and nursing home expenditures combined. It is unfair to use caregivers' unpaid service to balance the Health Care and Human Services budget.

Despite the loss of funding, and the anticipated cuts, we are committed to providing excellent service to our clients and their families and to offering services that meet real needs. We are making the best use of the funding we have, and recently, we expanded the program to provide respite care one evening per week and on Saturdays. We hope to continue to improve and expand the services we offer. To do so, we will ask for your help in reaching out to politicians and the media to make the case for continued funding for Adult Day Services. As always, we appreciate your ongoing concern and support.