History

Acacia Adult Day Services has its roots in the community of Garden Grove, California since the 1970s. In 1976, a minister from the local United Methodist Church, Dr. Miles Aker, took a short trip to Hawaii, where he was introduced to the concept of Adult Day Services. Inspired by what he saw, Dr. Aker shared the idea of Adult Day Services with a small group at his church that was looking for alternative ways to address the growing needs of seniors in the Garden Grove community.

• 1976: A group from the United Methodist Church proposed opening a community Adult Day Care program to the City of Garden Grove who in turn wrote the pilot project funding grant to the Office on Aging. Once they were awarded the grant they hired staff to organize and operate a program.
• 1979: The Garden Grove Adult Day Care Center opened its doors at the United Methodist Church on Main Street in Garden Grove, with 12 participants.
• 1985: The program administration transitioned to the center’s non-profit Board of Directors.
• 1993: The Board of Directors added the Adult Day Health Care Program and hired a health care team that included a registered nurse and therapists.
• 1995: The Board of Directors initiated a capital campaign to raise funds for a permanent home for the newly named Acacia Adult Day Services.
• 1997: 18 years after opening its doors the Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and participants moved to its current location on Acacia Parkway in Garden Grove.
• 2002: Expanded the facility to 13,000 square feet increasing our capacity to 105 per day.
• 2006: Initiated a Senior Mobility transportation program with OCTA, Saint Anselm’s MultiCultural
  Center and Abrazar
• 2007: Initiated a Fall Prevention Program