LAGUNA HILLS : Seniors Use Complex to Exercise, Socialize

Every 30 minutes, a large bus pulls up to the main entrance of the Laguna Hills Mall, disgorging senior citizens who flock to what for them has become a mecca for exercising, socializing and sometimes even a little shopping.

Although built with Leisure World, a seniors community of 21,000, in mind, seniors account for only about 20% of the mall’s sales. But the influence of senior citizens there remains unmistakable.

“Seniors have a lot of time on their hands,” said mall marketing director Arlene Eisenstadt. “We’re a meeting place for them, a place where they can have coffee and cinnamon rolls and socialize.”

Every day, more than 1,500 seniors from Leisure World use the shuttle bus that leaves for the mall every half-hour. Many are bound for a walking club in the shopping complex that is co-sponsored by the mall.

Started last January, the club now has more than 400 members who meet every morning during the week to walk laps around the mall with a health-care coordinator. Membership is $5, for which members get a T-shirt, an identification card good for discounts in the mall, free blood-pressure checks and entry into quarterly meetings on health set up by the co-sponsor, the South Coast Medical Center.

Two laps around the mall equals 1 mile, and some members have walked the equivalent of a round-trip to Cabo San Lucas in Baja, Mexico.

“One lady is up over 1,500 miles,” Eisenstadt said. “The program’s been a real success.”

Another event that was aimed at seniors was a ballroom dance held last month in an empty Buffums store that raised $6,000 for local Meals on Wheels programs.

Seniors also volunteer for charitable programs run by the mall, such as an in-book drive to benefit the Olivecrest Home for Abused Children in Anaheim. Donors are asked to contribute new and slightly used books, preferably children’s novels.

Seniors and people of all ages also are coming in large numbers to participate in the mall’s holiday programs, which officially started with the arrival of Santa on Nov. 18.

The big attraction so far has been a sand Santa’s Workshop. The mall trucked in 55 tons of sand and artists crafted Santa’s workplace, filling it with huge, hand-sculpted gift boxes and busy elves.

“People loved to see it built,” Eisenstadt said. “One couple on vacation from Maine even delayed going back so they could see the sculpture completed.”

Other holiday events will include a Hanukkah celebration on Monday at 7 p.m. Santa Claws & Paws, a successful program where people can have pictures of their pets taken with Santa, will be held Dec. 6 through 8.

The Salvation Army Christmas Tree has also returned to the mall this year, with angels bearing the names of needy children. Shoppers are encouraged to adopt an angel and return it with a gift for the child.