WHAT: Dedication of Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center By WellMed
WHEN: 10 a.m. Monday, March 30, 2009
WHERE:
517 SW Military (near Pleasanton Road intersection)
WHO: Elvira Munguia Cisneros, community leader
Former Cabinet Secretary and San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros
Artist / urban-15 founder George Cisneros
WellMed Chairman and CEO George M. Rapier III, M.D.
About the Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center By WellMed
WellMed has renovated the former Family Fitness Unlimited gym and created a new Senior Community Center featuring:
▪ Workout equipment
▪ Daily dance and exercise classes
▪ Wii Fit exercise room
▪ Movie room
▪ Nutrition center
▪ Games (bingo, bunco, dominoes)
▪ Pool, shuffleboard, ping pong
▪ Supervised childcare
▪ Arts, crafts and other classes
▪ Computer lab
▪ Health screenings
▪ Flu vaccine station (Oct-March)
The Center is open 5 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. All services are free and open to anyone age 60 and older, and their primary caregivers. It is the first privately run comprehensive Senior Community Center in Bexar County. In partnership with the City of San Antonio Department of Community Initiatives, seniors receive lunchtime meals.
About The Honoree
Elvira Munguia Cisneros has been a leader in the San Antonio community for decades. In addition to raising five successful children with her late husband George, Mrs. Cisneros has distinguished herself through devotion to community service on behalf of groups such as the Avenida Guadalupe Association, Texas Diabetes Institute, Girl Scouts, Project Learn to Read, the Institute of Texan Cultures and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower, where she has attended church since its founding in 1926.
Mrs. Cisneros has impacted various community initiatives including diabetes screening, immigration legislation, elder care programs and services for the handicapped. For nearly three decades, she has been active with AVANCE, a not-for-profit agency that provides parent-child support and education services to high-risk, low-income families. Her activities at AVANCE range from caring for infants, toddlers and preschoolers at the center to initiating supportive service projects and serving as an ardent fundraiser, advocate and advisory board member for the agency.
Mrs. Cisneros has received numerous honors and awards including the AVANCE Mother of the Year and the Ford Salute to Education Community Service Award. In 1991, she was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame for Civic Leadership.
She has been active as a volunteer with the Alamo Area Council of Governments, visiting senior centers and nursing homes, and as a docent at the Institute of Texan Cultures. Mrs. Cisneros also played a critical role in helping to bring Boys Town and the Texas Diabetes Institute to San Antonio. She and her husband founded the Alamo Area Stroke Club, which provides guidance and support to stroke victims.
Both she and her husband received the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Centennial Award (a United Way National Award) from President Gerald Ford for their community service and a medal for their work with National Easter Seals from President Ronald Reagan.
Mrs. Cisneros is an avid gardener with a well-known appreciation of art and culture. She still lives in the West Side home where she and her husband raised their children – a home that was the center of after-school activity for years for neighborhood children.
All the Cisneros children graduated from college, and two earned doctoral degrees. Henry Cisneros is a former San Antonio mayor and Cabinet Secretary under President Clinton. Dr. Pauline Cisneros Polette is a physician in Houston. George Cisneros Jr. is a well-known San Antonio composer, visual artist and founder of Urban-15 dance group. Romulo Tim Cisneros is an architect in Houston. Tina Corser is a Catholic school educator in Clinton, New Jersey.
