LUBU-DUPU

Luther Burbank Savings (LBS) is dedicated to empowering our senior community by providing facts, tools and information in an effort to help safeguard against financial elder abuse. Most recently, LBS, through its corporate foundation (LBCF), partnered with the local non-profit, Council on Aging in Sonoma County (COA), to sponsor their Drive-Up-Pick-Up (DUPU) program and participate in weekly distributions of financial literacy information focused on protecting seniors from financial abuse and scams. The DUPU allows seniors in our local community who are not home-bound to pick up a week’s worth of fresh, nourishing meals. There are eight (8) DUPU sites located in seven (7) Sonoma County cities: Healdsburg, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma Valley and Windsor and they serve approximately 225 seniors each week. In addition to the weekly food distributions, LBS, in participation with the American Bankers Association Foundation Safe Banking for Seniors campaign, is providing information to help seniors in our community understand the risks of fraud, financial abuse and how to protect themselves and their loved ones. During the pandemic, the COA had access to additional funding which allowed them to develop the DUPU program to continue serving their communities’ most vital need — nourishment. When the COVID-19 State of Emergency was lifted, there were no longer funds available to continue this crucial program. LBS provided the COA with a grant to “adopt” and continue this program. This partnership, affectionately named the “LUBU-DUPU,” coupled with Luther Burbank Saving’s (LBS) Safe Banking for Senior Seminars, is a proactive, multi-pronged and unique approach to combatting financial abuse against older Americans.