Shiroyama's backyard is now so full of growth that it's hard to believe that just a few months ago it was falling to pieces. She stood in her backyard smiling as she pointed to brightly colored impatiens, azaleas, a large oak tree, an apple tree and her cherished Japanese maple.

But little did she know from her first visit with Aerts that her precious patio would soon be transformed. At the time, Shiroyama's husband, Kiyoshi, 88, also known as "Dick," was experiencing health problems in the aftermath of a major heart attack. He had just been placed under hospice care and required all of Shiroyama's energy and time as she stayed constantly by his bedside—leaving little relief for herself.

"I didn't realize I was under stress," she said. "I was getting worn out so easily."

When Shiroyama, 83, heard about Aerts' Senior Care Program, she thought it was too good to be true. The day she called him, Aerts showed up at her door with a black briefcase filled with brochures about his no-cost special services to meet her immediate needs.

Two days after assessing those needs, Aerts and his handyman, Joe Licea, removed some overgrown plants in her backyard and re-potted others that were not growing in richer potting soil. Shiroyama had previously tried to maintain the foliage herself but said she just didn't have the strength. Aerts also gave Shiroyama a plant from his own yard to brighten up the property. This delighted her husband in his frail condition, because he could see it from an upstairs bedroom window.

"It looks like a yard again," Shiroyama said. "I was the only one in the neighborhood without a nice yard."

In addition, Aerts placed a door over an opening to her attic and installed smoke detectors throughout her townhouse on Overlook Road.

Shiroyama, who is no longer able to drive, was also able to take tai chi classes at the Los Gatos Neighborhood Center because Aerts' wife, Bonnie, provided her with transportation every week. Shiroyama said the classes gave her a break from tending to her husband, who passed away this June. The couple had been married 63 years.

"I was so impressed and grateful that someone would care that much for me," said Shiroyama, wiping tears away from behind her dark, tinted glasses.

While she thankfully accepted the Aerts' help, Shiroyama said she is not accustomed to receiving goodwill.

"I don't like the word 'charity,'" Aerts said. "I always like to use the word 'community.' I like to say it's a community service, or I'm doing it for the community. There are a lot of clients who won't accept charity. But if it's a neighbor helping a neighbor, it's OK."

Without the senior program, Shiroyama said, her quality of life could not have improved so significantly. She referred to Aerts as having "heaven-sent kindness," and described him as being sincere and truly interested in her day-to-day problems.

Shiroyama, a survivor of a Japanese internment camp, said she can rely on her children to an extent for assistance, but her daughter works full-time and her son's family lives out of the area, in Morgan Hill.

As one of the services of the program known as "drives," Aerts arranges for reliable chauffeurs, including members of his own family, to take Shiroyama to her medical appointments. In using that service, Shiroyama said she has maintained her dignity, while saving hours of searching through the phone directory to find appropriate and sometimes costly services.

Shiroyama didn't qualify for many services in the community because she wasn't disabled or in the low-income bracket. She appreciated the program because she could be taken to a doctor's appointment without having to meet any qualifications.

"I could not believe that a person would come to me," she said. "Normally you have to go to an office and make an appointment and fill out paperwork. Alan didn't ask about my income or if I was disabled. He just said, 'What is it you need to have done? '"

The Senior Care Program—a free service to residents in Monte Sereno, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Campbell—is a program that is privately funded and operated by the Aerts family and that doesn't receive support from any governmental agencies. But Aerts said the program wouldn't be able to function without the help of his immediate family as well as individual volunteers from the community and businesses that offer their services.

For example, Los Gatos Glass and Mirror repaired a broken window on the property of one of Aerts' clients free of charge. Owner Doug Ferrante said given the situation and the availability of time and labor, the business was able to help out.

Other groups that have assisted the program include the Los Gatos Lions Club, Foothill Heating and Air Conditioning, Sturla Electric, Chesnut Construction, Custom Home Security Systems and Tecero Painting.

During the initial meeting, Aerts said he works to gain the client's trust and confidence and next addresses safety needs. Those safety issues can range from putting in grab bars on stairways to inserting peepholes in front doors to installing smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.

"What is really important is the address signs," Aerts said.

Aerts frequently installs reflective numbers outside homes so they are easy to see. He said for every minute emergency services lose time trying to find an address, there is a 10 percent less chance of saving the life of the person who needs help.

The program services range from basic home maintenance and small repairs to teaching participants computer skills, driving them to the grocery store or taking them to pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy. He said "drives" performed with the assistance of his daughter-in-law, Jessica Aerts, can be considered easy for the average person but are often an entire day's adventure for a senior citizen.

"The last and most important aspect of the program is getting them enrolled and back out in classes," Aerts said. "It's important for seniors to be around other seniors so they can get out of the house and stay mentally active."

Los Gatos Senior Coordinator Linda Gallo said Aerts' program fills a necessary niche in the community that isn't being met in quite the same way by anyone else. Gallo said she often refers clients to him for last-minute transportation needs.

"He has been very generous with his resources and time," she said. "And he always calls you back within 24 hours, which is almost unheard-of these days."

The average client who uses the program is 75 to 85 years of age, female and lives alone. "Every one of them is a unique and different case," Aerts said.

According to Aerts, the program currently serves more than 75 to 100 clients. He and his wife originally only intended to help eight to 10 clients per year, but word of the program spread rapidly and became a success.

This means that Aerts' cell phone rings nonstop throughout the day, since he isn't a fan of email. But his cell phone doesn't just ring because of the program—Aerts is also a man of business. He earned his millions in the vending-machine industry.

Aerts, who lives in Monte Sereno, is the owner of Customer Vending Systems in Campbell, which has been serving the Bay Area for more than 23 years. But Aerts doesn't dress like a businessman with a suit and tie. He can usually be spotted throughout the community wearing a T-shirt, jeans and pair of old sneakers.

He and Bonnie are the proud parents of two sons, David, 16, and Ken, 24, and the owners of two gentle English mastiffs—Jessie and Taylor.

Helping senior citizens has taken the meaning of Aerts' life to a whole new level, but all he'll take for reimbursement is baked food.

"They bake cookies," he said. "They want to pay you back."

When people ask Aerts why he is so passionate about the program, he said it comes from his roots when his parents struggled to make a living. But despite hard times, his parents were still as helpful and as generous as possible to everyone around them.

"We didn't have money. Believe me, we were not even middle class," he said.

Aerts recalled a childhood visit to his grandparents' 4,000-acre farm in Michigan. A neighbor's tractor and trailer flipped over on a two-lane, dirt road in front of the farm. Immediately, all the surrounding neighbors came rushing outside to lend a hand and remedy the accident.

"That's what it's all about. You help your neighbors. That's what I'm doing. It's not a big deal," he said.

Wanda Estrada, 63, of Monte Sereno, lives by herself in a secondary unit on the property of an older home on Bicknell Road. The land is owned by her daughter and son-in-law who check in on Estrada frequently but don't always have time to fix things around her place because they both work.

Aerts and Licea installed a towel rack in Estrada's bathroom, repaired her washer and microwave and even assembled a tricky, hanging fruit basket for her kitchen.

"I've been trying to put the screws in the fruit basket, but I just couldn't do it," said Estrada, who suffers from arthritis. Estrada said she finds comfort in knowing she can call on Aerts anytime about anything.

Beth Cunningham, 83, and her husband Bill, 86, live on Bancroft Avenue in Monte Sereno. Aerts put a grab bar on the front steps so the couple could easily climb up and down the stairs and placed a house address number out front so it could be seen from the road. He stayed for more than an hour on the first visit, making a list of needed repairs the couple couldn't normally afford.

"As you get older there's so much more that you can't do," Cunningham said.

Beth described Aerts as personable and genuine in his intentions to improve their home, which was built by Bill 49 years ago. Beth said her husband can't get up and down a ladder anymore or fix things around the house like he once could. The Cunninghams, who have been married 64 years, said they wouldn't be able to keep up the house without Aerts.

"I don't know how we'd get it all done without him," Beth said.

For more information about the program or to receive assistance, call 408.395.6636.