Dear friends,
We had a new and beautiful event this week at Jewish Home Assisted Living. In honor of World Holocaust Remembrance Day, we held a Holocaust Seder. This idea came to us through our friends at the Jewish Home in Milwaukee, now called Ovation. They used The Holocaust Survivors Cook Book and created a program that we replicated. We built a menu for dinner with recipes from the cookbook. Each recipe is accompanied by the story of the survivor who contributed the recipe. So, as each course was about to be served, one of our residents read the story of the survivor whose recipe we were about to share. We also incorporated a tribute to the survivors who live at JHAL and many of them, or their families, provided photos and brief bios of them as well. It was a very special evening and the residents are still talking about it. One of them told me afterwards that she was “full, not just from the food but from the experience” and another said that they found it to be “inspirational and uplifting.” We hope to spread this event to other areas of the Jewish Home Family and to grow it even more for next year. (Click for more photos)
On Wednesday, Sunni Herman and I had the privilege of taking part in the CIJE (Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education) Hackathon held at Yeshiva University. Students from Jewish High Schools all over the region came together in this competition. We began the day by presenting four different scenarios that we had written, focused on varying needs of four specific older adults. The students then had the day to not only determine which of the many challenges they were going to address but to develop their solutions and presentations to share them. Each team built some sort of device, from pill boxes with alarms and triggers to manage medications, to a Braille-Hebrew translation program to a wheelchair equipped with sensors for the visually impaired. Thirteen teams participated and we were delighted to spend the day watching them create and, ultimately, being a part of the judging. (Click here for a livestream of the presentations and here for photos)
A number of residents at Jewish Home Assisted Living began the week with a special outing to the Kaplen JCC on Sunday night to see Ed Asner and Tovah Feldshuh in “The Soap Box.” They loved it! Other Jewish Home Assisted Living events this week included the installation of a new president of the Residents Council. Shirley Weinstock is taking on this new role with great enthusiasm! The cold temperatures did not stop us from taking a movie outing this week. Residents from both Assisted Living and Memory Lane went out to see “ A Dog’s Way Home” which was a big hit. And on Friday both staff and residents were decked in red to support “Go Red for Women” and the American Heart Association.
At the Jewish Home at Rockleigh out week began with An Afternoon of Music featured The Musical Melamed Family’s “A Family Affair” concert. This is the second year that they’ve performed and were a big hit. Three generations come together for music from classics to Broadway and even some Hebrew and Yiddish folk songs. It was a great afternoon. We also had a fun new art program this week called “Art with a Twist.” Much like folks do in the community, we created a social event with wine, soft music and a chance for people to flex their creative muscles. Despite protests of “I’m not an artist,” people did some remarkable things.
The Gallen Day Center also has a great week. We started with a “Pajama Party” and yes, everyone came in their pajamas! Mary Taylor performed for us in the afternoon and, yes, you guessed it—she was in her pajamas!
On Tuesday we held our specialized Parkinson’s program complete with boxing and Tai Chi and we also had a meeting of the participant council. On Wednesday, Shari Buchwald and I had the privilege of presenting our recent Mission to Israel to the Gallen Center. We showed a video and slides and talked about all of the highlights of our trip. On Thursday, we had music of all sorts, including a visit from a family member of a Rockleigh resident who was kind enough to play both harp and guitar for the participants. We ended the week with an ice cream social and a visit from Rabbi Feld.
All the best,
Carol Silver Elliott
President/CEO
The Jewish Home Family
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Volunteer Opportunity of the Week
The recreation staff of the Jewish Home at Rockleigh is looking for a few enthusiastic volunteers who can make a weekly commitment on Wednesday morning from 10:30 – 11:30 to assist with our “Steady Boxing” program. No boxing experience is necessary. This cutting edge exercise program is designed to help those residents with Parkinson’s Disease and other movement disorders. Volunteers will be assisting with transport, taking boxing gloves on and off the residents, and providing encouragement with the exercises.
For more info or to sign up, contact Director of Volunteers Stacey Orden at sorden@jewishhomefamily.org or 201-518-1175
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10 Link Drive Rockleigh, NJ 07647 | 685 Westwood Ave. River Vale, NJ 07675