Dear friends,
We’ve had a week of fun at the Jewish Home Family! One of the real treats of this time of year is the chance to have our residents and staff celebrating together. On Wednesday, the halls at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh were filled with ugly holiday sweaters (although some of them were pretty cute! Click for photos). Some of them were even handmade and featured everything from lights to pieces of Chanukah gelt. We had a parade down the Main Street of the Rockleigh building and then many folks headed over to the Gallen Day Center to join their parade. We followed that with our annual employee holiday party. We serve a great meal to our staff and later in the afternoon we serve dessert and do a raffle for many donated gifts and prizes. It’s always great fun.
On Thursday, we did a very similar, and equally fun, event at Jewish Home Assisted Living. Ugly sweaters were once again in evidence and residents joined staff in the Community Room to cheer the staff members as they received holiday gifts and raffle prizes. At Assisted Living, we concluded with a vote for the ugliest sweater. The winner was determined by the applause of the crowd and the clear choice was one of our team who had created her own heavily-decorated holiday sweater (Click for photos). It’s a joy to be a part of an event that brings laughter and smiles and a wonderful opportunity for us to thank our staff for their hard work, commitment and compassion. They ARE the Jewish Home Family and the heart of all that we do.
We also have a special treat at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh. If you walk into the lobby, you will see a display of some amazing art. These collages are the work of Trudy Regan. Trudy was an Art teacher for many years and continues to create art as well as collaborate with her husband writing children’s books. Stop and take a peek if you are in our area and thank you to Trudy for lending us her work to display!
The Gallen Day Center had some interesting programs this week, some that were new to us. On Monday, Bergen County Clerk John Hogan and his staff provided some education on services available to older adults in our County. Some of our folks even signed up for County discount cards. Tuesday was spa day for our ladies and Men’s Club for the men and on Thursday we had a great session about holiday around the world. On Friday, the Gallen participants headed into the Jewish Home at Rockleigh to sing some holiday songs and entertain our residents. They practiced for weeks and it showed!
At Jewish Home Assisted Living we began the week with a visit from Brandon Sherwood, a new volunteer for us. Brandon is working on his Bar Mitzvah project, “Brandon’s Volunteer Technology Project,” and he will help residents with any technology needs they have from cell phones to computers and tablets. He’ll even help with TV remotes! He will be there once a month and I suspect his program is going to be very popular! Monday’s highlight was trying out a new game, “5-Second Rule” which was a huge hit and is already being requested again. On Tuesday our Knitter’s Club was out in full force, making lap blankets and chatting happily together. Thursday’s monthly birthday party featured entertainment by Carlos and was followed by a “hot chocolate social” in the living room by the fireplace. The week concluded with Rabbi Korenblit giving a lecture on “Jacob’s Last Will and Testament.”
The Jewish Home at Rockleigh began the week with a concert from the Broadway Youth Ensemble, a group who recently performed at Carnegie Hall. On Tuesday we learned a new program called “Power for Parkinson’s” which is a fitness program for mind and body and really intended for everyone. It was a great workout and residents loved it. On Thursday we had a visit from the Demarest Care Club who came and did games with our residents. Balloon volleyball and bowling were among the highlights. These students had such a great time that many of them were requesting applications to become volunteers.
We are very excited about our December 25 programming next week. We have almost 100 volunteers signed up to be a part of our resident’s day. We have activities of all sorts including concerts, gifts to deliver, baking, sandwich making and more. I’ll be spending my time at Jewish Home Assisted Living where I’ll lead a current event session in Memory Lane in the morning and then help with the Kindness Rocks project that Lauren Levant will be leading. Want to make your day meaningful and fun? Come and join us. Email Stacey Orden at sorden@jewishhomefamily.org and she will match you with a time and activity. Hope to see you there!
All the best,
Carol Silver Elliott
President/CEO
The Jewish Home Family
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Upcoming Events
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Volunteer Opportunity of the Week
We are looking for a friendly and energetic individual, 14 years or older, to transport residents to and from the rehabilitation department during the holiday week, 12/24 – 12/28. This is a perfect opportunity for a mature student who is off from school next week. Community service letter available upon request.
Are you looking for something meaningful to do on Tuesday, 12/25? It’s not too late to sign up for one of the many fun and exciting activities at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh and the Jewish Home Assisted Living in River Vale. Make a difference in the lives of our residents.
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