Boxing, Books, Concerts and More

Dear friends,

We've had another active week at the Jewish Home Family. One of the highlights for me was the chance to participate in our Family Wellness Boxing program on Thursday evening. We used the Zoom platform to invite community members to see learn more about our Rock Steady Boxing program and how we have adapted during these last months. Because we cannot run an in-person program, we moved to a virtual platform in late March and because we cannot officially do Rock Steady without equipment, we've opened the program to anyone who wants to take part. We did an abbreviated class for this demo and it was fun to watch the audience exercising along with us. Want more information? Email us at boxing@jewishhomefamily.org.

Also on Thursday we had a unique outreach program at Jewish Home Assisted Living. We held our first virtual book club! We had a number of community members Zoom in and a number of (socially distanced and masked) elders in the room. Everyone had read the book and we had some lively conversation. The book "Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett is an interesting story and raised many issues for discussion and the voicing of some very differing viewpoints.

Other Jewish Home Assisted Living activities this week included Sundays' "Article of the Week" discussion with Rabbi Korenblit. He also led an afternoon discussion entitled "A Nice Jewish Girl Becomes a Nun, Dies in Auschwitz and Becomes a Saint." The evening film was "The Song of Names." Monday included exercise, Trivial Pursuit and a Tony Bennett concert. More exercise on Tuesday morning was followed by a scientific documentary on how the Hawaiian islands were formed and in the late afternoon we all enjoyed an outdoor concert by T-Klez Klezmer band, a part of the Doris and Bill Lippman 2020 Summer Concert series. Wednesday we both traveled to Scotland and learned about the Louisiana purchase. With all that traveling, of course we needed an Ice Cream Sandwich Social to round out the day. In addition to Thursday's Book Club we watched Cirque du Soleil in "Crystal" and enjoyed ice pop treats. Wrapping up the week on Friday we had a tour of the Lincoln House, current events discussion and Yiddish class.

Jewish Home at Rockleigh elders also had a great week with a real focus on meaningful activities for all. Sunday began with a variety of programs including music and exercise. We also had a wonderful Afternoon of Music followed by some fun on National Tell a Joke Day! Monday found the Grand Ole Rockleigh visiting the Rubin unit with country music, apple pie and ice cream and other treats. Other Monday programs included Color Your Mind on the Seiden unit and Move to Music on the Kaplen 2 unit. Tuesday was highlighted by another patio concert by Cantor Israel Singer. Elders were gathered at the windows and calling out requests that he was happy to sing. Other Tuesday activities included painting with balloons on Kaplen 2, using balloons instead of paint brushes. Not only was it fun but some amazing art was created. Wednesday's "Concert in the Park" featured the Exodus Supreme Band who got everyone moving and clapping to their lively reggae music. On Thursday Jewish Home University featured the topic of "Astrology--What Does it Mean?" It was a lively and very interactive discussion. On Kaplen 2 we made beautiful kites and talked about hobbies of our childhood. Rubin elders enjoyed Women's Club and You Be the Judge and Seiden activities included Sensory Sensations and Guitar Strings. In recognition of Poets' Day on Friday we read and discussed poetry and also celebrated the birthday of Kenny Rogers.

We continue with outdoor, window and virtual visits on both campuses, doing everything we can to ensure elders and their families stay connected.

This was a Times of Israel blog week for me and here is the link: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/bright-lights/. As always, your feedback is welcome.

Be well,

Carol Silver Elliott
President/CEO
The Jewish Home Family