Volunteering, Parties, Second Century Project and More

Dear friends,

The word for the week was definitely festive! We’ve had so much holiday fun around the Jewish Home Family this week, hope you joined us for some of it! On Monday we had more than 30 volunteers help us to deliver over 300 hot holiday meals to help elders in our community celebrate Chanukah. It is such a great program and so appreciated by all of the recipients. The biggest day of events was on December 25 where we had more than 100 volunteers join us and take part in special events for our elders. On the Rockleigh campus we had volunteers who made friendly visits and delivered gift bags. We had others who wrapped and delivered cookies all over the building. A holiday sing-a-long took place on the Seiden unit and we also had volunteers help paint “kindness rocks,” rocks with inspirational messages that will eventually create a “garden of kindness.” On the Kaplen 1 unit we had volunteers making “sandwiches to order” at lunchtime, in addition to the regular lunch menu. That was a huge hit. And the afternoon Winter Wonderland concert was, as always, a joyous event for our elders, staff and families. On the Jewish Home Assisted Living campus we began with some news reading and discussion in both Memory Lane and Assisted Living. We had volunteers help us as we “clipped for a cause,” and that was followed by “kindness rock” painting, a success there as well. The afternoon included cookie decorating, a hot cocoa and cookie social and then a holiday movie to round out the day. It is wonderful to see so many families together and so many volunteers who choose to spend this day with our elders. There is a real aura of warmth and positive energy and it’s wonderful to experience. Missed it this year? Come join the fun next year, we would love to have you!

(Click for photos)

We’ve spent a fair amount of time this week meeting with the staff at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh. I open one part of the conversation by asking if they’ve noticed the big gray trailer parked on the campus. All of them tell me that they have and then I ask what they think it’s for. While we have had a few wrong guesses, just about everyone identified it as a construction trailer and a real sign that our Second Century project is about to begin in earnest. As I am sure you know, we will be building a brand new Center for Rehabilitation Excellence, to be named in honor of my predecessor Chuck Berkowitz. And in front of that state-of-the-art center will be a beautiful new building to house our short term rehab inpatients. The construction will take about 18 months and we expect to see some real activity beginning in January. One of the biggest things that we are talking about with staff is the parking disruption that we will have to live with while the construction is underway. As you may know the building is being constructed in the front parking lot and while we will have parking again once it is complete, during the construction, the front lots will not be available. For those of you who are visitors, please know that there will always be visitor parking available adjacent to the main entrance of JHR. There will be 60 designated spaces and we will make sure that they are only for visitor use. Our staff will be parking about a quarter of a mile off campus and there will be ongoing shuttle bus service available. We will be communicating this to all of our various constituencies once we have a firm start date.

At Jewish Home Assisted Living we began our week with our annual Chanukah party. It was great fun and we had a huge crowd! (Click for photos) Latkes, sweet treats and music were the order of the day and we even had face painting and balloon art for the kids! We also had a lovely tribute to Lauren Levant, JHAL executive director. Lauren is taking on a new role for the Jewish Home Family and will become our Vice President, Human Resources as of January 1. We lit the first Chanukah candles as a community and sang the blessings together, a perfect way to begin the holiday.

On Monday we had a wonderful visit from some of our friends from the Gallen Day Center. We came together to do latke making with Avi Feld and then shared a delicious lunch. In the afternoon we had visits from both “Sisters in Spirit” and our favorite pet therapy volunteers. On Tuesday students from Yavneh Academy came to entertain with holiday music, which everyone enjoyed. Thursday included a visit from Ben Porat Yosef School to play dreidel and sing. And in the afternoon Avi led another creative cooking activity. This one was called “Stuff your Sufganiyot” and the elders had a chance to choose from many different fillings for their delicious doughnuts! Friday started with News Headlines with Beth and wrapped up with a Shabbat gathering with Rabbi Korenblit.

In addition to their visit to Jewish Home Assisted Living on Monday, Gallen Day Center participants also enjoyed a piano concert and a rehearsal for their upcoming caroling. It’s become a wonderful holiday tradition for our Gallen folks to tour the halls of the Jewish Home and sing holiday songs. That happened on Tuesday this week and it is always so well received by all. Tuesday also included a delightful holiday luncheon and holiday party with music and dancing. Thursday included Chanukah celebrations and some latke tastings and candle lighting. And on Friday, Avi Feld brought his culinary skills to the Gallen Day Center where he helped our participants make sufganiyot! Delicious!

The Jewish Home at Rockleigh was also filled with holiday spirit this week. Sunday began with a Spelling Bee and chair exercise as well as a visit from children and parents from Netivot Shalom synagogue in Teaneck. They provided our Chanukah kickoff with music, singing and fun. The children even led our very own Chanukah parade. Our Sunday Afternoon of Music featured our friend and volunteer Carol Skarimbas who performed a variety of show tunes and seasonal music. On Monday we had a party with our friends from the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, an annual tradition. We enjoyed music and singing, lovely gifts, delicious jelly doughnuts and some great visits. Later in the day we had music, games, Community Circle and rehearsal for the spring show. And if that was not enough for one day, we had a visit from the Closter dancing school. The young ballerinas danced selections from The Nutcracker. We capped off this busy day with a “holiday lights” sightseeing bus tour for elders from our Seiden unit. On Tuesday we made holiday cookies on the Kaplen 2 while being serenaded by our Gallen Day Center carolers! Thursday included Steady Boxing, Alphabet Soup, Fun with Music and more. In the afternoon we had a session of Jewish Home University to learn about “The Principles of Kwanzaa.” Friday wrapped up the week with LaughActive, Game Hour, Karaoke, Happy Hour, a bowling tournament and more. A great week was had by all!

This was not actually a blog week for me but I was inspired to write an extra one, hope you enjoy: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-quiet-lights/ As always, happy to hear your comments or questions.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday and a happy healthy New Year from our Jewish Home Family to yours—

All the best,

Carol Silver Elliott
President/CEO
The Jewish Home Family