Greetings!
Cedar Village has been in the news again this week and we are delighted with all of the great new things that we have had to share! The big news this week is the wonderful grant that we have received from David and Nancy Wolf. With it, we will be creating the David and Nancy Wolf Creative Arts in Aging program at Cedar Village. This program is focused on using creative expression as a means to enhance the lives of individuals with dementia and will include three key elements. First, we will have music therapy and art therapy each in the building 20 hours a week. The music and art therapists will offer special classes and programs as well as working with residents on a one-to-one basis. We'll also be developing a series of "artist-in-residence" programs which will allow us to bring a variety of creative experiences to residents and the community. These could include music, dance, theatre and more and we see them as a chance to provide additional enrichment for residents and to reach out into the community. Last but far from least, we are working with the Scripps Gerontology Center to develop measurement tools that we can use to determine the impact of these programs. What we learn will allow us to grow and change our approach as well as to help us teach others in the field. We are thrilled about this grant and so very grateful to David and Nancy Wolf for their generosity, vision and support. The Wolf's generous gift was featured in various articles this week, including the American Israelite and also on some of our local TV stations. We were delighted with that visibility. We also had a photographer with us from USA Today. We did an interview some weeks ago when we announced the establishment of the Shalom Center and it appears that they will be running it soon. That's a very exciting opportunity for Cedar Village and we are all anxiously awaiting this publication! Resident of the Month was held on Wednesday evening and it was, as always, a wonderful evening. For 2012 we have changed our format a bit, we are doing fewer residents of the month and more in depth profiles. This month's program featured some wonderful Power Point presentations and some surprises. One of our residents, who is a tremendously skilled baker, worked with us to bake a cake as part of her Resident of the Month program. I had the privilege of being involved with that activity and it was great-we talked, we learned more about her, and we admired her skills as a baker! Then we served the cake at the reception following the program-what fun! Friday's highlight is a "Spirit Day" for all of our football fans-and there are many Bengals fans among our residents! We've got a Football Bingo and special "stadium style" snacks with nachos and hot pretzels. A great time for football fans and non-football fans alike! We are moving forward on another exciting new venture-the first Interfaith Mission of seniors to Israel. We are partnering with Otterbein Lebanon and are planning a 10-day trip beginning on May 30. We will visit both Jewish and Christian sites and have structured education and discussion during the Mission. Prior to departure, we will be gathering every other week to build a foundation of friendships between the residents and staff of both organizations and to share education about our similarities and our differences. We are thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking effort, thrilled to have a chance to show the world that we can build bridges at any age, and that we are never too old to learn and grow. We'll be raising some funds to support this Mission and we hope that many of you will want to help make this possible.
All the best, Carol Silver Elliott CEO/President
Cedar Village
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