It is not every day that we have the opportunity to boast about national news coverage for Cedar Village!  We were so pleased to have had the establishment of the Shalom Center for Elder Abuse Prevention* receive media attention locally-and absolutely thrilled that the story made it all the way to USA Today.  Interviews took place a few weeks ago and a photographer spent almost half a day with us. The resulting story was published on Wednesday, January 11, not only prominently placed in the main news section of USA Today  but also as top story on their website. Wow!  It is unfortunate that elder abuse is an issue we have to address but we are all very gratified by the fact that Cedar Village is helping to lead the way and make a difference.

Elder abuse prevention was also our focus on Thursday morning when we had the privilege of welcoming Dan Reingold and Joy Solomon to Cedar Village.  Dan is the CEO of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale in New York and Joy is the director of the Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention, the nation's first elder abuse shelter which is located at the Hebrew Home.  The Shalom Center is the sixth replication of the Weinberg Center nationally and Dan and Joy are really leaders in this important area.  We began the day with a breakfast for community leaders and were delighted to have representatives from social service agencies, police and fire departments, DA's, adult protective services and more representing the full four county area we will serve in our center.  The presentations were very helpful as we learned from some of the history, and case studies, from the Weinberg Center and there were many questions asked and answered.  After the program, many of our visitors toured Cedar Village for the first time.

Following the community session, many of the Cedar Village management staff, especially those on the elder abuse team, spent the day with Dan and Joy, asking specific questions, sharing ideas and gaining important information.  We are joining our colleagues at the Weinberg Center, and in the other shelters, on this important journey and hope that we will all contribute to making a difference in the safety, health and well being of older adults.

In the first days after we announced the Shalom Center, I received a call from Melissa Fossier.  Melissa shared with me the story of her daughter, Natalie, who was tragically killed in an accident in February 2007.  After Natalie's death, at age 9, Melissa found a list in Natalie's room that had been written just a few weeks before.  Her list is entitled "A List of 10 Things I Want to do When I'm an Adult."  The first item on the list is "Volunteer in shelters, orphanages and nursing homes."  Some of the other items include "Have a lot of animals" and "Help poor people out" and "Have a wonderful family."  Clearly, Natalie was a compassionate and precocious little girl.   In the years since Natalie's death, her family has begun doing annual fundraisers in her memory.  They contribute the funds to causes that Natalie would have supported, many of which are drawn from her list. When Melissa heard about the Shalom Center, she called and said she knew this was a place that Natalie would have wanted to help  and last week she came over and presented us with a check for $3000 from the Natalie Fossier Memorial Fund.  We were all very touched by this gift and we are thankful to the Fossiers for their generosity and kindness.

All the best,