Happy Chanukah!  We hope that the Festival of Lights is filled with light for you and your family!  We'll be celebrating daily with our Cedar Village family, beginning tomorrow evening at 6:15 as we kindle our first Chanukah candles.  On Sunday at 2 p.m. we will hold our annual Chanukah party, filled with music, fun and delicious refreshments.  We'll light candles on Sunday at 4:15 p.m.  Each remaining night of the holiday we will hold candle lighting's on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Health Care Center at 4:15 p.m. and in the Garden Dining Room at 4:45 p.m.  Most of these events will be led by visiting rabbis from our community and each rabbi has their own approach. Some sing with our residents, others tell stories, still others reminisce.  If you'd like to join us, we'd be happy to have you at any time!

We began our Chanukah event a little early.  On Tuesday afternoon, our Tenant Association monthly meeting was highlighted by a "latke tasting" event.  Our Dining Services folks made three different types of latkes-traditional potato, zucchini and sweet potato and pear.  We sampled and then we put it to a vote.  Sweet potato and pear won!  We've provided that recipe for you if you'd like to try it as well- click here! 

On Monday evening, we had more than 150 people at our OMA dinner and art opening.  At the end of each semester, when the new works of art are hung, we have a special dinner for our artists, their families and the volunteers who work with them.  Opening Minds through Art (OMA) is a program that we are fortunate to do through a partnership with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University.  Through OMA, individuals with cognitive impairments use art as a tool for self expression and independent choice.  We have just finished our eighth semester of this wonderful program and anxiously await the program's return in January.

Wednesday evening was highlighted by our Resident of the Month celebration.  We honored two special Cedar Village residents and we had a wonderful crowd of family and friends assembled.  Each month we all find these stories so meaningful and inspirational.  We have some very special folks who call Cedar Village home and we are so privileged to know them.

At the recent national Leading Age conference (Leading Age is the organization that represents nonprofit retirement communities and senior housing across the United States), we were pleased to present a program on our Chesed Corps, which is a means to engage residents as volunteers.  Our Chesed folks do weekly projects, like preparing Shabbat baskets for patients at area hospitals.  They also do monthly outreach projects, including making lunch and serving it at the Ronald McDonald House, throwing an " unbirthday"  party for the residents of the Center for Respite Care, serving dinner at a community meal center and so much more. Director of Independent and Assisted Living, Marcia Westcott, was recently interviewed on this program for one of Leading Age's national publications.  We are delighted to be featured and very proud of this program.

All the best,  

carol@cedarvillage.org