TRENDS IN OLDER ADULT SERVICES . . .
It's International Assistance Dog Week
New research shows that service dogs can have huge benefits for those suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias. Israeli social worker Dafna Golan-Shemesh and her partner Yariv Ben Yosef were the first to develop the concept of assistance dogs for those suffering from degenerative brain disease. Learn more here. - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Click here to access Senior Resource Connect and stay current on the latest trends in older adult services.
AJFCA launched our new older adult services website, Senior Resource Connect this summer. The website aims to leverage the expertise of Jewish family services agencies assisting older adults in the community, increase referrals to member agency programs, streamline referrals between agencies, and act as an information hub on all matters of senior services.
Share this great news with your community.
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AGENCY HIGHLIGHTS
New Book Has 36 Personal Accounts From Southern Arizona Holocaust Survivors
Thirty-six personal accounts of experiences during the Holocaust have been captured in To Tell Our Stories: Holocaust Survivors of Southern Arizona, a new book edited by Raisa Moroz and Richard Fenwick. Proceeds from book sales support the Holocaust Survivors Program (HSP) at Jewish Family & Children's Services of Southern Arizona.
"In 2009, I began asking my Russian-speaking clients to write stories about their lives, but I quickly realized that their stories would not be widely appreciated because of language barriers," says Moroz, who is a Russian immigrant and the manager of the Holocaust Survivors Program, which offers case management, home care, financial assistance and social opportunities.
In 2010, Fenwick, a poet and a retired United States Air Force Russian linguist, volunteered to curate this collection of stories and visit with Russian-speaking survivors. He translated stories written in Russian, transcribed verbally recorded stories as the project expanded, and reviewed stories written in English by Survivors from other parts of Europe.
Moroz and Fenwick's partnership continues with an open invitation to other Survivors in Southern Arizona to tell their stories. To date, 10 more Survivors have asked to be included in a second volume.
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Music Makes Memories: A New Program in the Works
Music will soon fill the air in Naples, Florida for elders living with dementia. Jewish Family and Children's Services of Southwest Florida will be offering an exciting new program called "Music Makes Memories" to the members of its two weekly programs for people with various forms of dementia. Specialized music therapy will be provided to participants in the Men's Group, an Early Memory Loss program for gentlemen and in Better Together, a Group Respite program for people with more advanced dementia.
These two dementia-specific programs are based on the Brookdale Early Memory Loss (EML) and Group Respite models. The EML model includes memory enhancement and compensatory skill-building components, as well as a peer support element. Both models emphasize building on a member's strengths and abilities, and on providing meaningful, adult-appropriate activities. Teepa Snow's Positive Approach to Dementia is also incorporated into day-to-day activities and care of the program participants.
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Stay updated on AJFCA offerings, agency news & current trends . . .
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D'Var Torah
Lee I. Sherman
Parent-child relationships are complicated and varied. They can be full of love, admiration, conflict, and, at times, fear. How much more so are the complexities revealed at tense moments of rebellion or misdeeds, when some form of discipline results? Our own personal experiences inform how we perceive the parent-child relationship and what it conjures up in our mind's eye.
Torah is full of rich and dense texts subject to a multitude of interpretations. In this week's parashah, Eikev, we continue with one of Moses' orations to the Children of Israel. Moses himself assumes a parental role, alternately encouraging, admonishing, cajoling, and advising his audience. He also places God in the parental role: "Bear in mind that the Lord your God disciplines you just as a man disciplines his son. Therefore keep the commandments of the Lord your God: walk in His ways and revere Him." 8:5-6. Is Moses insisting on fear or respect or love, or something else for God? Does God discipline with the "rod" or with the heart? What kind of parent is he? What kind of children should we be? Talk about complex relationships.
Moses knows that he will not be accompanying his people on the next leg of their journey. He wants to leave them with the best lessons that he can impart. He wants them to continue to connect with God and to grow that relationship. That doesn't mean it will be easy, as most of us know from personal experience.
Shabbat Shalom.
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Recap: WHCOA, Healthy Aging Summit
This month has been a whirlwind of exciting activity and announcements for the Administration on Aging and the Administration for Community Living as a whole. We celebrated the 50th anniversaries of the Older Americans Act and Medicare and Medicaid and the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which together with Social Security (which will celebrate its 80th anniversary in August), help enable older adults to live their later years in the homes and communities they choose. This month, we also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Area Agency on Aging network at the annual conference of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. And, of course, July included the sixth White House Conference on Aging, which brought together an unprecedented number of older adults, aging advocates, state and federal partners, community organizations, foundations, and private companies to address the needs of seniors and their families today and into the future. The conference, along with the Healthy Aging Summit earlier this week, also gave us the chance to share updates on a number of programs with our partners in the aging network. Learn more here.
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ADA Disabilities Law: A Dream Worth Celebrating, But Not Fully Realized
Quick-when was the last time you thought twice about a ramp outside a public building? How about a wheelchair-accessible bathroom? Do you even blink when you see a closed-captioning enabled TV? Most of these things are so common today that we barely remember how much has changed in the past 25 years. Read the rest of this op-ed on the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act written by William Daroff, JFNA's Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Director of the Washington Office here. |
The Debate over Reforming Overtime Regulations
The new reforms proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor concerning overtime are meant to address issues for all employers-but nonprofits have to remember that they too are affected, and they ought to be prepared to weigh in or adjust. The new proposed DOL regulations expand overtime protections by doubling the minimum salary of white collar workers before they would be considered exempt from being paid time-and-a-half wages for working in excess of 40 hours, raising the minimum from $23,660 (or $455 a week) to $50,400 ($970 a week).
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AGENCY PROGRAMMING/OPERATIONS
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Having a Strategy Requires Saying "No"
Having too many goals is really a sign that your organization is unfocused and unable to say no, argue Randy Street and Alan Foster. "Given the mission and vision of what you are trying to do, what are the five priorities? If you fast-forward two or three years, and you are thrilled with what you have got done, what will you have delivered?" Foster says. Listen to the podcast here.
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How To Use a Dashboard to Track Progress and Reach Goals
A dashboard can help nonprofit leadership teams focus on the metrics that matter most to meeting their organizational goals. In this article, Bridgespan Manager Beth Stram Jackson talks with Gina Simpson, president and CEO of Hands On Atlanta, about how Gina's organization created its dashboard and the benefits it provides. Read the entire article here.
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2015 AJFCA Regional Meetings
Join AJFCA's Older Adult Service Professionals in West Bloomfield, MI on Sunday, August 30th and Monday, August 31st. Click here to learn more and register today!
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Addictions' Professionals Call Addictions' Professionals are invited to join Daniel Krasner, National Clinical Solutions Provider & ARISE Interventionist Intern from 2015 AJFCA Annual Conference sponsor, Ranch at Dove Tree for a discussion surrounding young adult addiction and recovery trends including collegiate recovery communities and programs.
Addictions' Professionals Call
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Advocacy Day The 2015 AJFCA Advocacy Day will take place on Tuesday, October 27th in Washington, DC. Learn about public policies affecting your work, and advocate for your priorities at meetings at the White House and on Capitol Hill (lunch included).
HOTEL
Reserve your room at the Renaissance Washington, DC Dupont Circle Hotel (via the link) by calling 888-803-1298. Please identify yourself as part of the AJFCA group when making your reservation. The group rate is $219.00 per night, plus tax. Reservations must be made by October 3rd. Please contact Zahava at 410-843-7487 with questions.
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Successful Boards Depend on Good Staffing
All employees, not just the executive, must understand the responsibilities of the board. Often staff, especially development directors, think that the role of the board is solely to raise money. That's not true. The board has a lot of duties: policy making; priority setting; budget approval; hiring, evaluating and when appropriate firing the chief executive officer; attending meetings; and serving as positive spokespersons for the not for profit.
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Attract Donors with an Up-to-Date GuideStar Profile
Nonprofits should regularly update their free GuideStar profiles to reach potential donors, support their transparency efforts and provide the most recent information about programs and finances. Maintaining a profile on GuideStar can also speed the grant process, as the information can be prepopulated into grant applications. More than 7 million people access GuideStar each year. Read more here.
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6 Fundraising Values Nonprofits Should Consider
When fundraising, a nonprofit should put the best interests of its community first and its should leaders fully support the mission. This piece offers four additional "fundraising values" for nonprofits to consider, such as taking advantage of resources that are already at hand and ensuring there is a strategic plan for fundraising. Learn more here.
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A Path to Greater Engagement
[Written with synagogues in mind; applicable for all.]
A thriving community is an engaged community. Your ability to enhance the relevancy of Judaism and to engage current and prospective members and your community at large is key to your community's success. Once engaged, your membership's participation will grow. Click here to learn how to deepen relationships in your community before the High Holidays. |
SafeLink Minutes Plan Increase
As of August 2015, the 250 voice minutes plan has increased to 350 voice minutes. SafeLink customers will also continue to enjoy unlimited texts nationwide. New customers in all states where SafeLink is available will receive 500 minutes and unlimited texts for the first four months of service. After the initial four months, their plan will revert back to the one they selected.
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