Yesterday Shillman House held its first Latke Throw Down, which will no doubt become an annual holiday highlight. Dining Services Director Dave Seltzer and Resident Service Coordinator Jennifer Miller went head to head (more like spud to spud) in a fun-filled competition.
Read more … Latke Throw Down
Art is an exceptional vehicle for bridging generations and cultures. The group of young professionals from CJP’s Young Leadership Division who have been gathering monthly with JCHE residents in Brighton know this to be true.
Read more … Art bridges generations and cultures
We are working with Tufts School of Occupational Therapy, offering special exercise classes for those with arthritis, and planning to begin Zumba soon!
Read more … Great new fitness programs
Through a grant from Ernie Boch Jr.’s Music Drives Us Foundation, JCHE has created a new and stimulating music program. This unique class is held weekly at Golda, Coleman and Shillman over two 14-week periods.
Read more … “Music keeps me going”
Golda Meir House celebrated Veterans Day with its annual event honoring the veterans of WWII. Each veteran was given a rose, and the wives of deceased veterans were also given a rose in honor of their husband's service.
Read more … War Veterans Remembered at Golda Meir House
When the art teacher for Golda Meir House left to take a full time job, Betty Rosenzweig, a resident, took it upon herself to be the catalyst for the group so that they could continue meeting. Sally Lakin, pictured here drawing on her sketchpad, is s 102!
Read more … Art
Last night, Gaye Freed, JCHE's Director of Resident Services and Associate Property Manager of Brighton Buildings, was honored as LeadingAge Massachusetts' Outstanding Mentor of the Year. This is a well -deserved tribute to Gaye who has worked at JCHE for 31 years. In addition to her staff of Brighton Resident Services Coordinators, Gaye has supervised dozens of students throughout the years in the process of earning their Masters in Social Work degree.
Read more … JCHE's Gaye Freed is LeadingAge's Outstanding Mentor of the Year
Hear how the staff and environment at JCHE helped Audrey re-engage in life following a serious medical diagnosis.
(Presented by Jessica Hamermesh, JCHE's Director of Intergenerational Programs.)
Read more … Resident Stories - Engagement
Hear how JCHE's fitness program gave Selma the encouragement she needed to regain her confidence following a fall. (Presented by JCHE Resident Services Coordinator Sarah Green Vaswani)
Read more … Resident Stories: Encouragement
Over 70 tenants enjoyed the annual summer barbecue at Coleman House tonight. Under a cloudless sky, tenants began with wine and snacks on our beautiful flower filled patio. Golda cook Arsen Pogosyian with help from his daughter, Guyana, cooked up hot dogs and veggie burgers accompanied by potato salad, cole slaw and pickles prepared by Kristina and her crew from the Golda kitchen.
Read more … JCHE Coleman House Celebrates Summer With Annual BBQ
Like so many buildings throughout Massachusetts, the power has been off at Shillman House since mid-day Sunday. Inconvenient for sure, but the quick and thorough response from JCHE staff has kept the generator -- and spirits -- going strong.
Read more … Community building in response to Irene
Growing up in Russia, Galina Ivanova had a garden in the country that she could visit only on weekends. It gave her tremendous satisfaction, but she was often wishing she had more time. Once she moved to Golda Meir House, Galina's hands "were itching to start a garden."
Read more … It started with a rose plant found in the trash
It's a tradition on our Brighton campus to take time on or around the Fourth of July to acknowledge our tenants who have become U.S. citizens over the past 12 months. (YOU CAN ALSO READ ABOUT THIS EVENT IN AMY'S "INSIGHTS FROM ONSITE" BLOG!)
Read more … Honoring our newest Americans
Recently a group of kindergartners from the Edison School in Brighton walked over to spend a morning with residents from Ulin House, Leventhal House and Genesis House. They were greeted by older adults with wide smiles who were eager to meet their young guests. The interactions were magical. Within a few minutes, the seniors and children were in small clusters getting to know one another. There were some language barriers for sure: some of the residents only speak Cantonese, Mandarin or Russian. Yet the feeling of happiness that radiated around the room transcended these hurdles.Recently a group of kindergartners from the Edison School in Brighton walked over to spend a morning with residents from Ulin House, Leventhal House and Genesis House. They were greeted by older adults with wide smiles who were eager to meet their young guests. The interactions were magical. Within a few minutes, the seniors and children were in small clusters getting to know one another. There were some language barriers for sure: some of the residents only speak Cantonese, Mandarin or Russian. Yet the feeling of happiness that radiated around the room transcended these hurdles.
Read more … A bit of magic in our new program center!
As part of tje 11th annual Greater Boston Affordable Housing Development competition sponsored by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, a team of ten graduate students from Harvard and MIT worked with our staff to develop plans that could someday be new JCHE affordable senior housing. The site for the proposed project is a parcel of land owned by Boston Redevelopment Authority adjacent to Leventhal House on our Brighton campus.
Read more … JCHE's project places third in the Greater Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
As Barbara Friedman prepares for her retirement from JCHE after 11 years as the Director of Generations Together, her colleagues from the community and the organization gathered to express appreciation. Pictured here are Nicole Mack (principal) and Alyce Collins (reading specialist) from the Edward Everett Elementary School in Dorchester. They presented Barbara with a beautiful collection of photos of the intergenerational tutoring program.
Read more … JCHE's Barbara Friedman honored by community partners
Each of JCHE's sites held model Passover Seders this week. Using a multi-lingual Haggadah to tell the story of Passover, it was attended by residents of all backgrounds. At Coleman House, resident Sylvia Jaffee led the Seder while her neighbor Ida Paysnick lit the holiday candles.
Read more … Passover at JCHE
Natalie Lichtenstein, who runs a weekly conversational class for her Coleman House neighbors who are learning English, calls it "the best thing I have ever done in my life!"
Read more … Neighbors helping neighbors
We recently held the first concert in our new and beautiful auditorium in the Genesis House program center. Three students from the Perkins School for the Blind gave an unforgettable performance, which included folk, jazz, and classical music. Three young men, Andy, John and Anton, showed their talents playing different instruments and singing Yiddish and Russian songs.
Read more … A Forgotten Tune
With the opening of JCHE Brighton Campus’s new Program Center, we chose a variety of ways to celebrate. Two events of our grand opening celebration took advantage of the excitement our tenants felt at the beautiful new space.
Read more … Innovative Fitness in an Innovative Space
A few times each year, we hold a memorial gathering at Golda Meir House. It’s a chance for both staff and tenants to remember tenants who have recently passed away. It’s a way to bring closure to our collective loss.
Read more … Closure
On Saturday night, the dining room of Ulin House was transformed into a retro-style candy store for the nearly 150 attendees of the 12th annual YLD Senior Prom. The ‘Kid in a Candy Shop’ theme took residents and volunteers alike on a trip down memory lane, with the help of sticky sweet treats, a photo booth, and a dance floor that brought back the forties in full swing.
Read more … Dancing-- and chatting --the night away!
Computer proficiency is a growing trend around JCHE as residents seek to stay in touch with family and friends via the World Wide Web. With loved ones and contacts in countries all over the world, residents use the computers to send and receive photos, exchange emails, and stay up-to-date with current events.
Read more … Genesis House's new computer lab will open soon
The Jewish Holiday Celebration program is the product of a CJP grant aiming to build a sense of Jewish community through song, reminiscing, sharing and rejoicing among those reconnecting with their Jewish origins.
Read more … Rekindling a Jewish Connection
Coleman House resident Natalie Lichtenstein often uses poetry to express her thoughts. At a recent meeting of JCHE's Board of Directors, Natalie shared this poem, which she began soon after she moved into Coleman House and recently completed.
Read more … Natalie Lichtenstein
Betty Rosenzweig moved to Golda from New York in search of good housing near her Newton-based family. She found the security she was seeking along with a limitless number of interesting people to meet and activities to explore.
Read more … Betty Rosenzweig
