Spread Your Joy: September Events

September signifies the end of summer with Labor Day celebrations and the Autumnal Equinox on the 23^rd. In this last month of our “Stay Connected” series we aspire to connect with our friends and embrace the theme of Spread Your Joy.

The Mayo Clinic tells us that friends are good for your health. They can help you celebrate good times, provide support during bad times, prevent loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship, too. Friends increase your sense of belonging and purpose, boost happiness, reduce stress, and improve your self-confidence and self-worth. Friends can also encourage you to increase healthy habits – it’s always better to walk, run, swim or exercise with a friend. And friends don’t always have to be of the human kind either! Several studies have shown that heart attack patients who have pets survive longer than those without.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Grandparents’ Day Fair featuring entertainment and games plus music and delicious refreshments on September 7^th at 1:30 pm; our Big Band program presented by David Aaron celebrating all things Jazz and Swing on September 11^th at 2:00 pm; our Body Movements to Open the Heart holistic exercise class led by Gregory Quinn on September 25^th at 1:30 pm; or our Understanding the Physician’s Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment continuing education seminar for nurses and other healthcare providers on September 25^th at 5:30 pm.

Please look through our calendar and join us for any events that can help you stay connected, cultivate friendships and Spread Your Joy!

"Down the Shore"

Our third trip "down the shore" absolutely topped the previous ones. We traveled to Point Pleasant Beach and had lunch at a restaurant directly on the inlet. Not only was the seafood spectacularly fresh, but it was so relaxing sitting by the water and watching the boats go by!

Summer Ice Cream Treats

Our monthly summer Ice Cream Socials have been a hit with residents and staff alike!  Everyone pitched in and built their sundaes just the way they liked!  You never outgrow your love of ice cream!

Asbury Park

It was another perfect day for our second trip to the shore...this time our destination was Asbury Park.  We had a terrific lunch at McClunes, followed by a stroll on the boardwalk and yummy ice cream cones.  We are so lucky to have such nice beaches so close to home!

FORE!

We have a new addition to our Juniper sports program - our putting tournament!  The putting green was a suggestion by one of our residents, and we have gotten a great response.  We will have a weekly contest, and will announce a winner at the end of six weeks. Residents get points for this 3 par green, and the winner with the most points will receive a prize.  FORE!

Ice Cream Social

What do you do on a nice, hot day?  How about an ice cream social with your Best Friend!  We gathered in the bistro, residents and Best Friends, to be served cold, refreshing ice cream sundaes with all the fixings - chocolate sauce, melted caramel, and whipped cream - by Alice and Maryann from the Connections Department, and Nicole, a 7th grade volunteer from Chatham.  Yum!

Breathe in Life: August Events

Our Alive in All Seasons’ theme for August is The Environment. Our communities will focus their efforts on maintaining healthy environments through environmentally conscious activities. Our “Green Canopy” program emphasizes designing and operating buildings that meet new standards of environmental sustainability. We are proud to be the first long-term care company with a building in the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

According to research by Go Green, Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour; 25 billion Styrofoam cups and 40 billion soft drink bottles and cans each year. Eighty-four percent of the average American’s household trash can be recycled. If we recycled just 1/10 of our newspapers 25 million trees could be saved. Are we all doing our part?

Join us this month as we learn more about the environment, expand our wide-scale recycling program, learn more about environmental sustainability programs and work with our community Green Teams to promote our “Green Canopy” initiative. We encourage you to accompany us on this environmental journey so that we can all continue to Breathe in Life!

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Back Roads of Morris County lighthearted look at local history with Jim DelGiueice on August 7^th at 2:00 pm; our Snakes and Scales presentation featuring alligators, pythons and more that were once injured and vulnerable, but have been rescued and tendered to with great love on August 14^th at 2:00 pm; our Shred for Charity to clean out those files for a $5.00 charge for a standard box with all proceeds benefiting St. Hubert’s Animal Shelter on August 16^th from 9:00 am to noon; or our Mother Nature is Telling Us Something skit by Darrell Ann Murphy, a professional storyteller, relating stories about our changing environment and how it affects our everyday lives on August 19^th at 7:00 pm. Take a look at our calendar and join us for any and all activities that will help you make the most of these last few weeks of summer.