Generations of Care at River Garden

L'DOR V'DOR

FAMILY, EDUCATION, AND SENIOR LIVING

By Mauri Mizrahi, River Garden Senior Services

An original photo of the Ladies Hebrew Sheltering Aid Society. Pictured: Lois Schneider, Irene Sloat and Lea Hershey

On Shabbat we sing “l’Dor v’Dor yagid gadlekha” which means from generation to generation we will extol Your greatness.

The “generation to generation” piece has been the engine for Jewish life and culture at River Garden for its founders, volunteers, board members, professionals, and community members for the past 75 years.

River Garden’s story actually began in 1922 with the Ladies Hebrew Sheltering Aid Society, now known as the River Garden Auxiliary, who brought people, and commitment together to make the Home a reality in 1946. For the past 100 years, the auxiliary has maintained its purpose to give service from the heart and enhance the residents’ comfort and tranquility.

The founders could not possibly have dreamed that the partially renovated estate home on Stockton Street would grow to become the premier geriatric long term care and rehabilitation center in Northeast Florida. During the past seven and a half decades, buildings have come and gone. The Home relocated from four acres in Riverside to a 40-acre multipurpose campus in the heart of Mandarin. While the physical structures have changed and moved, each generation has maintained the commitment to care for the aged with dignity and honor.

The Fifth Commandment, “Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be long upon the earth which the Lord, your G-d gives you” has mandated l'dor v'dor responsibility. This duty has guided each generation and is the essence of River Garden which has remained unchanged.

Many community members and families have supported River Garden and have passed this love from generation to generation. In the process, they have created a culture out of which has grown the extraordinary programs, services, and facilities. Together, each generation has participated in nurturing the “Caring Community” which is River Garden’s past and future.