10 minute read
L’DOR V’DOR
L’DOR V’DOR FAMILY, EDUCATION AND SENIOR LIVING PORCH VISITS ALLOW LOVED ONES TO CONNECT
By Kari Bell, River Garden Senior Services
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Since early March, River Garden has been following directives, rules, regulations, mandates and executive orders from the governor, CMS, CDC, DOH and AHCA detailing the many ways to protect our residents and families from COVID-19. We have taken our responsibility seriously. Everyone on our campus has been working together to keep each other safe by washing hands, physically distancing and wearing masks. We are grateful to the entire community for the outpouring of support, patience and understanding.
We are still under the executive order which prohibits visitors from entering the nursing home building. However, we can allow porch visits on our
campus. Porch visits began on July 30.
River Garden is using an online system called SignUpGenius to schedule these visits. An email invitation is sent to the resident’s primary contact, who can then link to the schedule to select a visitation time.
Only two visits are conducted at a time. Before these get-togethers, visitors receive temperature checks and answer screening questions. Hugs or other physical contact is not allowed. At the start, we are allowing each resident one 20-minute visit. As the program develops, we hope to off er more frequent visitation.
“We have missed all of our friends and family, and we are excited to thoughtfully and carefully invite you back onto the campus,” associate administrator Mauri Mizrahi said.
Above: If needed, amplifi ers are provided to help with communication. Right: Despite the plexi-glass barrier and distancing requirements, it is heartwarming to see loved ones reconnect in person.
READING FOR THE NEW YEAR
By Crystal Whitman Jewish Community Alliance
As we get ready to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, we have lots for which to be thankful! Each month, I like to give some recommendations of books I like, and in which the children in my life are interested. So, I am grateful for books and their ability to help us navigate all parts of life. One of my recommendations for this month is “This is the Challah,” by Sue Hepker, as it allows you to begin a discussion about what looks diff erent about the loaf of challah bread on Rosh Hashanah.
“This is the Challah” is a great book for young children with lots of repetition, but it is also fun for older children with a similar feel to the “There Was an Old Lady” books written by Lucille Colandro. If you have young children in your life, I am sure you have noticed them asking you to read the same stories over and over again. As they watch and listen, they are also learning! They are learning about what words are, how they relate to the photos, how you use your voice as well as body language, and so many other things that are important to their growth and development.
Some other books I would like to recommend for important upcoming holidays are:
• “Rosh Hashanah is
Coming” by Tracy
Newman • “Oh No, Jonah!” by Tilda
Balsley • “Is It Sukkot Yet?” by
Chris Barash
So, let’s get ready to enjoy our families, the upcoming holidays, have some fun, and start our new year off with lots of love and peace in our hearts!
POSITIVELY Y ours
Safely tucked away on 40 acres in Mandarin is a special place that many people call home, including Betty & Ernest Barnes. The couple have not been apart since their first grade class nearly 82 years ago. The latest chapter in their life story is set at The Coves on River Garden’s highly-rated campus. Here, they can access a continuum of care befitting their lifetime of love.
Visit RiverGarden.org or call (904) 260.1818
MANAGING MENTAL HEALTH IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
By Danielle Wirsansky, Jewish Community Alliance
Whether your children are staying home, engaging in virtual learning, or continuing to attend school, their experience will be something completely new. Even for those attending in person, like at Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool, the “going to school” experience is diff erent with changes in drop off and pick up, adults wearing masks, new disinfection procedures, and more. These experiences may be confusing and stressful, especially for preschool-aged children. Managing good mental health is important.
Strategies for success diff er from child to child and family to family, but there are some basic foundations you can lay to help ease your child’s transition back to school, whatever form it may take.
The fi rst strategy is to create a routine. Doing so helps children get into the rhythm of the day. When they know what to expect, it makes the day much less scary and anxiety inducing.
Keeping your child on a healthy diet is also important. When they feel better, they will behave better and be more equipped to handle the turmoil that the new school year may bring.
Eating healthy works hand in hand with the strategy of staying active. Big changes can bring about big nervous energy, so giving your child the outlet to burn that energy off can be helpful.
On the other hand, it is also more important than ever to allow for down time, time to allow your child to rest and to refl ect.
Using these strategies is a great way to help keep your child’s mental health under control and smooth their transition into their new school experience, whatever that may be.
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HIGHER EDUCATION
STARTS WITH HIGHER STANDARDS.
Leading faculty, programs and facilities.
Bolles.org
ALL THINGS POSSIBLE
MY SUMMER WITH PARTNERSHIP2GETHER By Jagger Leach, such philanthropist was Joan Partnership2Gether Levin. Levin served the Jacksonville Teen Participant community of Jacksonville During the week of July 20, the Partnership2Gether Program hosted the Community Philanthropy Challenge (CPC). What was the CPC, you ask? The CPC was a weeklong workshop aimed at teaching the next generation of young Jewish philanthropists. I was happy to have the privilege of joining it! In this program, Jewish teens from Jacksonville, Clearwater, Richmond, Charleston, Greensboro and Israel learned from prominent philanthropists about their experiences serving the community. One in her work with the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Northeast Florida and through her gracious grants. For example, she helped fund the Joan Levin Gift of Israel, which allows bar/bat mitvahed teens to go on organized trips to Israel. We learned about her experiences with philanthropy and what she has learned, such as the fundamentals of philanthropy, how to best use your donations, and ways to participate in philanthropy outside of monetary donations. The highlight of the workshop was the group
project where teens were put into six groups and each group chose a nonprofi t to represent. The groups presented their nonprofi t to a panel of Jewish Federation and Foundation of Northeast Florida representatives for a chance to win a $3,000 grant for their respective charity. While hearing everyone’s presentations, I was really proud of my fellow teens for their great work. My group proudly won $2,000 in grant money to give to Friendship Circle of Virginia, which provides opportunities for children with disabilities meet friends. Friendship Circle also organizes a Jewish Disability Task Force aimed at helping to solve issues associated with disabilities in the community. The program was incredible, and I was so glad to have gotten the chance to participate!
By Danielle Wirsansky, Jewish Community Alliance
Cal Barker has served as the JCA’s director of facilities for the last thirteen years. As director of facilities, Barker is responsible for the building (130,000+ square feet), the grounds (7.5 acres), maintenance and housekeeping.
Barker’s duties often intersect with the Early Childhood Education program. The facilities team performs all the cleaning of the school’s facilities and classrooms both day and night. They repair or make changes to classrooms and provide daily general support. Especially nowadays, disinfecting is more important than ever.
Cal’s favorite thing about the job is doing new things every day, and he likes working among the members and students. He fi nds the work atmosphere to be positive because, as he says, “Everyone helps everyone.” He admires the staff of Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool & Kindergarten, too, because he can see that “everyone there gives all they have to the place.” Three of his grandchildren have attended the school as well.
Sometimes on a busy day, he likes to take a moment to stop and watch the kids playing or going to and from class as he fi nds it relaxing. His favorite activity is the annual tour of the facilities shop that he gives to the school’s students from every age group. He shows the children around the workshop, where much of the facilities team’s work is done, and tells them about what the team does. The students always ask a lot of questions, which Barker enjoys, because they inquire about things that adults do not really consider or think about. He says, “People who have never been exposed to something approach it in a diff erent way and help reveal new things to people who do know it.”
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ALL THINGS POSSIBLE
TEENS ADVOCATING FOR ISRAEL
By Jordan Grossman, Partnership2Gether Jacksonville Teen Participant
My summer was kind of bland—lots of Zooms, lots of reading—so I jumped at the chance to do something I was passionate about: attend an Israel Advocacy Seminar with the Israel Partnership Department of the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Northeast Florida.
From day one, it was an interesting experience. We fi rst gathered in breakout rooms to discuss topics with peers in Israel and the U.S. I wasn’t used to talking about many of the topics we covered with people I had just met, like political affi liations and my religious life, but everyone I talked to was nice. It was interesting meeting kids who had diff erent views and lives than I did but were still
If your teen is interested in participating in programs like this, contact Jill Abel at jilla@jewishjacksonville.org for more information.
interested in advocating for Israel.
We were assigned into groups, given some topics and asked to create a presenation from one. We didn’t have much time to decide and my Wi-Fi was being spotty, so we ended up with a topic about the role of the Diaspora in Israel. My group selected a project about various Diasporic communities and their stances on Israel. My favorite part of the seminar was talking to my group members about random commonalities we had, like going to the beach or learning to drive. My American groupmates and I were stunned to learn that McDonald’s is a fairly nice establishment in Israel.
We were also taught about how to advocate. They prepared us for answering specifi c questions, demonstrating how to use stories and statistics, and showing how to keep conversations respectful all when talking about Israel. All of these are very useful skills, as you would understand if you have ever tried to advocate for Israel before! The Israel Advocacy Seminar was a great experience that strengthened my emotional connection to Israel and prepared me for future advocacy.
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WHETHER A VIRUS OR TERRORISTS, ISRAELIS DEPEND ON ONE ORGANIZATION WHEN LIVES NEED SAVING.
Israel’s emergency medical service has been on the front lines in the fight against coronavirus while also contending with terrorist attacks, car accidents, and other threats to Israeli lives. But Magen David Adom is not government-funded. Its 25,000 EMTs and paramedics, most of them volunteers, rely on support from people like you for the supplies and equipment they need to perform their lifesaving work. No gift will help Israel more in these difficult times. Keep the people of Israel strong this coming year. Donate to Magen David Adom. Shanah Tovah. Give today at afmda.org/rosh or call 866.632.2763.
