Community Matters Aberdeen Village
July 2015
New giving option now available Your old vehicle could help “drive” the Good Samaritan Program at a Presbyterian Manor senior living community of your choice. You can donate your car, truck, boat or other unneeded vehicle through PMMA’s new vehicle donation program. When you call the toll-free number, we’ll arrange to pick up the vehicle, even if it’s not running.You will need to provide your vehicle’s title with the vehicle. Its sale price is then tax deductible.You can consult IRS Publication 526 to help you figure its current value. To make your vehicle donation or for more information, call toll free, seven days a week, at 844-490-GIVE (4483), or go to AberdeenVillage-CarDonations.com and choose “Donate Now” to access the online form. Vehicles need to be intact and in towable condition. Exceptions to the program are vehicles whose value would not offset the cost of towing. The PMMA Good Samaritan Program provides financial assistance to residents at any of the 18 communities, who exhaust their funds through no fault of their CARS, continued on page 2 CEO, continued on page 4
Food the focus at Rotary fundraiser Aberdeen Village dining staff dazzles diners
Aberdeen Village was invited to sponsor the Olathe Rotary 6th Annual “Days of Wine and Rotary” event on May 16 at the Ritz Charles in Overland Park. Local restaurants, wineries and breweries also participated in the event. Aberdeen Village was the only senior living community invited to do so. Aberdeen Village’s Assistant Director of Dining Services José Diaz is known for his culinary prowess and is glad to help showcase the delicious food available here in our community. “I was told there was more than 700 people there. I think there were about 100 more this year versus last year. They don’t do awards at the event, but if they did, I think we would have won. We had a nonstop line of people for two and a half hours,” said José. So what was on the menu that guests were so excited about? As it turns out, a long list of delicious items, including: • Spinach and Artichoke Dip • Tuscan Style Bruschetta with Multigrain Tontines • Sautéed Stuffed Gouda Chicken FUNDRAISER, continued on page 2
A proud member of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America
CARS, continued from page 1
FUNDRAISER, continued from page 1
own. Thank you for considering a gift to help our residents who have a financial need.
• Red Pepper & Creamy Wine Sauce • Pasta Diablo • Mushroom Bourbon Sauce • Roasted Baby Yukons • Chocolate Turtle Cake Bites • Carrot Cake Bites “For the live auction, Aberdeen Village donated a dinner for eight in the private dining room. The first year it went for $600. The second year it went for $500 and this year it went for $1,100! It was the only item in the auction that increased in value,” José said. “It was a great event to expose Aberdeen Village to all the Johnson County community.” This year’s fundraiser benefited Deb’s House Romanian Orphanage, Kid’s TLC, Olathe Public Schools Foundation’s Wimmer Fund and the Olathe Rotary’s Clean Water Project
Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Aberdeen Village by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at: PresbyterianManors.org. Tim Allin, executive director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Suzanne Willey, community relations director, swilley@pmma.org. Telephone: 913-599-6100 Fax: 913-599-3810 Address: 17500 W. 119th St., Olathe, KS 66061-9524 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
Community Matters July 2015
Special thanks to Aberdeen Village staff who participated: Norma Kester, D.D.S.; Laura Brazeal; Jessica Twin; Cassidy Carlson; Yarima Llamas; Felisha Reed; Katie Rauh; José Diaz, assistant director of dining services; Tim Allin, executive director; and Suzanne Willey, community relations director.
Make a difference. Donate blood.
Whether you’ve never donated blood before, or you’re a longtime donor, you’re probably aware that it’s an important and necessary cause. According to redcrossblood. org, someone needs a blood transfusion every two seconds nationwide, and a pint of blood can save up to three lives! Join us for a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Brandt Chapel / Community Room on July 9. For questions, contact Suzanne Willey at swilley@pmma.org or 913-213-1686.
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in Guatemala.
Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America
Resident Survey Across all levels of living, residents report positive relationships with staff and would recommend Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America (PMMA) to a friend. The PMMA resident survey is a proud 11-year tradition that shows our commitment to resident input from PMMA communities in Kansas and Missouri. As we examine the survey results, it is important to thank YOU — our residents — for giving your opinions. Because of you, our mission is an important part of every day.
Quality of life: challenge accepted Assisted living resident responses about lifestyle and care:
4.15 4.37 4.38 4.34
staff provides opportunities to try new activities staff communicates with me about my care staff respects my privacy staff understands me
out of 5
Quality care: mission possible Health care resident responses about nursing staff:
4.32 4.23 4.21 4.15
staff is caring and courteous to me staff is responsive to health concerns staff caring for me is competent staff follows my personalized care plan
out of 5
Aberdeen Village
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New resident surveys campus + apartment Independent living residents across the board report the overall appearance of their home and campus is pleasing.
say hospitality is important. The new residents participating gave PMMA a 4.49 out of 5 on “I felt welcomed upon entrance to the community.”
I am able to maintain the lifestyle of my choice. » 4.34 out of 5
I am satisfied with the variety of activities available. » 4.25 out of 5
I have a sense of belonging in my community. » 4.29 out of 5
I know environmental services meets my needs. » 4.37 out of 5
I feel safe and secure. » 4.59 out of 5
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Community Matters July 2015
Safety Matters Throughout all communities,
PMMA residents feel safe and secure. It was one of the highest rated questions.
In the journey of life, we need each other As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, Colossians 2:6-7.
The Bible often compares life to a walk, because we don’t just sit still. We are on a journey! We’re told to walk in wisdom, in love, in light, in obedience, and in the Spirit. But one of the key ways that God tells us to walk is this: you were never meant to walk alone. This has nothing to do with whether you’re single, widowed or married. We find community in our spiritual family – the Body of Christ. Paul sums it up in Ephesians 4:16, as each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Nobody is a whole chain. Each one is link. But take away one link and the chain is broken. Nobody is a whole team. Each one is a player. But take away one player
and the game is forfeited. As Michael Jordan, retired professional basketball player said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships.”You guessed it; we need each other.You need someone and someone needs you.
To make life work, we gotta lean and support, relate and respond, give and take, confess and forgive, reach out and embrace, and release and rely…especially in God’s family! There’s only one way we can serve God: by serving other people. Whenever we use our talents, time, energy, and resources to help other people, that’s called ministry! But God doesn’t want us to minister alone! Why? Because we’re family – God is more interested in the relationships we build during service together than in the service we do. God wants us to learn to love one another in the family of God. Because we need each other – Nobody has all the talents. Nobody
has all the gifts. God did it that way intentionally so that you would need me and I would need you. Because we get more done – Teamwork multiplies effectiveness. As an African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Unity is strength…when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. Do I hear you saying, “But, Larry, what do I have to offer?” We all have something to give, but we don’t have enough on our own. God can use each one, but God also wants to use us as a team. God has wired us so that we feel most alive when we’re part of a team that’s accomplishing something in God’s kingdom. God wants to use us in ways we’ve never expected. As we share our ministry in Aberdeen Village with our fellow travelers, do your part, and have fun! The Rev. Dr. Larry Thornton, chaplain
The unexpected benefits of volunteering in nature By Akiko Busch
rivers and streams they were born in once a year to spawn. In recent There’s something innately restorative to the human spirit about times, however, their numbers have declined dramatically, possibly watching the flow of water in a because of overfishing, diminished stream. water quality and/or habitat loss. That sense of renewal is even Or maybe something else entirely. greater, though, when it extends Fishermen, researchers and from one’s own spirit to the larger environmentalists would all like to environment. Which is just what understand what’s causing this. To happens when I go to watch for this end, volunteers help scientists the herring in the annual spring monitor the herring’s arrival into monitoring program. the tributaries of the Hudson River Herring spend most of their life and collect baseline data about these at sea, returning to the freshwater changing migration patterns. And
while we citizen scientists know we’re helping out, what we get in return is worth far more than the time we give. The Call of the Wild This is not difficult work. It requires only that one stand at a bridge or the edge of a waterway for 15 minutes twice a week in April and May, look for signs of the herring, then write down what is seen — whether herring are VOLUNTEERING, continued on page 6 Aberdeen Village
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VOLUNTEERING, continued from page 5
there or not. This is about absence or presence. And if those minutes spent watching the drift and surge of a stream are a regenerative way of witnessing spring, the experience grows in meaning when what you find contributes to some broader knowledge base about the stream and the species that live in it. The herring project is only one of many hundreds of such endeavors nationwide, on land and in water, that are part of the emerging practice of citizen science. Some participants get involved simply as an excuse to get outdoors. Others may be motivated by an interest in conservation. Or they could be driven by a greater sense of urgency. A sense of impending crisis in the natural world — whether habitat loss, a warming climate or a burgeoning human population of 7 billion plus — is what prompts many of us to sign up for citizen research projects. This kind of participatory research is flourishing. And at a time when our sense of place is often frayed, documenting the arrival of spring birds, gathering information about fireflies on a July night or simply
measuring rainfall are all good ways in which to collect important data about the natural world and to gain a deep connection to our habitats. It occurs to me that such projects can have particular meaning for midlife volunteers. It is common knowledge that a desire to volunteer is part of the American character today and that a good portion of this nascent labor force are people over 62. Statistics tell us that 7 in 10 people over 62 freely donate their time, and many say this work is among the most sustaining endeavors of their adult life. We are, I like to think, at a stage in life when we know how to pay attention. And attending closely
to the world outside of ourselves is what is demanded here. Like data sheets for other such research efforts, those for the herring projects require precise details. They ask that I break down the components of the day, and when I do, I find that there is a meditative quality in recording the temperature of the air and of the water, the quality of cloud cover, precipitation, tide and water clarity. Having to document such details is a step toward becoming a better observer. The task requires a scrutiny of small increments I might otherwise miss and demands a focus that came to me less easily when I was in my 20s and 30s.
Coming up in Community Matters In an upcoming Community Matters, we’ll be focusing on senior safety, fall prevention and Grandparents’ Day. How do you keep your balance? What have you found to be most helpful in aging strong and avoiding injuries as you age? What’s your favorite thing about being a grandparent or great-grandparent? What wisdom do you want to pass along to the next generation? If you’d like to share your thoughts or memories, contact Community Relations Director Suzanne Willey and your story may be selected for inclusion in an upcoming Community Matters newsletter.
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Community Matters July 2015
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