“The day I returned from the hospital they had a welcoming parade. So much love.”
Anew heart offered a new start for 65 year old Hartford Village resident Charles Keith. Your donation helped to fill a large financial gap and was key to the construction of Hartford Village in Detroit. Because you cared to donate, Hartford Village is now 1 of 10 City of Detroit PVM Villages. A special thank you to Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, too. Without Hartford Village, Charles’ story would have been quite different and possibly for the worse. Thank you for choosing to donate. You did something wonderful for Charles Enjoy this heartfelt story.
Prior to moving into Hartford Village, Charles, at 59, was living a very active personal and professional life. Careers at GM, IT sales at Motorola, and finally owning his own hardwood flooring business kept him always on the go.
Then he noticed more and more fatigue. “I knew something was not right,” says Charles. Within five years he was at a cross roads facing a new start with a new heart.
“My wife knew things needed to change quickly. I could not live at our current home anymore. Too many stairs and too many chores. She made the decision to move us to Hartford Village.”
— CHARLES KEITH
Originally Charles was not thrilled with the prospect of moving to a senior living community. “This place is not for me. I am not ready for this kind of a life. My wife insisted we move in, and I am so blessed that she did,” says Charles with a grin ear to ear. During 2020, in the height of COVID, Charles Keith had a heart transplant.
In his mid-sixties, Charles now faced a steep recovery after his heart transplant. “All the ladies and a few men took care of me and willed me back to health with so much love and support. The day I returned from the hospital they had a welcoming parade. So much love.”
“I gained knowledge, strength, and a whole lot of insight from the Hartford Village residents. The majority of them were 20 years older than me with a lot of ailments. Surprisingly, they were still doing great things each day. This inspired me to keep going in spite of my own personal health issues. I guess Hartford Village kind of saved my life!”
One caring resident gave his wife a gas card to pay for the many trips to the doctor. “It is a big caring family here. Each day of my recovery, I had so many fellow residents looking in on me. I could not imagine another place like it.”
Charles is back on his feet. He is recouped enough to run his hardwood flooring business again. However, he always makes time for his Hartford Village family. “Coffee time is every other Saturday. I never miss it, and I don’t even like coffee! A lot of stuff gets solved there.”
Your donation helped build Hartford Village and brought together the extended family Charles needed in order to recover and go on with life. “Not sure if I would be here without my friends at Hartford Village. I’m so grateful.”
Saving a life one donation at a time. Thank you so, so much!
To make a donation, visit pvmf.org or use the reply envelope enclosed with this newsletter.
“I guess Hartford Village kind of saved my life!”
— CHARLES KEITH
Because of your donation to the PVM Foundation, there is a brand new neighborhood dining and gathering lounge on the campus of The Village of Westland. Your donation paid for the construction, which resulted in a new way for residents to gather and dine togetherThank you!
The 600 East Wing of The Village of Westland is home to approximately 40 older adults. Having a dining and lounge area to gather close by is crucial to reduce social isolation and loneliness, especially after COVID. Some residents are still leery of leaving their rooms.
“For some of our residents, going to the main dining room can be an overwhelming experience. It’s become more common for them to order their food in and stay isolated. Having a place right down the hall to come eat and hangout is so convenient and will bring more people together.” says Michele White, Executive Director at The Village of Westland.
This newly designed area offers expanded space, new cabinets, counters, tables…, and a very large TV offers residents more opportunities to gather comfortably above and beyond just dining. From coffee hours, to playing cards, to watching favorite television shows
together, these neighborhood dining areas foster community and all the good that comes with it in a beautiful new space.
“This project is truly life changing! Having a new dining area might sound minimal, but if you’re here each day, you know what this really will do for each resident.”
Coming together again is at the core of the Neighborhood Dining and Gathering Lounge. Your donation enables the residents to live each day to the fullest at The Village of Westland.
APRIL 1 TO APRIL 30
It’s time to give locally. When you give during Friends and Family you will help a resident.
YOU will support social activities like: field trips, birthday celebrations, holiday gatherings, and wellness activities.
Why are these social engagements so important?
Because an older adult is more susceptible to social isolation. YOU can change that.
Help get an older adult out of his or her room and engaged in fun stimulating activities.
YOUR gift will make an older adult healthier and keep him or her connected.
Are YOU ready to help a senior live a happy, healthy life?
Because of Joan’s generous support to PVM, she has a street named after her at the Village of East Harbor.
Joan Geering, a retired Michigan National Bank employee, has a passion for helping older adults.
During Joan’s working years, her involvement with Presbyterian Villages of Michigan was limited. That changed when searching for a place for her aunt to live that offered the care and communal living she desired. “I was impressed that Presbyterian Villages of Michigan was for people of all faiths, being my aunt was Lutheran.”
Her relationship with PVM grew even stronger when her life-long friend, Alice, became a resident at the Village of Westland. “Alice took so much pride in telling me how much she enjoyed living at the Village. Plus she always stressed how she proudly supported the PVM Foundation and their profound impact on PVM residents.”
Because of these important relationships, Joan chose to support PVM with a gift in her Will and through charitable gift annuities. “My gifts offer peace of mind to PVM residents in need. I can’t imagine a more appropriate way to say thank you to PVM for the care Alice and my aunt received.”
Through her legacy giving, Joan is a member of the PVM Legacy Society. The society honors all donors who have made a gift beyond their lifetime to support the Mission of PVM.
Join Joan in the PVM Legacy Society today! To learn more about how you can leave a legacy and create possibilities for the next generation of older adults, contact Devon Meier, Director Planned Giving at 947.247.0995 or dmeier.@pvm.org
I firmly believe PVM is a top notch organization which provides so much to older adults, their families, and the community. I would not have been here for 17 years if that was not the case.
PVM’s impact is very good. Let’s say a grade of a B. However, with your kind/thoughtful donations, PVM becomes an exceptional and more impactful organization! I would confidently say an A grade. Together we move closer to an A+ one donation at a time. YOUR donation provides PVM the resources to do such wonderful things. Because you cared enough to donate, an older adult is better off today and well into the future. Your gifts made the following possible:
• Providing an alternative to living in a nursing home through Sunrise PACE at The Village of Lake Huron Woods.
• Brand new wellness center at the Village of East Harbor, designed solely for the specific needs of older adults.
• A resident wrote her autobiography using the donated computers in her Village’s library.
• Through the Resident Help Fund, residents received financial aid to pay for medical bills, food, utilities, and other necessities. Your donation is a lifeline.
• Telehealth Suites, laptops - visiting the doctor became a lot easier for residents, one click away!
• “I can hear you now!” A brand-new A/V system allows residents with hearing loss to fully participate.
• Activities Fund offering outings, activities, and travel. One resident had never left the City of Detroit before. Now she has the travel bug.
• Going for the gold! PVM’s Senior Olympic type games, called The Village Victory Cup has residents active all-year-round.
From a B to an A, your giving matters each and every day. On behalf of the older adults you have helped, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Please continue your generous support, and PVM will continue its quest to make life better for older adults.
Paul J. Miller, CFRE President, PVM Foundation
Thank you for helping Barbara with her medical bill!
BARBARA ZOLDOS, RESIDENT AT THE VILLAGE OF PEACE MANOR