By Courney Farrugia, Marketing Intern

MapleCreek is partnering with Kids’ Food Basket (KFB) to fight against childhood hunger in Michigan. KFB helps solve this problem by providing children with nutritious meals throughout the day.

KFB is making sure that lunch is not the last meal that children have in a day. KFB provides children with Sack Suppers at school to be taken home. The Sack Suppers include a nutritious dinner while including all five-food groups.

It takes a lot of help from volunteers to prepare these meals and that’s where MapleCreek comes in to help. MapleCreek is trying to accomplish the goal of gathering enough items to feed 1,000 kids in the Grand Rapids area.

“We are very passionate about giving back to this cause,” said Jay Prince, executive director of MapleCreek. “Teaming up with Kid’s Food Basket allows us to help those in need right here in our community.”

They will be collecting the items until April 26 and then they will putting together 1,000 lunches to help prevent childhood hunger in the area. 

Written by Courtney Farrugia, Marketing Intern

MapleCreek residents are raising money and supporting the non-profit organization, Heifer International to purchase a gift for those less fortunate.

The idea was sparked at a weekly Bible study led by MapleCreek’s chaplain, Rebecca Ebb-Speese.

“We had been discussing on how we can give back,” stated MapleCreek resident Dorothy Kelling, “then one day I finally just stood up and suggested we come up with an idea.”

The group wanted to support some type of mission but was not sure which one. Ebb-Speese helped the group find a mission by giving them catalogs with charities they could support. They found the Heifer International program the most applying.

Members of the bible study then started raising money by taking up weekly donations. They ended up raising enough before Christmas to purchase a goat. Heifer International will send the goat to a third world country were it will help support a whole village.

The bible study is starting to take up another collection in order to save up for pig.

MapleCreek Senior Living in Grand Rapids honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with an event, “Celebrating Diversity through the Arts” on January 21, 2013.

The day started with a visual art display - residents and families contributed art that they either created themselves or was special to them in some way. Visitors and residents found this display very interesting - as it included pieces from the Netherlands, Djibouti, Africa, Japan as well assome beautiful hand-made pieces.

The program included musical performances and a panel of experts from Grand Rapids-area hospitals.

Two speakers spoke about what their organization is doing to promote inclusion and diversity; Frank Grant, HR Center of Expertise-System Inclusion & Diversity for Spectrum Health and Bradford Mathis, Director of Community Benefits, Integration and Health Care for St. Mary’s. Eric Foster, Inclusion and Diversity consultant was the emcee for the event.

"We hold this event because it allows us to celebrate how art and diversity play an important role not only in our everyday life at MapleCreek, but also within the Grand Rapids community,” said Jay Prince, executive director for MapleCreek. “We are excited to have Frank, Eric and Bradford speak about how they are promoting diversity in our local hospitals.”

For those who braved the blizzard outside to attend this event, the day was heartwarming.

MapleCreek has been nominated a MOMBA award for the ‘Judge’s Choice’ category for their television commercials.

The MOMBA Awards recognize the best marketing achievements by senior living communities worldwide in 10 unique categories.  

Nearly 200 entries were received from senior living communities across North America, as well as South America, and Asia. Nominees were selected by a team of expert judges, and now, the general public will vote and determine the winners.   Winners are determined by the highest average scores they receive at http://www.retirementhomes.com/momba.

There is no cost to vote, and everyone can vote once per day, until the September 28 deadline, so if we can get more votes than our competitors, than we have a better chance of winning.

I would urge you to vote every day – and here’s how:  

• Visit RetirementHomes.com/MOMBA 
• Click on “Click Here to Vote Now” 
• Find MapleCreek near the bottom in the “Judge’s Choice” category 
• To vote for us, click on the 5th penguin because that will give MapleCreek the highest score.

On August 15, 13 residents from The Lodge at MapleCreek packed backpacks to give to school-aged kids in Lutheran Social Services of Michigan (LSSM) Foster Care in Grand Rapids.

The backpacks were full of supplies including pens, pencils, pencil boxes, folders, notebooks, scissors, glue sticks and bottles, coloring supplies, rulers, snack packs, tote bags and a small piece of advice from the residents "Do your best at whatever you do!"

"The residents wanted to do something to reach out to others," said Christa Schwarz, activity director at the Lodge at MapleCreek. "Our goal was to have enough supplies to provide bags for 50 foster children, and we're happy to say we exceeded that goal."

Items were donated by MapleCreek family and staff as well as by Meijer, Elmer’s Glue, Wolverine, Sodexo and Walgreens. The residents were able to give back to the community, and enjoyed reminiscing about their school days while packing the bags.  We hope to make it an annual event!

On June 30, The Woods at MapleCreek in Grand Rapids teamed with Connie's Bridal for a wedding fashion show. The Woods at MapleCreek is a specialized memory care community on the MapleCreek campus. There were wedding dresses modeled and on display from the 1930’s until today that belong to residents, staff and friends. Connie’s Bridal provided the the current wedding fashions.

In the photo are Ethel, a resident; her niece, Rachel, who is wearing Ethel's wedding dress from 1952; and Rachel's daughter, Madox.

"This was a terrific opportunity to provide a positive intergenerational social engagement, specifically geared toward dementia," said Beth Terborg, certified therapeutic recreation therapist at The Woods at MapleCreek. “Large events, such as weddings tend to stick out in the minds of dementia patients, and there are usually positive connotations associated with them. The idea for the event started with a relaxation group and the residents ended up reminiscing about their weddings.”

The current owners of Connie’s Bridal, Maria Hacker, Gabriela Garcia and Gabriela De La Vega, have a special connection to MapleCreek. Gabriela’s first job was as a nursing assistant at the senior living community. Her experience at MapleCreek (over a decade ago) was one that has touched her heart.

Mlive featured the story on their website and on the front page of the Southeast Advance newspaper. Read the article here:  http://www.mlive.com/kentwood/index.ssf/2012/06/wedding_fashion_show_designed.html

By acquiring a 50 percent share of Christian Home Health, a licensed, Medicare-certified home health provider based in Clinton Township, Lutheran Social Services is now able to provide Medicare-paid licensed, professional health services such as nursing, physical therapy and respiratory therapy to clients recuperating at home after a hospital stay. The agreement closed on April 30. Lutheran Social Services is partnering in this effort with POBLO (People of the Book Lutheran Outreach), a ministry of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, which established Christian Home Health in 2008. For many years, Lutheran Social Services has provided non-medical home care services, such as housekeeping, cooking, help with bathing and dressing, and help with errands, for low-income seniors through the Medicaid Waiver program and for people with disabilities through Community Mental Health. Last fall, Lutheran Social Services acquired the Michigan franchise of Home Care Assistance, a nationally branded private duty home care provider. The addition of home health services means the organization is now able to provide the full range of home care services for just about anyone who needs them. Sue Lemon, vice president of Services for Senior Adults, is the administrator responsible for the Christian Home Health program.

Apparently they call it cognitive dissonance—a mental phenomenon that occurs when the ideas or beliefs commonly tied with an event or place conflict with reality. Dissonance usually breeds discomfort. Think of that scene, for instance, from “The Sound of Music” when Julie Andrews returns to the nunnery after months of nannying for the Von Tropp children; she expects a happy homecoming, a return of the comfort, safety, and familiarity from her days of youth, but what she experiences is dissatisfaction, displacement, and a longing for what has become her new home with the Von Tropps. If you have your PhD, you say that Julie Andrews is experiencing an identity crisis fueled by cognitive dissonance. If you’re a normal person, you say she is confused, and has a bit of soul-searching to do.

I think I experienced a bit of cognitive dissonance one Sunday last month when, returning from my lunch break, I could hear singing coming from the Woods’ chapel—quite normal, you say, but imagine my shock when I found it was not the chorus of some old spiritual (“Come Thou Fount” perhaps), but the roistering anthem of sports fans everywhere, Queen’s classic “We Will Rock You.” A retirement community. On a Sunday. Singing Queen. Was I missing something?

Further dissonance ensued when, upon investigation, I found not only alter pieces, vestments, and hymnals adorning the chapel, but speaker boxes, laptop computers (macbooks no less), and eclectic lighting effects. The congregants, too, joined in the fray, a mixture of well-mannered, venerable seniors and spunky teenagers, complete with ripped denim and spiky hairstyles. Myself: a mixture of wonder, fear and trembling. Apparently it’s called “Intergenerational Rock Choir”— the brainchild of Kameri Muir, a senior from Florida State University who, for her final project in the Music Therapy program concocted a way of bridging the gap between the young and old through song. “I just love doing this,” says Kameri energetically after choir practice, held typically on Sunday afternoons. “Everybody responds to music—it’s a great connector. And it’s multipurpose, you know: you refresh the older generation while inspiring the new.”

 The formula itself is inspired: take a group of teenagers eager to exercise their melodious chops (drawn, in this case, largely from volunteers from Forest Hills Eastern high school); put them together with a group of thriving retirees (drawn, of course, from the vivacious population of MapleCreek); place a dynamic song leader in front of them (I don’t think Kameri stopped singing or moving once), and the result is no less than orchestral. But the core of her concept lies in finding classic hits that both ends of the age spectrum will recognize and consider “their own” in some degree; music thus becomes the common ground, a mutual space in which the two groups, so different in so many ways, can relate and engage one another effectively. In other words, real community between the two populations is possible with ambassadors like Freddy Mercury, James Brown, and Bob Dylan.

With my dissonance dissipating, I was more prepared than most, I think, when on April 17^th the Intergenerational Rock Choir held its first concert in Trinity chapel. It was (I can’t help myself) a show for the ages; a chapel full of family members and loved ones sat in awe as hit after classic hit

issued from the choir, from the soulful camaraderie of “Lean on Me” to the exuberant frivolity of “I Got You!” Many songs took on deeper meanings, given the context—The Who’s “My Generation,” for example, struck exactly the right theme of unification that the choir seemed to manifest, and when Dylan’s “Forever Young” poured forth, there were, as Woods’ Life Enrichment Coordinator Beth Terborg recalls, “tears everywhere!”

“It was such an awesome time,” Beth reminisces, offering her kudos to Kameri for a job well done: “families were really impressed.”

It is a truth universally acknowledged that normal people are afraid of needles. It is also true that this fear is probably rooted in childhood trauma—I still shudder when I think of my early trips to the doctor’s office for annual shots: the quiet anxiety of the car ride turning slowly to agony in the waiting room, building quickly towards panic upon entering the patient room, yielding to horror as the doctor unsheathed his weapon, and culminating finally with uncontrollable sobs as the needle plunged. If preventative health required sharp pokes to the arm, I preferred the flu.

Perhaps Virginia Speese never got her shots. Or maybe she’s just not a wimp. Either way, the 84-year-old resident of the Lodge at MapleCreek went willingly, even happily, to an establishment called “Screaming Needles,” a moniker evoking all the warmth and charm of a haunted house. Insanity, you say, but with her birthday month just around the corner, Virginia could think of no better way to celebrate than by fulfilling a life-long dream—getting a tattoo!

“I’ve always wanted to get one,” says Virginia with a tinge of rebelliousness in her voice, “but I never dreamed it was possible, especially at my age!” Inconceivable though it may seem, her wish, dismissed for so long as an opportunity missed, was reborn during a conversation with her great granddaughter, Brittany Wellman. Realizing this was something more than mere mid-life crisis mischief, Brittany sprang into action with all the fire of a new generation. Buses were called, appointments were made, and on April 7, 2012, laughter could be heard coming from the operating room of Screaming Needles.

Before you ask, “it did NOT hurt. Why does everyone always ask that first?” More interesting for Virginia is the meaning behind the tattoo itself: a small, curled-up kitten perched at the top of her shoulder, representing her own cat “Sandra,” which currently lives in another building on campus. Its real meaning, however, is best summed up by Virginia herself: “I’ve learned this—you are never too old to do the things you want to do.”

On Saturday, April 14 The Terraces at MapleCreek hosted an event for seniors to learn about Apple's newest trend - the iPad.

Excecutive Director of MapleCreek, Jay Prince wanted to create an environment where seniors could learn about the new product from Apple, without feeling intimidated about the idea of it being a trendy, youthful product.

It was a nice surprise for me to find out that there were forty people in the Grand Rapids area who wanted to take advantage of this learning opportunity. It was also terrific to have a local group, the Cereulean Group, who had the knowlege and expertise to talk about the subject of iPads.

There were a lot of great questions, and everyone learned a lot about iPads. Afterwards, we all enjoyed a nice lunch and showed the people who hadn't been here what MapleCreek was like.