Inspire your mind, body,
heart & spirit!
AT KLEINLIFE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY
formerly known as Klein Active Adult Center
• Free Daily Kosher Lunch
and Free Transportation
• Lifelong Learning Classes
• Chess, Mah Jong and Knitting
• Fitness and Health Programs
• Current Events, Book Reviews,
and Art Lectures
• Holiday and Multi-Cultural Activities
Tapping the Mettle
of Golden Agers
Seniors have their moments as volunteers
Maayan Jaffe/JNS.org
Call us today!
215-635-5244 KleinLife: Montgomery County is funded in part by Montgomery County Aging
and Adult Services with a generous gift from Bud & Judith Newman,the Goodman
Family Philanthropic Fund and the Elias Family Foundation KleinLife is a
nationally accredited senior center. KleinLife operates in partnership with Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia and United Way of Greater Philadelphia &
Southern New Jersey and is a beneficiary of Philadelphia Corporation for Aging.
Mondays to Thursdays, 9:45am to 2:00pm • 215-635-5244
Members of the Chesed Corps lend a helping hand.
NEW! Opening
AUGUST 2015
Peek inside.
Our models are now open!
A new concept in senior living – completely
customized support, uniquely sophisticated
surroundings, and unparalleled hospitality.
We’ve begun showing our elegantly furnished
models. Be among the first to take a look.
Visit our Welcome Center in Paoli Shopping
Center or call 610-640-4000 to schedule a
special ‘hard hat tour.’
14 MAY 14, 2015
THE GOOD LIFE
A ge can be just a number.
“Just because someone
is older or has limita-
tions does not mean” that he or
she “cannot continue to be valu-
able and make a difference for
others,” said Carol Silver Elliott,
president and CEO of Cedar Vil-
lage Retirement Community in
Mason, Ohio.
It was with this in mind that
Cedar Village’s Chesed Corps
was established in 2009. Elliot
said the group, the brainchild
of a former director of resident
programming, came when staff-
ers realized that many of the
center’s 300 residents had been
successful businesspeople and
engaged community volunteers
before moving to Cedar Village,
and that there was an opportuni-
ty to harness their drive.
“We felt there was no reason
for them to stop contributing to
our general community just be-
cause they lived in a retirement
community,” Elliott said.
Since then, a sizeable co-
hort of residents has been mak-
ing Shabbat baskets each week,
which are delivered to Jew-
ish patients at area hospitals.
Monthly, they participate in
larger projects, such as serving
lunch at the Ronald McDonald
House or offering music and a
meal to the residents of the Cen-
ter for Respite Care, a shelter for
homeless men with short-term
medical needs.
Participants serve at soup
kitchens, collect and sort school
supplies for underprivileged
children, and bake and ship
cookies for American troops.
“It is just absolutely amaz-
ing,” said Elaine Dumes, 88, who
has been active with the Chesed
Corps since its inception. She
said it makes her feel good to
give back to the community,
and that she tries not to miss a
program. “I fell in the beginning of De-
cember in my apartment and I
broke my femur,” Dumes ex-
plained. “I had to go upstairs to
the health care unit for a month.
But I fought my way back down
and had an amazing and quick
recovery — in part, it was due
to this, to wanting to get back to
the Chesed Corps.”
Elliot said Cedar Village is
careful to staff each volunteer
opportunity appropriately to en-
sure the safety of the residents.
Not every person can take part
in every project; some volun-
teer in the building, while oth-
ers are more comfortable going
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