Cherish the Journey: November Events

Life is a journey filled with lessons, celebrations and special moments that ultimately lead us to our destination, our purpose in life. The road will not always be smooth and we may encounter many challenges. Some of these will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith. Along the way, we may stumble upon obstacles that must be overcome. But, sometimes these obstacles are really blessings in disguise, although we may not realize it at the time. How we react to the situations we face will determine what the rest of our journey will be like.

This month Juniper Communities will honor our Families and cherish the journey we have taken together. November is all about celebrating the bonds we share and recognizing where we’ve been and where we’re going. We will do this through autobiographical journaling, reminiscing about family celebrations and breaking bread together in Thanksgiving. In order to support our families along this journey we will continue to develop our support groups and provide additional resources when needed. We will give back through our Annual Food Drive. From November 1 through November 30 all non-perishable food items collected will be donated to a local food bank.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Annual Food Drive where you can drop off non-perishable food items for Lebanon County Christian Ministries anytime all month long; our Remembering and Honoring Our Veterans with Bonnie Koons performing patriotic classics in this special program held in The Village on November 11^th at 6:30 pm; our Veterans Aid & Attendance Information Session to share information about the program, answer any benefit questions you may have, and discuss how the program can help you or a loved one pay for your long term care on November 18^th at noon (please RSVP to 717-272-8782); or our Blood Drive For Central PA Blood Bank where each pint of blood donated can save as many as three lives on November 25^th from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Look through our calendar and plan to join us for family celebrations, Thanksgiving dinners and many events and activities allowing us all to reflect and Cherish the Journey!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins and more Pumpkins

As the cold weather approaches and thoughts turn to Autumn, our residents turn their artistic talents towards pumpkins. The "Sewing Club" threaded their needles to make stuffed pumpkin door decorations. During a scenic country ride the residents stopped at a local farmer's market to purchase little pumpkins which they decorated in sparkling fashion. Enjoying some pumpkin pie is next on our agenda.

Spending Time with Our Best Friends

Juniper Village residents and associates came together to create beautiful necklaces for their "Best Friends." Resident, Katie Faiola, a professional seamstress, sewed together over 30 strips of scrap fabric into long tubes. The residents and associates added beads to the fabric transforming them into one-of-a-kind necklaces which they love wearing.

Getting Our Hands Dirty

Local artist MJ McFalls taught Juniper Village Residents the basics of pottery making. The Residents got their hands dirty as they worked the clay into bowls shaped like fish and leaves. They finished the project by applying colorful glazes to the clay. After MJ fired the pottery in her kiln she returned their works of art to show off. Look for their pottery and other art projects to be displayed throughout our campus the next time you visit us.

Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce's "Business After Hours" Networking Reception

Juniper Village at Lebanon hosted the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce's "Business After Hours" Networking Reception in September.  Over 70 Chamber members and guests were in attendance.  Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to build their business connections as well as learning more about the Juniper Village community.  Attendees who toured the independent living Garden Apartments had a chance to pick a balloon and win a prize – one of which was a $100 Visa Gift Card!  Tom Peiffer from the Harrisburg International Airport was the last person to pick a balloon and was the winner of the grand prize! 

American Heart Walk

Family, friends, associates and residents joined together to raise money for the American Heart Association last month. We embarked on a special journey, walking as a team at the Heart Walk. We learned that working together, we are stronger than we are alone. As a community we raised over $400! We want to tank everyone who supported our team with their generous donations at our yard sale and quarter raffle.

Show Your Colors: October Events

October brings forth vibrant color in our foliage as well as our sports teams. Our high school football teams will be in full swing and hockey season will prepare to fill the stands with team colors and spirit. Juniper Communities will also be honoring our colors with many sports-themed activities and events. We will be enjoying the changing colors of the season as we transition from summer to fall and the crazy costumes of our annual Halloween celebrations.

While showing our colors we not only focus on our team colors, but also showing our true colors. We recognize that working together as a team, results in better coordination of care, better quality of care and as a result better lives for our residents. This is evidenced by our excellent clinical outcomes data. We are happy to see the results of collaboration resulting in decreased re-hospitalizations and better quality of life for our residents.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Oktoberfest Celebration with live accordion music, followed by a dinner feast featuring German cuisine on October 6^th at 3:00 pm (RSVP to 717-272-8782); our Lebanon County Sports Celebrities presentation at The Club to hear athletic stories from local sport celebrities and see memorabilia from the Central Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame with light refreshments on October 16^th from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm; or our Halloween Spooktacular celebrating Halloween in Western Style as we  encourage all to come out dressed in their best western attire for  tons of Old West Chow, Cowboy Games, Country Crafts and Candy on October 28^th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm!

Please look through our calendar to celebrate the spirit of autumn with us and Show Your Colors!