FellowshipLIFE_CommunityNewsletter_Winter2026

WE ARE

FellowshipLIFE Newsletter || Winter • 2026

Edition Highlights: 1 Welcome!

2 Community Events

3 Community Resident Spotlight

4 FellowshipLIFE Foundation Annual Events

5 Looking Ahead to 2026

6 Social Connection and Wellbeing

Welcome to FellowshipLIFE! Warm wishes for a happy New Year as we celebrate our 2025 accomplishments and plan for an exciting 2026!

Our mission to transform the aging experience to empower one’s life is the foundation of our work providing excellence in aging services. With a passion for innovation and new ideas, we seek out opportunities to enhance every facet of campus living for our residents, turning our values into action at each of our communities.

We are proud to offer Personalized Genetic Wellness programming to our communities through the Fellowship Medical Group in the coming year, and we look forward to ongoing success into 2026 with the presale of our expansion at Riverwalk Village featuring 47 new residences situated along the Musconetcong River in Hackettstown, NJ. As a leading provider in aging services, FellowshipLIFE has a long-standing reputation for providing high-quality communities, services and programs. Our Life Plan Communities offer a vibrant active lifestyle and full range of residential and healthcare choices, including 5-star health, medical, wellness, and dining services.

Whether you decide to reside in one of our beautiful communities or stay in your current home with our compassionate at-home services, we have great options to support your needs today and prepare you for the future. Our professional team of experts will help guide you as you make these important decisions. We have your best interests at heart.

Thank you for being part of our ongoing work to elevate well-being and enrich the lives of older adults. Through our shared ideas, dedication, and sense of community, we continue to build a FellowshipLIFE where residents thrive, team members feel empowered, and our mission creates a lasting, positive impact.

Brian G. Lawrence, President & CEO | FellowshipLIFE

Community Events Celebrations of Vibrant Living!

Each of our communities hosts an annual Community Event, welcoming friends, family, and neighbors from the greater community for fellowship and fun!

Fellowship Village hosted its third Annual Concert on the Green, featuring an unforgettable performance by the Yacht Rock Gold Experience band.

Friends Village enjoyed its second Annual Tapas, Taps & Tunes, offering live music, seasonal food tastings, and beer and wine samples.

Pines Village welcomed the community with its second Annual Car & Truck Show, featuring vintage car competitions, raffles, and a dunk tank.

Applewood Village kicked off the fall season with its first Annual Apple Fest with live music by The Smokin’ Mayhacks, tasty apple treats and drinks, and games and raffles.

Riverwalk Village hosted its first Annual Rockin’ on the River featuring food, beer and wine garden, games, and the muchenjoyed EPICSOUL Band.

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FELLOWSHIPLIFE NEWSLETTER || WINTER 2026

Community Resident Spotlight Highlighting Some of Our Extraordinary Neighbors!

Applewood Village celebrated the 107th birthday of resident Mildred Baron, who credits her long and happy life to her positive outlook, calm and peaceful demeanor, and simple but powerful mantra: This too shall pass. Mildred’s story captivated a wider audience when featured in the August, 2025 edition of People.com. Her story reminds us that we can find joy and resilience during every season of life.

Click to read the full article!

Friends Village resident Don Fiala and Maintenance Manager Bob White discovered a shared passion for woodcarving. What started as a hobby has become a friendship built on creativity, mentorship, and respect. Stories like Don and Bob’s remind us that the connections formed in our communities go beyond care and services, as friends become family. An ABC News story from September, 2025 features this remarkable pair.

Click to read the full article!

ENRICH • TRANSFORM • EMPOWER || FELLOWSHIPLIFEINC.ORG

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FellowshipLIFE Foundation Annual Events Raising Funds, Celebrating Residents and Partners The Fifth Annual Golf Outing at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club on June 2, 2025, was a huge success, bringing golfers together for a day of friendly competition, networking, and community spirit.

The 15th FellowshipLIFE Foundation Annual Gala was held at The Heldrich Hotel in downtown New Brunswick on October 10, 2025. The evening honored residents and partners who embody our mission while raising funds to enhance lifestyle and services across our communities.

Gala Honorees included the following: • Applewood Village – Helen L. Anders Kho • Fellowship Village – Alice Sheng • Friends Village – Katie Chrysler • Pines Village – Diana De Vries • Riverwalk Village – Sarah Maynard • Corporate Partner – CCL Hospitality Group

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FELLOWSHIPLIFE NEWSLETTER || WINTER 2026

Happy New Year!

Looking Ahead to 2026 Improving the Lives of Our Residents in the Coming Year Innovation in Wellness: Fellowship Medical Group launched Personalized Genetic Wellness, an advanced program that helps identify health risks and create prevention-based care plans. Learn more at fellowshiplifeinc.org/ genetics or call 908-580-3873.

Click here to learn more!

Riverwalk Village’s All New Expansion: Exciting progress is underway at Riverwalk Village with 47 new independent living residences and a suite of state-of-the-art amenities.

From an indoor pool and pickleball court to brand-new dining venue with a bar and a fitness center, the expansion reimagines community living.

Click here to learn more!

Upcoming Events: Mark Your Calendar! Click a logo below to visit that community’s Events page for the latest updates.

ENRICH • TRANSFORM • EMPOWER || FELLOWSHIPLIFEINC.ORG

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Social Connection and Wellbeing: Why Interaction is Essential Exploring a New You in the New Year Having friends is certainly enjoyable— but friendships and social connections actually keep us healthy. Spending time with others protects our physical and mental wellbeing. And where and how we live can help us forge the bonds that ward off depression, anxiety, heart disease, stroke, and cognitive decline.

The fresh start offered by the new year gives us a chance to renew our commitment to healthy living—and find exciting new ways to enjoy life.

Finding “Social Cohesion” The US Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion defines social cohesion as “strong relationships and a sense of solidarity within a group”— and notes its positive effect on wellbeing, particularly for older adults.

But maintaining social ties can prove challenging when seniors retire, lose a spouse, or find neighborhood friend connections fading.

An active adult community setting, particularly one that provides opportunities for group exercise, classes and lectures, music and entertainment, and communal worship in addition to care and medical services, is best positioned to help seniors age well. In fact, a five-year study by the not-for-profit Mather Institute and Northwestern University finds that seniors living in Life Plan Communities experience more social

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FELLOWSHIPLIFE NEWSLETTER || WINTER 2026

interaction and greater life satisfaction than seniors living in the community at large.

Enhancing “Cognitive Flexibility” Why does social interaction bring us so many benefits? An article in the scientific journal Trends in Neurosciences defines cognitive flexibility as easily switching between mental processes to make appropriate behavioral responses. Interacting with others is one of the best ways to improve cognitive flexibility, generating more beneficial responses in the brain than crossword puzzles or other types of games that promote brain stimulation, says Mayo Clinic geriatrician Amit A. Shah, MD. Every opportunity we have to interact with others in a positive way—even with casual acquaintances—gives us a chance to improve our sense of wellbeing. Mood-elevating chemicals like oxytocin and serotonin are released in the brain during these interactions, reports the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

Additional research published by the National Institute on Aging adds that social

interaction can slow and even prevent cognitive decline in older adults.

Creating Change, Living Better The new year gives us the perfect opportunity to look for ways to improve our health and mental outlook. Being proactive about our wellbeing is a great way to start: how do we envision ourselves in the coming years? What kind of lifestyle would we most enjoy?

Moving into a Life Plan Community earlier rather than later provides a lifestyle of engagement, peace of mind, and wellbeing: • Levels of care provided without leaving the community • Variety of amenities, classes, and cultural events • Maintenance-free living • Established residential friend group • Financial benefits • Ease of access to care and amenities

Maybe this is the year we refocus from maintaining a home to exploring untapped talents in ourselves as we find new paths, exciting opportunities, and more ways to spend time with friends old and new.

ENRICH • TRANSFORM • EMPOWER || FELLOWSHIPLIFEINC.ORG

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Let’s Stay in Touch!

We welcome your questions about campus life, levels of care, amenities and activities, or whatever is on your mind. Don’t hesitate to give us a call if you’d like to schedule a private tour of one of our communities or attend a community event.

We look forward to hearing from you!

8000 Fellowship Road, Suite 1C Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 908-580-3800 | Fellowshiplifeinc.org

8000 Fellowship Road Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 908-580-3840 fellowshiplifeinc.org/fellowship-village

509 County Road 530 Whiting, NJ 08759 732-849-2046 fellowshiplifeinc.org/pines-village

One Applewood Drive Freehold, NJ 07728 732-303-7416 fellowshiplifeinc.org/applewood

1 Friends Drive Woodstown, NJ 08098 856-823-0778 fellowshiplifeinc.org/friends-village

798 Willow Grove Street Hackettstown, NJ 07840 908-684-5952 fellowshiplifeinc.org/riverwalk-village

Independent Living | Assisted Living | Memory Care • FellowshipLIFE Villages are not-for-profit 62+ Life Plan Communities