Fall 2015 Boulder Matters

UPCOMING Events OCTOBER 2015

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NOVEMBER 2015

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NON PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE

Boulder JFS

PAID DENVER, COLORADO PERMIT NO. 1217

Jewish Family Service of Colorado 3800 Kalmia Avenue Boulder, CO 80301

Volume 25, No. 3 • FALL 2015

Story of HOPE

Monthly Adult Child Caregiver Support Group Meets Second Thursday of Each Month Caring for Your Aging Parent, a new drop-in support group for adult children concerned about their aging parents, meets the second Thursday of each month, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., at East Boulder Senior Center, 5660 Sioux Drive. If you are caring for or are concerned about an aging parent, we invite you to attend. This group is cosponsored by Boulder Jewish Family Service, Boulder County Area Agency on Aging, and City of Boulder Human Services, and facilitated by Andrew Bunin, LPC, and Jodi Ansell, MSW. For more information, please contact Jodi Ansell at 303.415.1025 or jansell@jewishfamilyservice.org.

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED tel: 303.415.1025 www.jewishfamilyservice.org /boulder Beneficiary Agency of JEWISHcolorado and Mile High United Way

Jewish Grief Support Group Begins October 20 “Good Grief: A Grief Support Group” for affiliated and nonaffiliated members of the Jewish community begins Tuesday, October 20, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. and meets weekly for eight weeks.

It is facilitated by Barbara Gould, MSW, and Cathy Summer, LCSW, and held at the Boulder JCC. Space is limited and registration is required. For more information and to register, contact Cathy Summer, 303.415.1025 or csummer@jewishfamilyservice.org.

Hidden Gifts in Caregiving: Supporting Mental Health and Wellness Join Interfaith Network on Mental Illness on Thursday, October 22, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1241 Ceres Drive in Lafayette for “Hidden Gifts in Caregiving: Supporting Mental Health and Wellness.” Megan Carnarius, keynote speaker, will present an exciting perspective on caregiving. Megan is the author of A Deeper Perspective on Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias: Practical Tools with Spiritual Insights. All caregivers are welcome regardless of whom you are supporting. This event is free and light refreshments will be provided. For more information or if you are interested in attending, contact Anne Weiher, anne.weiher@gmail.com. Co-sponsored by Boulder JFS.

View the full list of upcoming events at: www.jewishfamilyservice.org/services/boulder-jfs-events.

Older Boulder As evidenced by the recent release of two

important studies, one of the most significant trends in Boulder County is the aging of our population.

According to the Boulder County TRENDS Report 2015, issued by the Boulder Community Foundation in September, the proportion of seniors in our community is expected to increase from 10 percent today to 20 percent by 2030.

Another report issued this summer, the Age Well Boulder County Strategic Plan, was published by the Boulder County Area Agency on Aging. Boulder JFS manager Cathy Summer is a member of the Aging Advisory Council, which advises this organization. This updated strategic plan lays out the expected needs of the rapidly growing senior population, and a variety of ideas for addressing these needs. It explains that “graying of America” is a nationwide phenomenon that will drastically change the face of the communities in which we live.

The Song of Friendship

Back in early 2014, Boulder Jewish

Get HAPPY: Newish and Jewish Happy Hour If you’re 60 or older and have moved to the Boulder area in the last couple of years or have recently experienced a change-of-life event, join us for a happy hour to meet new people and learn about area programs and services. The happy hour will be held Wednesday, October 14, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Carelli’s of Boulder, 645 30th Street. Cost: $10, which includes one drink and appetizers. Please RSVP by October 12 to Jodi Ansell at 303.415.1025 or jansell@jewishfamilyservice.org.

BOULDER Matters

In recognition of these demographics, Colorado governor John Hickenlooper signed a new law in June specifically to create the Strategic Planning Group on Aging. Eliza Lanman, JFS’s new director of the Jay and Rose Phillips Senior Solutions Center, was selected to be a member of this prestigious group.

Boulder JFS currently provides services to older adults, such as finding appropriate resources to allow seniors to age in place, providing care management and in-home services, coordinating volunteer visits, and identifying new living arrangements as needed.

In the past two years, our staff and programs have doubled in size. If the current demographic trends are any indication, demand for our services can only be expected to increase in the future. With ongoing support from the community, we hope to be able to continue our growth.

You can request a copy of the TRENDS report or access it online at www.commfound.org. The county strategic plan may be found at www.allagewell.com.

Family Service (JFS) received a phone call from Andrew Cooperstock. He was thinking of moving his parents, Bill and Janet, to Boulder.

They both had health issues, and Andrew wanted them close by so he could visit and help with their care.

Boulder JFS program manager Cathy Summer counseled Andrew on the housing and care options available in Boulder.

Cathy told me, “Expect a lot of ups and downs,” Andrew recalls. “And Cathy was exactly right about that.”

Shortly after the move, his mother died. “JFS stepped in to help me navigate the resources available for our family.”

His parents had been married for 59 years, and the process of settling his father in a new community has been of primary importance to Andrew as well as his siblings, Mark Cooperstock and Carrie Radigan. They both live on the East Coast and are highly involved in their dad’s care. “We are really appreciative of JFS and the Jewish community. You can’t do it all by yourself; it’s too much.”

“We want to help Dad as best we can,” explains Andrew, who is a professor of piano at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Reel Hope Boulder November 8 See page 3

He regularly visits Bill at his apartment in Brookdale Boulder Creek. He has given concerts to the residents and also organized some of his students to give concerts.

Music is a passion that both father and son share. On the front door of Bill’s apartment is a picture of him holding a sign that says, “I was a founding member of my temple’s choir.” Inside his apartment is a framed award commending his leadership of the choir. continued on page 2

Evie Verderber and Bill Cooperstock with Bill’s dog, Shayna.

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Story of HOPE

continued from page 1

Family pictures, Judaic art, and certificates of achievement also decorate Bill’s room at Brookdale. Shayna, his feisty little black dog, greets visitors with a lick and gives a bark when she wants a treat.

Around the same time that Bill was getting established in Boulder, Evie Verderber retired from a 30-year career in the biotech industry.

Apart from traveling and pursuing outdoor activities, she didn’t know how she wanted to spend her retirement. She did know she wanted to volunteer and spend time with friends, and when she was “We are really asked to consider volunteering appreciative of as a JFS Friendly Visitor to Bill, JFS and the Jewish she thought, “I could do that.” community. You Having grown up in Denver, can’t do it all by Evie was familiar with Jewish yourself.”

Family Service. The organiza—Andrew Cooperstock tion was part of her family’s community, and she had witnessed firsthand the impact that Friendly Visitors had in her mother’s life. “After my father passed away, my mother had JFS Friendly Visitors come to her house, and later when she moved to Shalom Park. Her world got smaller when she moved, and it was important to have people reach out to her.”

Evie visits Bill once a week and they often look at photo albums and reminisce. “It’s easy

Boulder JFS, a program of Jewish Family Service of Colorado (JFS), provides Boulder-area Jewish seniors, their families, adults with disabilities, and individuals in crisis with services to enhance their quality of life and connect them to Jewish values, traditions, and community. JFS believes in strengthening the community by providing vital services to people in need. Founded in 1872, JFS is a nonsectarian, nonprofit human services agency serving metro Denver and Boulder.

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to spend time with Bill. He tells me stories and he always speaks with such love and joy when he talks about his wife and children. Despite having Parkinson’s, how he talks about them never changes. I love hearing his stories from the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.” An easy friendship has formed between Evie and Bill, and she gently holds his hand as she asks him questions and listens to his stories. “Sometimes during a visit, Bill will break into song, and I will join him.

He likes that I know the words to the songs he loves,” Evie says.

According to Andrew, “When Dad sings, it means he is happy. We really appreciate that Evie visits my dad. It is especially meaningful that she connects him to the Jewish community.”

Linking the Cooperstock family to resources and amazing human beings like Evie who give so generously of their time makes the Boulder JFS team feel incredibly fortunate to work in the Boulder community where there are resources, individuals, and organizations that come together to build a network of support and care that extends far beyond what we ever imagined.

Boulder Jewish Family Service Presents Reel Hope Boulder on November 8:

An Evening with Writer Marc Sotkin Join us

on Sunday, November 8, at 6:00 p.m. for Boulder JFS’s third annual fundraiser, “Reel Hope Boulder,” at the Nalanda Events Center, 6287 Arapahoe Road. This promises to be a fun, enlightening evening with writer Marc Sotkin, who is recognized for his work on numerous television situation comedies, including Laverne & Shirley and The Golden Girls.

Ron Bostwick, a freelance event producer and announcer, will interview Sotkin about his experiences writing for television. Bostwick has interviewed numerous celebrities at the Boulder International Film Festival, as well as featured speakers at the past two Reel Hope Boulder events.

Guests will enjoy a pre-program reception with food and drinks at 6:00 p.m. Event sponsors are invited to a reception with Marc Sotkin beginning at 5:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $90. All proceeds benefit Boulder JFS. For tickets, sponsorships, and more information about Marc Sotkin, visit www.jewishfamilyservice.org/reelhopeboulder or contact Emily Andrews at 303.415.1025 or eandrews@jewishfamilyservice.org.

Thank you to the 2015 Reel Hope Boulder committee: Sue Baer, Steve Ellis, Michelle Kralj, Summer Lenderman, Linda Loewenstein, Meg Quiat, Heidi Schoen, and Karli Sherwinter.

Thank you to the following sponsors to date (as of September 18, 2015): Producers SLOAT & NICHOLSON P.C. PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS

If you are interested in a meaningful volunteer experience and making a difference in someone’s life, please contact Ingrid Swords at 303.415.1025 or iswords@jewishfamilyservice.org.

Stay Connected

To stay connected to everything that is happening with Boulder JFS, please “like” us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BoulderJFS and sign up for our e-newsletter by visiting www.jewishfamilyservice.org and clicking the “Subscribe to JFS Newsletters” link.

Casting Directors

Associate Producers Boulder Jewish Community Center

Cinematographers David Fulker and Nicky Wolman Robert Krenz and Carolyn Grant David and Roberta Levin Mark Wong and Jacqueline Sprinces Wong Gaffers David Andorsky and Joanna Arch Angel Law Offices—Real Estate Transactions Bear Paw Print, LLC Erik Bernstein Mark J. Birnbach, DMD— bouldersmiles Boulder Jewish News

Boulder Matters is published quarterly

by Jewish Family Service of Colorado, 3201 S. Tamarac Dr., Denver CO 80231 www.jewishfamilyservice.org

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Larry Cohn Terry Fenner and Dawn Richard Andy and Audrey Franklin Jon and Mimi Goodman Deb Grojean Gary and Janet Jacobs Robert and Dodi Klutznick Linda and Mark Loewenstein North Boulder Dental Group Dan and Meg Quiat Brian Ross and Emily Andrews The Schad Team at Farmers Insurance Danny and Karli Sherwinter Ron and Aza Squarer Josh and Ellen Taxman

New Faces at Boulder JFS: Meet Eliza Lanman and Rachel Keane Help us welcome two new people to the Boulder JFS team!

Eliza Lanman, MSS, joined Jewish

Marc Sotkin

Family Service in July as director of the Jay and Rose Phillips Senior Solutions Center and oversees Boulder JFS. She is responsible for providing leadership, vision, strategic direction, and program development to all programs serving seniors, including care management, homecare and homemaker services, meal delivery, visiting companions, and social activities in Denver and Boulder.

Though Eliza is based in Denver, she frequently comes to Boulder.

Rachel Keane is an intern with Boulder

JFS this year. She is pursuing her master’s in social work from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

A Colorado native, Rachel recently moved to Longmont. She says, “I am excited to get to know the community, work with seniors, and learn from such experienced people through this internship.” When she’s not working or completing class work, Rachel enjoys playing with her one-year-old, Dylan, camping, hiking, and dining out with family and friends.

THANK YOU for Caring!

Did you know you can make tribute gifts in honor of a loved one’s birthday, anniversary, or

other occasion; in memory of a loved one; or with wishes for a speedy recovery? Please include a tribute gift in the enclosed envelope or online at www.jewishfamilyservice.org/donate. Your support makes our life-transforming work possible!

Thank you for the following tribute gifts received from May 1 to August 31, 2015. Please accept our apologies for any omissions or errors.

IN HONOR OF

IN HONOR OF MARRIAGE

Boulder JFS Staff Dan and Meg Quiat Laurie Brock Judy Nogg Meg Quiat David and Cheryl Fellows Melinda Quiat Cathy Summer Jonathan and Lindsay Lev

Matthew Pearce and Leah Benyamin Pierce Marion Goldstein

IN HONOR OF BIRTHDAY

IN MEMORY OF Charlotte Eisler Martin and Ilene Lasher Cathy Grimm Steven Ellis and Cathy Summer Roger Vossler and Roberta Reinfeld

Ayla Sturniolo Edward and Judith Rosenthal

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Bernard Markowitz Sy and Horty Youngelman Lester Morss William and Rebecca Ellis Laura Baird Rosenthal Ryan Brackley Herbert Swords Gerald and Diane Madigan Joyce Zeff Bill Goelz and Melinda Kassen