Fall 2011 Boulder Matters

BoulderMatters Volume 11, No. 3 • Fall 2011 Boulder Matters is published quarterly by Jewish Family Service of Colorado, 3201 S. Tamarac Dr., Denver CO 80231

High Holy Day Traditions and Thanks!

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nce again many of our seniors were able to celebrate the High Holy Days in their retirement communities! Services were held at Golden West, Frasier Meadows, the Stratford at Flatirons, Boulder Meridian, Sunrise Assisted Living, and Balfour.

We have so much gratitude for service leaders Rabbi Marc Soloway, Patrice Spitz, Rabbi Bernie Kling, Caroline Saliman, Lana Bernhardt, David Bernstein, and Joe Lukasik. The services were meaningful and residents enjoyed participating and singing traditional songs. Prayers and hopes for the year ahead were shared by residents and leaders alike.

Jerry Sloat has been blowing the shofar at Rosh Hashanah services for 40 years. Congratulations and thank you, Jerry, for blessing us with 40 years of this tradition. We appreciate you once again coming to all of our senior celebrations.

It is truly a mitzvah to our community.

A big thank you also goes out to the volunteers who brought challah, honey cake, and cookies, all of which were delicious! Much appreciation goes to the volunteers who visited with the residents before and after the services.

This one-on-one time with our seniors is precious.

We at JFS are honored to bring these celebrations to our Jewish elders and recognize that many hands go into making this a success. Thanks to all of you! G

Boulder Meridian residents enjoy the High Holy Day celebration.

Shofar blower Jerry Sloat and Rabbi Bernie Kling.

Ruth Greenwald with volunteer Anita Garelick.

Help Us Bring Hanukkah Celebrations to Local Seniors!

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he sweetness of the High Holy Days is a recent memory and we are now planning for Hanukkah. Just as Boulder JFS staff and volunteers recently led High Holy Day services at a number of senior facilities, we will also bring Hanukkah celebrations to these senior residents in December. We need volunteers to help with set-up, clean-up, visiting with residents, and bringing food for these celebrations. This is a great opportunity for families!

Please help brighten the holiday season for our local seniors and sign up to volunteer or donate food by contacting Ingrid Swords, volunteer coordinator,

by December 5 at (303) 415-1025 or iswords@jewishfamilyservice.org. G

Bernie and Ruth Gutmaker at Stratford at Flatirons.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Stacey Bahr

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hen Stacey Bahr moved to Colorado from New York 10 years ago, she was sad to leave her grandparents behind. They were a big part of her life and she wouldn’t be able to visit them nearly as often.

“I decided I wanted to find a senior in Colorado to visit with,” Stacey explains. “I thought, ‘Someone else probably has a grandparent here that he or she couldn’t visit often, so maybe I could fill that need.’”

Stacey lived in Denver at the time and became a Friendly Visitor volunteer through the Denver Jewish Family Service office.

She was matched with a gentleman who was very social and didn’t need much in the way of companionship, but needed help going to the grocery store and other errands each week. “We had a great relationship and I Stacey Bahr enjoyed helping him,” Stacey says. “He was an artist and I went to art school, so it was fun to have that in common!”

Five years ago, Stacey and her family moved to Boulder. She had two young children, but loved being a Friendly Visitor, so she contacted Boulder JFS “I love our visits! to sign up for this volunteer opportunity. She was paired with Faye, a 95-year-old, and the ladies They put all became fast friends and enjoyed going out to other things into lunch and shopping at Macy’s together. Now perspective.”

Faye is 100 and while she can’t go out as often, —Stacey Bahr she values her visits with Stacey.

“Now we mainly stay in her facility and talk or play Bingo and chair kickball in the community room,” Stacey says. “I love our visits! They put all other things into perspective. When I go see Faye for an hour, I turn everything else off and am ‘in the moment’ with someone who just needs a visitor and I realize what a good thing I’m doing.” She adds, “Faye feels like family.

In fact, many of the residents in her building assume I am Faye’s daughter or granddaughter.”

A buyer in the garment district in New York for 15 years, Stacey has focused her life on her family and volunteer work since she moved to Colorado. She is actively involved in her children’s school and with the Boulder JCC — she served as co-chair of last year’s “Reflections” fundraiser. Recently, Stacey started a website called “staceyforschools.org” where people can shop for their favorite products and a portion of the proceeds is donated to their school or charity of choice.

“I have dedicated my life to being charitable, so this business complements my volunteer work in that endeavor,” Stacey says enthusiastically. G

Light Up Someone’s Life!

Boulder JFS is currently seeking more Friendly Visitors!

If you are interested in this fulfilling volunteer opportunity, please contact Ingrid Swords at (303) 415-1025 or iswords@jewishfamilyservice.org.

The Mitzvah of Being a JFS Client: by Hollis Fasbender

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Hollis Fasbender

lived in California as a choreographer and dance instructor for 17 years and then suddenly, in 2002, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I spent one more year in California and then moved back to Colorado to be close to family, but I soon realized how isolated I had become.

A family member got me involved with Boulder Jewish Family Service (JFS) and they have been saving my emotional life ever since.

First they assigned a volunteer to come and be a companion. Gail Sloat helped me move forward with my new life and circumstances and became one of my closest friends. Our relationship has blossomed and continues outside of JFS. They then assigned me a new volunteer, Adria Roblee-Hertzmark, who comes every Saturday for lunch and a visit and has also become a very close friend.

I explained to my case manager, Cathy Summer, that since I am disabled and can't go to synagogue, I was

really missing a spiritual connection in my life. She set me up with a local rabbi who has been kind enough to come for a visit every two weeks. It is wonderful to feel connected to my Jewish community again!

I was also blessed that Cathy found a synagogue that would donate new Shabbat candlesticks to replace my broken ones (thank you Har HaShem gift shop).

Plus, I get a call from Ingrid Swords (Boulder JFS volunteer coordinator) every time the C.U. Hillel is providing Shabbat dinners and delivering them to disabled folks.

Jewish Family Service has literally saved me. They have provided companionship, spiritual connection, tools, and food to an isolated 43-year-old woman whose life suddenly felt hopeless. They really have shown me how blessed I am to be part of a wonderful community that always takes care of their own. G

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What Matters to Ingrid and Cathy: the Issue of Gratitude services, in the Friendly Visitors who provide support n this fall issue of Boulder Matters, we talk a lot and companionship for our elders and homebound about gratitude. We have so much to be grateful for clients, in the many volunteers who give countless that it is difficult to fully express. One article in this hours to the community and help make our issue thanks everyone who helped JFS offer six programs possible, and in the professional staff that different High Holy Day services for elders throughout go the extra mile. Speaking of going the extra mile, our community. A second article is from a client who thanks the many people who have helped her and the Boulder JCC has been a wonderfully supportive describes the impact they have had on her life. Another partner to JFS! Ingrid Swords expresses our appreciation to the incredible donors who And that isn’t all. We even see it in our clients, help make our work possible. We see amazing like Hollis, who take the time to contribute to this generosity in our work, both financial and otherwise. newsletter, who are willing to share their stories, and We often ask rabbis, cantors, lay leaders and even to help others (Hollis recently started a support volunteers to help us out at JFS by visiting a client or group for others diagnosed with MS). leading a Shabbat or holiday celebration. And we often It is a pleasure to be surrounded by so much hear, “Of course,” or “How can I say no if I am able?” generosity, by people who say yes and yes and yes. You or “It is my duty.” Or, better yet, twice in the past six make a difference. You matter to us. Thank you. G months, two different rabbis approached JFS to offer —Ingrid and Cathy their services. These words and acts of kindness are Cathy Summer unforgettable. They represent a profound generosity of spirit that we truly admire and Ingrid Swords and Cathy Summer can be reached at (303) 415-1025 or by encounter repeatedly in Boulder. email at iswords@jewishfamilyservice.org and csummer@jewishfamilyservice.org.

We see this generosity in the professional We’d love to know what matters to you! and lay leaders who ran our High Holy Day

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Meet Kim Finnestead, Community Relations Representative with JFS at Home!

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id you know that Jewish Family Service has a home care division called JFS at Home? This service, which offers customized in-home 24/7 care, has recently expanded to the Boulder area! Kim Finnestead, MSC is JFS at Home’s community relations representative and is in the Boulder area weekly to inform staff of community organizations and synagogues about our programs and services. In the coming months, Kim and Boulder JFS staff will facilitate workshops around town on subjects including wellness, aging in place, safety, and other important topics for older adults.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Kim received a bachelor’s degree in marketing and biological sciences from Southeast Missouri State University. “I created my own degree program in interdisciplinary studies to combine marketing and biological sciences so that I could work in the medical sales field,” says Kim. The degree has served her well as she has more than 10 years of sales experience in the medical and wellness industries. Kim recently earned a master’s of science in school counseling from University of Phoenix. “I truly want to help other people and make a difference in their lives,” she says.

Kim also enjoys educating people about what JFS at Home does and the important service it provides to the community. When not working, Kim loves being outdoors walking, hiking, being in the sun, and having fun with her family. G For more information about JFS at Home, please call (303) 750-4000 or visit www.jfsathome.com.

Kim Finnestead

Active Minds Events Begin in January!

Beginning January 26, JFS at Home, Boulder JFS, and Boulder JCC will sponsor monthly Active Minds presentations held at the Boulder JCC! Active Minds’ mission is to expand lives and minds by providing outstanding educational programs throughout Denver and Boulder.

Stay tuned to this newsletter and check the events calendar at www.jewishfamilyservice.org for more details about the exciting line-up of speakers!

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Boulder Matters Newsletter 3201 South Tamarac Drive Denver CO 80231-4394 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Thank You to our Donors!

Thank you to the following donors who have supported Boulder JFS for the last two fiscal years (July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011). We appreciate your ongoing support that allows us to assist older adults and people with disabilities in maintaining their independence while providing a support system for their special needs through care management and outreach. We apologize for any omissions or errors.

18 Pomegranates, Inc. Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado Herman and Janet Axelrod James and Andrea Baer David and Karla Berman Helene Berzin I. David and Meryl Bornstein Boulder Jewish Community Foundation Carol Boyd Deborah Bronstein Marc Brown and Lolly Gold Stephanie Buller Robert and Carla Chamblee William and Sara-Jane Cohen Congregation Har Hashem Agnes Davis Louis and Karen Diamond Deborah Dusansky-Kornfeld Steven Ellis and Cathy Summer Richard and Judith Epstein Matt and Shelly Finberg

Arnold and Patricia Fridland Charles Fried Rachel Friedland Joseph Friedman and Mary Biondolillo Susan Gesundheit Bill Goelz and Melinda Kassen Ron Goldfarb Claudia Goldin Jonathan and Mimi Goodman Robert Krenz and Carolyn Grant Edmond and Menucha Greenberg Nancy Harding Sylvain Hayoun Gerald Hertz and Jessica Waldman Leonard and Tina Hortick Edna Jacobson Trust Sharan Jones Mireille Key Gary Kornfeld Alan and Pamela Kosansky

Sandra Laemmle Martin and Ilene Lasher David and Roberta Levin Paula Levitch Ruth Levitch* Collette Lottor Gerald and Diane Madigan Barbara Miller Paula Moore Rebecca Morss Matt Newman and Cathy Smith Oreg Foundation Peter and Beth Ornstein Michael and Michelle Osterman Daniel Patrick Elihu and Althea Pearlman The Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation Gerald and Marilyn Pinsker Maynard and Freda Pollock Gail Raznick Roberta Reinfeld Meredith Ringler Dorothy Ringler Elka Rosenzweig

L. B. Rosenzweig* William and Marian Safran Joel Salzberg Ruth Seagull Charlotte Shatz Daniel Sherwinter Barry Siegel Gerald and Gail Sloat Marcie Smith Marc Soloway Susan Sosin Amy Stein Barbara Steinmetz Victor Stone Edward and Julie Victor Roger Vossler Lawrence and Rita Weiss Bruce and Rhonda Wildman James and Nurit Wolf Richard and Wendy Wolf Sue Wolf Mark and Jacqueline Wong Marvin Woolf Matt and Deanna Young *of blessed memory

Please consider making a donation to Boulder JFS by including a check or credit card information in the enclosed envelope or by making an online donation at www.jewishfamilyservice.org/donate.