Sterling Community Matters April 2015

Commun ty Matters Sterling Presbyterian Manor

Downsizing doesn’t need to be a sad process

By Patricia Corrigan for Next Avenue

Five years ago, when I sold my 1,700square-foot condo to move to a small apartment, I knew I had to get rid of at least two-thirds of my stuff. That required touching every single thing I owned.

I pared down my Christmas decorations from five boxes to one. I found good homes for 46 boxes of books. I got rid of my collections of paper bags, plastic bags and boxes.

I brought my grandmother’s golden oak rocking chair, her dresser and her cedar chest. My mother’s living room lamps and her black sequin beanie. My father’s jewelry box and his Navy duffel bag. My son’s grade school art projects. And my Mickey Mouse Club membership certificate.

DOWNSIZING continued on page 4

April 2015

Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America’s Founders Day celebrates service to seniors Employees of Sterling Presbyterian Manor will observe the founding of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America this month as the company celebrates 66 years of providing quality senior services guided by Christian values in Kansas and Missouri.

Sterling Each Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica campus will have their own celebration with residents and employees during April acknowledging the importance each play in making life at Sterling the way you want to live.

“Many of our employees view what they do as a calling, not just a job,” said Bruce Shogren, president and CEO. “Our dedicated employees make it possible for us to sustain PMMA’s mission, which directly impacts the wonderful care our 2,400 residents receive every day.”

Watch for details about Sterling Presbyterian Manor’s Founders Day celebration activities.

Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America’s roots go back to 1947. Alice Kalb, a widow from central Kansas, appealed to a Presbyterian Church organization to establish a home for seniors. Her vision became the first Presbyterian Manor community in Newton, Kan., and inspired others to do even more. Today PMMA remains true to the spirit of Alice’s vision, providing quality senior services guided by Christian values.

For more information about Founders Day at Sterling Presbyterian Manor, contact Cindy Moore at cmoore@pmma.org.

Surround yourself with the things you truly cherish.

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Lori Wilson has found the right pace and the right place

After 30 years as a hairdresser, Lori Wilson was ready to slow down and eliminate stress. Then the opportunity to join the salon at Sterling Presbyterian Manor presented itself last June, and she never looked back.

“I really enjoy my job, it’s the best thing I could’ve done at this time in my life,” Lori said. “The residents are great, they’re like, ‘whenever you can get me in’ and when I worked at a salon I had people saying, ‘I really have to be in today.’ It’s slower paced and

National Hairdresser Day is April 30.

Be sure to thank the hair stylist who helps you feel your best!

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Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Sterling Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of

501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org.

more relaxed. Everything just works.”

The other thing that works for Lori is the faith-based approach to the community.

“I really think the Christian orientation plays a big role. People are different, they’re caring. I feel like it’s Christcentered. That’s part of where the joy and peace comes from.”

When Lori isn’t part of the peaceful SPM community during the week, she can be found bringing joy to veterans in the Sterling community. Lori and her husband, Richard, participate in the Military Order of the Cooties.

“It’s the elite of the VFW,” Lori said.

“They’re the ones who tend to the homeless and hospitalized – they help disabled veterans get the help they need.”

Lori Wilson is happy to be a part of Sterling Presbyterian Manor.

This involves Lori helping with fundraising, getting supplies, delivering fruit baskets to patients and dressing up like a clown for carnivals and an elf at Christmas.

Let’s Celebrate Our Volunteers

April is National Volunteer Month and a time to recognize all of the volunteers who make it possible to provide the best experience for our residents. Thank you, volunteers, for everything you do!

Mike Rajewski, executive director Cindy Moore, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact cmoore@pmma.org.

Telephone: 620-278-3651 Fax: 620-278-3581 Address: 204 W. Washington, Sterling, KS 67579-1614 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

SterlingPresbyterianManor.org

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Thank you!

Family brought volunteers to SPM, the community keeps them coming back Carol Bingle and Kaffie Alber were both introduced to Sterling Presbyterian Manor when they had loved ones living here. Today, they serve as volunteers, who keep coming back to the community long after their family has passed.

“I’ve been volunteering at SPM since we moved to Sterling in 1997,” Carol said. “I started by playing piano for the chapel service. Then the community just grew and became more of a home to me. My parents moved here in 1998 – dad died several months later and mom had a massive stroke a year

Carol Bingle has been a volunteer at Sterling Presbyterian Manor since she moved to Sterling in 1997.

and a half later. She lived in the manor proper for nine more years. I was over there a lot visiting her and was still playing the piano at that time. Then it grew into other things – helping with parties, doing a sing along once a month, and then calling Bingo. I’ll also go there for coffee time to get to know the residents families. I was determined after my mother died in 2008 that I needed to get right back in because once I stopped it would be easy to quit going when you no longer have a loved one there.”

Kaffie has a similar experience. “My mother-in-law was there for almost six years so I spent a lot of time with her,” she said. “When we lost her two years ago, I just kept going back. I help by calling Bingo. I also play cards, pitch or dominoes.”

In addition to the relationships they’ve developed over the years, both Carol and Kaffie have other great reasons to keep coming back to SPM.

“I really enjoy being around the residents and helping them so they can have some entertainment,” Kaffie said. “I

Tammy Linke: Fish enthusiast

Kaffie Alber volunteers at Sterling Presbyterian Manor and enjoys being around the residents as well as the advantage of keeping herself busy.

have MS and it affects me sometimes but I try to work it off by keeping busy.You can’t sit down and give up!”

For Carol, volunteering at SPM was practically something she was born to do. “It enhances my life,” Carol said. “I love older people. My father was a Presbyterian minister. It was a natural fit for me to talk to people. I’ve always been a people person. God has given me the love of others. Some of the residents here look at me as their daughter. I have loved and I have been very, very well loved. It has enhanced my life greatly.”

Tammy Linke is not your typical LPN. Once upon a time, she was the manager of a pet store. Her store carried many animals and had various species of fish and reptiles particularly. Fish are her passion.

“I got my first fish tank when I was 5 or 6-years-old, and since then, I have owned and maintained tanks as big as 100 gallons in my home.”

Though a career change led her away from the pet store and ultimately to employment at SPM, Tammy’s passion for fish has not decreased. Now she is using that passion to benefit the residents; she recently spent her own time and money to rejuvenate the fish tank that sits in the front lobby.

Daily there are residents stopping to gaze upon the beauty of the fish as they swim about their provided habitat.

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DOWNSIZING continued from page 1 A fresh start does not require erasing who you are and always have been, so do hold on to “touchstones,” those items that hold special meaning for you. On the other hand, don’t mistake any item for the person who gave it to you.

1. Don’t leave your past behind

Donate everything in the closet that is too big or that should have fit by now but still doesn’t. Nobody needs 12 pairs of black pants or 23 sweatshirts or six pairs of Mary Jane shoes. Tap into this same philosophy when you approach your jewelry box.

2. Keep only the clothes you wear

3. Assess how much furniture and dishes you really need

But I decided to pay to move the couch where I love to slouch, the bed with the storage headboard and my favorite purple chair. What about dishes? I brought some. But I brutally eliminated much of my vast collection of party platters and pottery bowls.

What better opportunity to start fresh? Donate old towels to local animal shelters or veterinarians’ offices.

4. Splurge on new linens

5. Embrace that less is more

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Coming up in Community Matters:

Community Matters will focus on gardening and outdoor life in an upcoming issue. Are you an avid gardener, or were you when you were more physically able? What did you love about gardening? What did you grow?

Does your campus have a raised bed garden that you are able to help with now? What do you enjoy about being outdoors?

If you have a story to tell, contact Cindy Moore to share your idea.Your story may be selected for the next issue of your community newsletter.

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