PVM Foundation Giving Matters Fall 2019

Presbyterian Villages of Michigan Foundation

YourGIVING

matters

FALL 2019

A newsletter for donors and friends of Presbyterian Villages of Michigan Foundation

DEEDEE IS STRONG & HEALTHY AT 90 Because of YOUR help!

THIS IS WHAT 90 LOOKS LIKE

DEEDEE SHARES HER COMEBACK STORY DURING THE 2019 VILLAGE VICTORY CUP, WITH PVM FOUNDATION PRESIDENT, PAUL MILLER.

E

‘I LOVE PEOPLE, AND I LOVE TO MOVE!’

ven as a little girl, DeeDee never let others tell her she couldn’t – especially when it came to athletic pursuits. Whether it was climbing the tallest tree or leading her school’s baseball team to victory, DeeDee was always trying to “outdo” the boys.

“It’s easy to be a tomboy when you’ve got two brothers,” says DeeDee, an original resident of The Village of Holly Woodlands, which serves mostly seniors living solely on social security. “I said, ‘I can do that, and there’s nothing to it!’”

Thanks to you, DeeDee is still active and loving life – at 90!

Now edging on 90, DeeDee is still a competitor.

She credits her can-do attitude with keeping her strong and healthy well into her golden years – and the place, Holly Woodlands, that encourages and supports her every step of the way.

2 Your GIVING matters

FALL 2019

pvmf.org

THIS IS WHAT 90 LOOKS LIKE

“I’m going to live until I’m 120.

That’s my goal.”

At PVM, older adults are never told “you can’t.”

By donating to the PVM Foundation, you’re nurturing the same fighting spirit that has kept DeeDee going in the face of adversity.

“When I got there, I said, ‘Oh boy, here we go!’ Because I don’t like to just sit and sit. I do like it here because they do keep you busy,” says DeeDee. “I’m going to live until I’m 120.

That’s my goal.”

This past June marked DeeDee’s triumphant return to the Village Victory Cup, PVM’s annual wellness competition for older adults, after breaking her leg two years ago. Missing the 2017 and 2018 events was hard on DeeDee, and when she finally returned to the competition in 2019, she found joy again in competing with her teammates.

And PVM programming, like the Village Victory Cup, is helping her toward that goal. For DeeDee, it’s simple: “I love people, and I love to move!” she says. Living at Holly Woodlands means DeeDee and her fellow residents can keep doing what they love, for longer.

Your generous gifts help create a support system where seniors feel visible, heard and loved. When you give, you’re empowering an older adult to live their best life – because we all deserve to dream big, no matter our age.

3 248-281-2040

Your GIVING matters

FALL 2019

RENEWED HOPE

FROM SOCIAL ISOLATION TO SOCIAL BUTTERFLY How your donations helped Gail find joy again after loss

A

fter losing her first husband to a heroin overdose, Gail eventually remarried – but the relationship wasn’t a healthy one. Relocating to her new husband’s hometown in northern Michigan had an isolating effect on Gail.

Without her support system around her, Gail’s severe depression spiraled into bipolar disorder.

That all changed once she found The Village of Warren Glenn.

“I opened up the door and fell in love,” Gail remembers of seeing her apartment for the first time.

Right away, Warren Glenn staff made Gail feel welcome by offering to furnish her new home.

Wonderful things started happening – after years of depression and social isolation, Gail was turning into a social butterfly.

“I OPENED UP THE DOOR AND FELL IN LOVE,” GAIL SAYS OF HER APARTMENT AT WARREN GLENN.

THE NEED DOESN’T END HERE.

These days, she says, “my calendar is always full.” Whether it’s daily lunches “with the ladies,” card games or bingo, “every single day, I’m downstairs doing something,” Gail says.

Her fellow residents call her “Giggles,” because she’s always smiling and laughing.

We can’t do this important work alone.

Your gifts are needed to sustain the compassionate care and safe, low-income housing PVM provides.

“And my daughter says she has not seen me this happy in years,” Gail says. “It’s made such a big difference in my life.”

Donate today at GiveToPVM.org, and help seniors like Gail thrive for years to come.

Your gifts have the power to transform lives like Gail’s. With donors like you, PVM can continue its mission of caring for older adults in need. Thank you.

4 Your GIVING matters

FALL 2019

pvmf.org

ACTIVE AGING

WHY YOU’RE NEEDED...

Thanks to generous donors like YOU, we’ve been able to raise over $2.1 million for a state-of-the-art Health & Wellness Center at the Village of East Harbor in Chesterfield.

T

hat’s great news for residents like Pat, who turned to East Harbor’s in-house therapy team after falling and breaking her arm nearly three years ago.

WATCH OUT, TIGERS! EAST HARBOR RESIDENT PAT CAME TO THE VILLAGE’S THERAPY GYM TO GROW STRONGER AFTER FALLING AND BREAKING HER ARM.

“The range of motion the therapists helped me to achieve exceeded what my surgeon thought I’d be able to do,” Pat says. All this, she says, despite the limited space and equipment staff had to work with.

project – a state-of-the-art rehab center – is already open, with construction on the Health & Wellness Center slated to wrap in 2021. The new, expanded space will offer specialized health programs, equipment, personal trainers and more – all tailored to meet the health needs of older adults.

“Think of what I could have achieved in a larger space,” Pat says. “I could have been the next pitcher for the Tigers!”

Thankfully, East Harbor’s new Health & Wellness Center will soon become a reality for Pat and her fellow seniors. The first phase of the

You are making this happen. And for that, we can’t thank you enough.

✁

MY GIFT PROVIDES SENIORS A PLACE TO GROW STRONGER, TOGETHER want to help provide compassionate, comprehensive YES! Icare at Presbyterian Villages of Michigan.

❍ Here is my gift of: $___________________ To donate: Visit GiveToPVMF.org or use the reply envelope enclosed with this newsletter.

NAME

248-281-2040

COMPANY NAME

STREET ADDRESS

CITY

STATE

TELEPHONE

E-MAIL ADDRESS

5

ZIP

Your GIVING matters

Thank you!

FALL 2019

LEAVING A LEGACY

BILLIE & HENRY JOHNSON

How U of M’s Henry Johnson is

BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR SENIORS “ Come and see what those dollars, no matter how expansive or limited they might be, can do.”

G

Because Johnson’s wife, Billie, leads the Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio, he knows the challenges seniors face as they enter their twilight years. And as board member of both PVM and the PVM Foundation, he feels strongly “that anybody who serves on the board should make an ongoing commitment while they’re alive – not only after they pass, but while they’re serving on the board.”

iving back has always been part of Henry Johnson’s life philosophy. Even in his twenty-plus years as a vice president at the University of Michigan, the first African-American to hold an administrative position there, Johnson always found time to volunteer.

By the time he’d gotten involved with PVM and the PVM Foundation, he’d already served on numerous non-profit boards. With a background in social work, Johnson knew his stuff. And he recognized the crucial work PVM was doing.

That’s why the Johnsons chose to include the PVM Foundation in Henry’s will. And why he encourages others to do the same.

“One of the things that really hooked me with PVM was the range of services for seniors – not just in terms of housing specifically, but the accompanying services that go with it,” Johnson says. “I thought, ‘This is an organization that isn’t just limited to the well-to-do. It covers a range of socio-economic needs of seniors.’”

“There’s a phrase that we use in our church: ‘Come and seek,’” says Johnson, a member of First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor. “Visit PVM and get a tour and talk to the residents.

Come and see what those dollars, no matter how expansive or limited they might be, can do.”

Any gift, large or small, can make a difference. The Johnsons’ legacy will help ensure the future of PVM’s compassionate, life-sustaining services for years to come. Won’t you join them in making a difference for seniors?

Contact us at 248-281-2040 or pvmfoundation@pvm.org to learn more, or visit mylegacy.pvmf.org.

6 Your GIVING matters

FALL 2019

pvmf.org

LET’S TALK!

DID YOU KNOW? If you need yet another reason to hug an older adult – I have 7.8 million of ‘em!

7.8 million childern

in the U.S. live in households headed by their grandparents or an older adult relative?*

More and more grandparents are raising grandchildren PAUL MILLER, PVM FOUNDATION PRESIDENT

My first reaction to those numbers: “Wow! How could that be?” Then I thought, I have two neighbors that raised other relatives’ children. Players on my son’s football team, students in my wife’s classroom – the same theme, over and over again.

This reflects a breakdown of the nuclear family. There are many reasons why. No need to list them. But what would happen without grandparents stepping up?! Scary!

We celebrated National Grandparents Day on Sept. 8. Thank you, donors, for contributing in honor of grandparents. They deserve it!

Now, back to that hug. I would say it has evolved into a big, big bear hug of thanks! Thank you, grandparents, for being there for 7.8 million children in need.

Sincerely,

Paul J. Miller, CFRE P.S. Are you raising your grandchildren? I’d like to give you a hug bear hug!

Contact me at 248-281-2045 or pmiller@pvm.org. Thank you so much! *Source: Pew Research Center

GIVING matters

A publication of the Presbyterian Villages of Michigan Foundation.

For more information, questions or story ideas, please contact Joanna Hlavacek, editor, at 248-281-2041 or email jhlavacek@pvm.org.

7 248-281-2040

Your GIVING matters

FALL 2019

love

DONOR NOTES

THANKS TO YOU, LINDA CAN SMILE AND CHEW WITH CONFIDENCE AGAIN! Your gifts helped pay for her new teeth.

LINDA CONROY, RESIDENT AT THE VILLAGE OF SPRING MEADOWS IN JACKSON

& more

HOUSING When you give to PVM, you’re providing seniors in need with safe, clean, affordable housing. But you’re also providing older adults more than a roof over their heads. So, what’s the more?

bed for a resident who ❯ Acouldn’t afford one

espite care for an exhausted ❯ Rfamily member caring for their loved one

or zoo for ❯ Aseniors trip toattheriskballpark of social isolation Thanksgiving dinner ❯ Afor piping-hot residents who may not be able to celebrate with family

programming ❯ Tlike ransformative the Village Victory Cup – your support gives older adults the gift of play and competition!

and ❯ Achaplaincy full-time chaplain program to and from ❯ Tdoctor’s ransportation appointments, the

pharmacy, the grocery store and more

❯ D ignity, purpose and hope for with medical bills, ❯ Autilities ssistance a better tomorrow and other necessities like food and eyeglasses

8 Your GIVING matters

FALL 2019

pvmf.org