September 2018
Happy Campers By Rita Southern Director of Assisted Living and Resident Support Services
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eals of laughter. Hands clapping along to Jesus Loves Me. The pitter-patter of running feet. The happy, lively sounds of 35 children filled The Village Church at Shell Point as residents and employees brought their children and grandchildren to participate in the Shell Point Splash Vacation Bible School (VBS), held in July. This weeklong summer program, a joint effort between Shell Point and The Village Church, was designed to provide children aged 5 to 11 with a fun-filled week of indoor and outdoor recreational activities, Bible lessons, team games, science experiments and much more. Assisted living residents were overjoyed to play a big role in providing some of the activities for the visiting children. The first order of business? Throwing a cookie decorating workshop, of course! “It was an amazing experience, watching assisted living residents come alongside the eager children during the project,” explained Amanda Pendergrast, Springs Activities Leader. “For some of the younger visitors, it was their first time decorating cookies, and you could see the wonder in their eyes.”
ice cream, each attendee received a sample of vanilla ice cream to try. “The expression on the children’s faces was priceless. King’s Crown staff and the assisted living residents who attended were just as spellbound,” said Amanda. On the last day of camp, the assisted living residents personally greeted each child and gifted every participant with a Bible, rag doll and wooden truck. The dolls and trucks were handmade by Shell Point residents to be a souvenir of the memories that the children made at Shell Point. Published monthly for assisted living residents at Shell Point.
THE ARBOR
8100 Arbor Court (239) 454-2292
Next, assisted living residents at King’s Crown hosted a sweet presentation by Sub Zero Ice Cream, which uses liquid nitrogen to make delicious ice cream treats. After an informative talk about the science of
KING’S CROWN
3699 King’s Crown Court (239) 454-2175
THE SPRINGS
13901 Shell Point Plaza (239) 600-6400
Shell Point is a nonprofit ministry of The Christian and Missionary Alliance Foundation, Inc.
One Million Reasons to Celebrate
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ince its inception in 1972, Stamp Ministry volunteers have collected, processed and sold a unique commodity: cancelled postage stamps. In 2018, the hard work of the past 46 years paid off as the Stamp Ministry crossed an extraordinary milestone: more than $1 million raised through the sale of these stamps! How is it possible to make a million dollars from old, discarded stamps? Every week for 46 years, enthusiastic volunteers have arrived at the Stamp Room in the Creativity Tunnel on The Island to snip, sort, weigh, package and ship millions of donated postage stamps, which are then organized and sold in bulk to a small group of dealers. Assisted living residents also play a big role in this volunteer project. Last year, an expansion of the Stamp Ministry established a new satellite location at The Arbor. Word spread quickly to Shell Point’s other two assisted living residences, and the
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enthusiasm found at The Springs and King’s Crown was more than enough to launch two more satellite locations. From these new “home bases,” assisted living residents have faithfully volunteered each week to support the meaningful ministry, arming themselves with scissors,
by group leaders Ben and Treva Crump (Junonia) in honor of Shell Point’s 50th anniversary. “How special that the Stamp Ministry could celebrate such a big milestone, just as Shell Point commemorates its 50th year!” said Treva. “It’s truly incredible how much can be accomplished for
Pictured (left to right): Former Stamp Group leader Jim Horton; Pastor Andy Hawkins of The Village Church; Franco Quiroga, Director of Publicaciones Alianza; Daniel Fanderwud, Alliance President of Argentina; current Stamp Group leaders Ben and Treva Crump; and Shell Point President Martin Schappell
eyeglasses, cheery attitudes and determination – proud that their work helps to fund the printing of Sunday School literature for children living in Central and South America. A running sales tally, kept since the resident-run group first formed, revealed that the $1 million threshold was crossed during 2018 after a campaign led
missions by giving a second life to discarded stamps. Little is much when God is in it.”
If you would like to volunteer with the Stamp Ministry in any capacity, contact Volunteer Coordinator Dottie Tronnes at (239) 454-2290.
It’s Christmas in July!
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hile the temperature outside reached the 90-degree mark, residents at the Arbor gathered for a Christmas-in-July luncheon buffet with all the trimmings. Residents dressed in their most festive Christmas outfits, and staff even joined in on the fun by wearing holiday-themed scrubs. Christmas music eased everyone in the holiday spirit, as residents dined from a menu
that included duck à l’orange, applewood smoked ham, bacon-glazed Brussel sprouts and roasted potatoes. Of course, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without Christmas cookies for dessert! “You could definitely say that, for a moment, everyone forget that it was actually July!” laughed Arbor Activities Leader Shauni Helmlinger.
Parade Pros
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t’s no surprise that King’s Crown residents celebrated Independence Day in fine style, with music, decorations and camaraderie. First, residents gathered in the King’s Crown Community Room, where they were given the opportunity to select from a wide variety of festive red, white and blue sparkling decorations to embellish their walkers, wheelchairs and scooters. “It was wonderful seeing everyone beaming as they helped one another choose just the right decoration,” said Susan Flanders, King’s Crown activities leader. “Residents were still seen proudly
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flaunting their delightfully decorated walkers for weeks after the event.” Next, the patriotic parade kicked off in the parking garage as spectators cheered on the dynamic participants, who walked tall with pride and honor. After the parade, residents were treated to a variety of ice cream novelties while enjoying the patriotic sounds of the Nostalgia Band. Three cheers to the resident-led Happiness Club and The Fun Bunch, who organized the celebration. This special event made for an entertaining and memorable summer holiday!
A Culinary Adventure
he Springs recently launched a new monthly series, called Taste Buds Around the World. Each month, residents learn about the culinary traditions of different countries by sampling a regional dish and reviewing key facts about the country. “Since the series kicked off in July, it made perfect sense to start with the United States and its rich ‘Americana’ as our first featured country,” explained Springs Activities Leader Amanda Pendergrast. As they say, it’s all in the name. And what’s
more American than apple pie? “We simply had to sample apple pie,” added Amanda. In fact, residents actually created their own individual no-bake apple pies to enjoy during the inaugural event. While preparing the delectable treats, residents also studied some unusual history and trivia about the United States. Many even shared their own Independence Day traditions and memories with the group, in honor of the Fourth of July. September 2018 | 3
SEPTEMBER
Birthdays
THE ARBOR Yvonne Huff........................2 Russell May..........................5 George Chun.......................6 Liz Smith............................10 Eleanor Brigham................12 Marjorie Johnson...............14 Kate Reynolds....................14 Larry Vassamillet...............14 Freda Potts.........................19 Nancy Sampson.................20 Maralu Gregg.....................23 Wanda Brown-Gerdes.......25 Ginny Verdeschi................26 Guy McMillan...................27 Cornell Moore...................27 KING’S CROWN Lillian Smiadak......................2 Elfriede Greer.........................3 Jean Field...............................6 Ruth Kleindienst..................12 Jack Upper...........................14 Adrian “Dave” Redmond.....16 Florence Wieder...................16 Mary Adams.........................21 Roy Duckwall.......................28 THE SPRINGS Robert Serra...........................5 Lillian Waterhouse...............10 Tracy Smith..........................13 Elizabeth Nordin..................15 Keith Hardt..........................18 Florence Bonasch.................20 Helen Van Buskirk...............24 Shirley Warren.....................29
IN LOVING
Memory
OF OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS Lawrence Shafer..........................Aug 20 Burma Pacetti................................Aug 21
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Counting My Blessings By Alfred Chatfield, Assistant Chaplain
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hey say aging is not for sissies, but we have much to be grateful for. Many of us came here for the healthcare. We have great doctors and nurses onsite, specialists visiting and educational programs to help us. The Legacy Foundation is also great resource for help, including bringing in outside financial experts for presentations. There are numerous opportunities provided to meet and get to know other residents. We can take advantage of field trips to the beach, restaurants, interesting Florida attractions and travel agency tours. Many skilled residents have even become craftsmen or have honed their skills in the shop since retiring. There’s also the Academy of Lifelong Learning, LifeQuest wellness program and numerous volunteer activities that challenge us and use our talents.
I have enjoyed exercise classes with trainers who provide healthy workouts at the Island Fitness Center and the LifeQuest Aquatic Center. My wife is an artist and has many friends from the painting and drawing classes. Calling 2190 generates the help we need quickly. The care that is given to the grounds keeps everything looking top notch. We have wonderful facilities that are new and improved, like The Club at Shell Point, or underway, like the Tribby Arts Center. These are things I have appreciated here at Shell Point. Hopefully you can too. Give thanks for any of these or some of your own. The greatest gift is eternal life each of us can have by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal savior!
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – and not by works, so that no one can boast.” –Ephesians 2:8-9