“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This season is so special – it has long been a time of harvest, fellowship, rest from fruitful labor, and acknowledging one’s blessings. One of our biggest blessings is you! You and other CLC supporters like you have truly been extraordinary blessings who have helped create communities where aging is honored and celebrated.
Here are some of the tremendous things you accomplished this year benefiting older adults and the team members who support them:
Therapeutic Gardening – You provided residents with joy and purpose through indoor Eldergrow Gardens. For residents in skilled and assisted living neighborhoods at Someren Glen and Clermont Park, the gardens are sites of joy, life, growth, and purpose. They enjoy regular visits from gardening therapy specialists who partner with them to design and care for their garden.
Art, Music, & Song – Because of you, residents had access to life-enhancing art and music! At Holly Creek, residents enjoyed the beloved Cottager Concert series. Residents at Cappella of Pueblo West Assisted Living made community outings to a local pottery studio, where residents refined their skills at glazing pottery. Clermont Park welcomed students from the Lamont School of Music for community performances for all to enjoy and offered music therapy to residents living in skilled nursing. Someren Glen added a Painting with Purpose art class that has been a joy to lifelong resident artists as well as those exploring their artistic potential for the first time.
Rest & Retreat – Your kindness provided team members and their families with intentional rest and connection with nature at the Historic Pines Ranch. These respite retreats in Westcliffe, Colorado are deeply appreciated by those who attend. Guided nature walks, horseback riding experiences, restorative yoga, and opportunities to speak with an on-site counselor round out a true “care for the caregiver” experience that allows team members to return, refreshed, to their sacred work of caring for others.
Community Upgrades – Caring supporters like you brought so many improvements to CLC communities this year! Holly Creek and Clermont Park were able to add much-needed technological improvements, including a new projector and new A/V equipment to their respective Fellowship Halls. Resident workshops at Someren Glen and Holly Creek received equipment and safety upgrades. Dayspring Villa was able to keep sidewalks safer and cleaner during winter with a new snowblower. Clermont Park was able to replace a damaged awning, making a courtyard safe and accessible for residents living with memory loss.
Blessings All Ours With 10,000 Beside – One-on-one chaplain visits. A magnifying reader. Supplies for knitting groups. Courtyard landscaping. A Hoyer Lift. Flowers and planters for the front porch. New activity carts. There are more blessings kind, generous, and caring people like you made possible than we can list. Each one made a big difference, leading to increased joy, connection, purpose, growth, autonomy, security, or meaning.
Our hearts are filled with thanksgiving for you. You have made so many beautiful, life-enhancing things possible this year for older adults and the team members who partner with them in care. Thank you! Please accept our sincere and heartfelt gratitude for all that you are and have accomplished, and our wishes for a very happy Thanksgiving for you and your loved ones.
About the Author
Stormie Foust Maley, Annual Giving Manager, is a born Midwesterner and Certified Eden Alternative Educator who believes passionately that individuals can make a difference in the lives of others. She worked for nine and a half years at Dayspring Villa Assisted Living, a neighborhood of Christian Living Communities, prior to her role as Annual Giving Manager. There she learned firsthand the joy of building a purposeful and resilient community through a person-directed care mindset.
