Copy of letter sent to SOS Headquarters:
Dear Rabbi Klar,
Happy Holidays!
I want to thank you for the Smile On Seniors Program. My mother, Phoebe L., lives in Brighton Gardens . Her mood improves every time she had a Chabad visitor. Yesterday she was able to say the blessing with the Lulav and Etrog – it was a wonderful day for her.
Please use this small donation to support this great program. It makes a HUGE difference.
Sincerely,
Barbara L. ( Plantation , Florida 33324 )
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Smile On Seniors Austin Texas
Tuesday The Rabbi Was Late AUSTIN, TEXAS -- (October 7, 2008)Malka Phillips
(lubavitch.com) It was a beautiful Tuesday afternoon in Austin. The sun beamed overhead in a cloudless blue sky, and throngs of Austinites were outdoors enjoying the balmy temperatures.
But for 80 year-old Mrs. Wald, the day had turned dark and frightening. Alone in her room in the senior citizens home, Wald had lost her footing and fell hard to the floor. Her head cracked against a table as she fell, and she now lay bleeding profusely and unable to call for help.
Frantically, she pressed her panic button, kept for moments just like these, but the mechanism failed.
Desperately clinging to consciousness, she tried to calculate how long it would take for someone to come by, for her absence to become noticeable, counting the passing minutes that, judging by the rapid flow of blood loss from the wound on her head, she evidently did not have.
Then Anna heard a knock on her door. To her great relief, someone had come. Someone had stopped by to visit her. Someone would find her before it was too late.
Unable to move or call out, she waited. Whoever had come to visit her would alert a nurse. The nurse would open the door to check if she was all right.
Knocking gently on the other side of the door was Rabbi Yosef Levertov, director of Chabad activities in Austin, with rabbinical student Eli Phillips.
With the sun now low on this first day of Rosh Hashana, and with a two-mile walk back to the Chabad center ahead of them, Levertov and Phillips were wrapping up their visit, part of Chabad's newly inaugurated Smile on Seniors program, making one more stop to visit another patient that the nurses at the desk told them, was Jewish.
"The nurse who'd given me Mrs. Wald's name, came with me to the door, and was surprised that Mrs. Wald wasn't responding when we knocked," Rabbi Levertov told Lubavitch.com.
More nurses were called, the door was opened, and EMT's were quickly dispatched, rushing Anna to Seton Medical Center where she would be treated for her critical head wound.
By now, congregants at Chabad were worried. The Rabbi was now more than an hour late for the second evening of Rosh Hashana services. But greeting his congregants after the long uphill walk back, he humbly told his anxious congregation, "I think we saved someone's life today."
Smile on Seniors of Austin
(lubavitch.com) It was a beautiful Tuesday afternoon in Austin. The sun beamed overhead in a cloudless blue sky, and throngs of Austinites were outdoors enjoying the balmy temperatures.
But for 80 year-old Mrs. Wald, the day had turned dark and frightening. Alone in her room in the senior citizens home, Wald had lost her footing and fell hard to the floor. Her head cracked against a table as she fell, and she now lay bleeding profusely and unable to call for help.
Frantically, she pressed her panic button, kept for moments just like these, but the mechanism failed.
Desperately clinging to consciousness, she tried to calculate how long it would take for someone to come by, for her absence to become noticeable, counting the passing minutes that, judging by the rapid flow of blood loss from the wound on her head, she evidently did not have.
Then Anna heard a knock on her door. To her great relief, someone had come. Someone had stopped by to visit her. Someone would find her before it was too late.
Unable to move or call out, she waited. Whoever had come to visit her would alert a nurse. The nurse would open the door to check if she was all right.
Knocking gently on the other side of the door was Rabbi Yosef Levertov, director of Chabad activities in Austin, with rabbinical student Eli Phillips.
With the sun now low on this first day of Rosh Hashana, and with a two-mile walk back to the Chabad center ahead of them, Levertov and Phillips were wrapping up their visit, part of Chabad's newly inaugurated Smile on Seniors program, making one more stop to visit another patient that the nurses at the desk told them, was Jewish.
"The nurse who'd given me Mrs. Wald's name, came with me to the door, and was surprised that Mrs. Wald wasn't responding when we knocked," Rabbi Levertov told Lubavitch.com.
More nurses were called, the door was opened, and EMT's were quickly dispatched, rushing Anna to Seton Medical Center where she would be treated for her critical head wound.
By now, congregants at Chabad were worried. The Rabbi was now more than an hour late for the second evening of Rosh Hashana services. But greeting his congregants after the long uphill walk back, he humbly told his anxious congregation, "I think we saved someone's life today."
Smile on Seniors of Austin
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Shofar
Hi,
I spent yesterday afternoon with my SOS buddy. We had a wonderful time talking about the upcoming holidays, and the holidays of the past. She is truly looking forward to Rabbi Mendy visiting her senior facility...with the shofar next week! In fact, everyone is!
It was wonderful to see so many seniors with such a special experience to look forward to....
As always,
Julie
I spent yesterday afternoon with my SOS buddy. We had a wonderful time talking about the upcoming holidays, and the holidays of the past. She is truly looking forward to Rabbi Mendy visiting her senior facility...with the shofar next week! In fact, everyone is!
It was wonderful to see so many seniors with such a special experience to look forward to....
As always,
Julie
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
more questions to ask
My name is Julie Levine. I composed the questions involving ideas to encourage a conversation during senior visits and presented the list at an SOS board meeting. Several questions were omitted from the list , by whomever posted them....Many seniors love to talk about the cars they learned to drive on, and get quite animated! Even talking about their pets they had growing up. So, there are many other ideas that were not included in my original list. Let me know if anyone needs the original listing.....
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
A Birthday Celebration.....
Amy, a volunteer in West Orange NJ along with her children, Rachel and Laryssa celebrate Molly's Birthday.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
What Chaplaincy has taught me
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to share a little thought that I had about participating in Smile on Seniors.
I originally wrote for my monthly L'chaim! Newsletter. Here goes:
In my job as Chaplain, I spend much time visiting patients in the hospital, meeting Jewish patients and even making house calls to people who can use some company. I was thinking over the past few weeks about how lucky I am that I get to do this.
It is definitely difficult to witness people suffering pain and hardship. However, over the past few months I have learned to look deeper. There is something that everybody has in common. I meet many different types of people. Some are believers, some can’t bring themselves to belief, some are religious and some are against religion.
Despite all the differences people may have, what I have discovered is that everyone shares the same humanity. Everyone has their story, their happiness or sadness, their successes and their shortcomings. Some of us may smile and some of us may frown, but what makes us all really the same is our experiences and aspirations.
I would like to share this very important lesson with you. To look beyond the surface and to see who people really are. To find the friendship and life in all of us.
I just wanted to share a little thought that I had about participating in Smile on Seniors.
I originally wrote for my monthly L'chaim! Newsletter. Here goes:
In my job as Chaplain, I spend much time visiting patients in the hospital, meeting Jewish patients and even making house calls to people who can use some company. I was thinking over the past few weeks about how lucky I am that I get to do this.
It is definitely difficult to witness people suffering pain and hardship. However, over the past few months I have learned to look deeper. There is something that everybody has in common. I meet many different types of people. Some are believers, some can’t bring themselves to belief, some are religious and some are against religion.
Despite all the differences people may have, what I have discovered is that everyone shares the same humanity. Everyone has their story, their happiness or sadness, their successes and their shortcomings. Some of us may smile and some of us may frown, but what makes us all really the same is our experiences and aspirations.
I would like to share this very important lesson with you. To look beyond the surface and to see who people really are. To find the friendship and life in all of us.
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