One of the beauties of residing in an assisted living community is that there are always new ideas to share and challenges for solving! Residents with decades of life experience bring their thoughts and interests to Rose Schnitzer Manor to lead activities and take lives in a new direction.
“Our residents are involved and have so much to offer,” said Life Enrichment Coordinator Fabiana Dal Cero. “Some of the new activities come about through the Resident Council, but many are happening simply because residents see a need and they step up to help make change happen.”
For example, Harriet Dietz raised questions about safety during a Resident Council meeting that led to the formation of a Safety Committee, which resulted in a series of helpful presentations from local agencies about security.
Eve Rosenfeld has joined Harriet Block in revitalizing the welcome committee, actively greeting and including new members and guiding them in all that Rose Schnitzer Manor has to offer.
Books are of interest, and a number of residents have stepped up to ensure all are included in reading. Volunteers took on the task of reorganizing and coding nearly 3,000 titles in the RSM library. Paula Nelson, with other book lovers, began meeting once a week to discuss what they are reading. Arthur Ginsburg takes book discussions in another direction with a monthly book discussion with large-print books provided by Multnomah County Library.
Annette Gerard helms the Stop ’n Shop so residents have a place to purchase small sundries. Geneticist Marie Godfrey has initiated a series of presentations about genetics research.
A number of residents have begun movement classes. Beverly Nighorn, who tap-danced in the movies as a child, created a seated tap-dancing class, and Jeanine Semon shared yoga every Sunday. Sophia Rose and Spiritual Life Director Cathy Zheutlin co-lead a music and movement class.
Pete Brown realized sing-alongs were popular amongst his peers and began sharing his love of music and facility for singing and guitar playing with residents weekly, which was particularly helpful during the pandemic.
“We also have a weekly game night that was initiated by a resident, and we’ve had residents offer to take care of the vegetables and herbs in the raised beds,” said Fabiana. “No matter what their interests, we always encourage residents to share their talents with us. It is often our residents’ asking questions that lead us to ideas we’ve never tried, and fun new outings, as well as novel ways of connecting.”
To share an idea, please contact Fabiana (4041) or Adam (4055) in Life Enrichment.
