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2017 Spring Greetings from the Foundation
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Renee Jakobs, Board President
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Every fall I plant a few more daffodils, hoping that they will blossom in the spring. I am always surprised and delighted when they do! Spring is a time for new beginnings, and this is especially true for Fellowship Square Foundation this year.
A year ago, Fellowship Square began a long-range planning process, evaluating goals, operations, and how we could best deliver on our mission. As part of that process, we visited other affordable senior housing communities in the area and looked at best practices in the industry. We found that while we were doing well, there was room for improvement. Based on what we learned, we have moved to an organizational structure with an executive director and third-party property management. That plan is under implementation now.
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Christy Zeitz, Executive Director |
We are very pleased to welcome our new Executive Director, Ms. Christy Zeitz. Ms
. Zeitz is a seasoned executive with 20 years of experience in non-profit management, ext
ensiv
e
fundraising experience, understanding of affordable housing, and a focus on community engagement.
"I'm thrilled to be a part of the Fellowship Square Foundation and look forward to working with everyone that's a part of this great organization," she said. "I have a passion for helping others and I want to do what I can to make sure our elderly and disabled community members have safe, stable housing that's affordable. I also want to serve in the broader community as an advocate for the needs of seniors and draw awareness to the need for affordable housing throughout the Washington, D.C. area."
You will have a chance to meet Ms. Zeitz at the Annual Meeting in May and at other events in the coming months.
Property management will be provided by S.L Nusbuam Company-a large firm specializing in subsidized rental properties, with deep capacity for financial management and HUD regulatory compliance. The current house staff will remain in place, reporting to the new manager.
Simultaneously, we prepare to say goodbye to National Lutheran Communities & Services. We thank them for their dedication and work these past three years improving Fellowship Square Foundation's operations and the quality of life for the seniors who depend on our communities.
Renee Jakobs
Board President, Fellowship Square Foundation
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Hunters Woods residents celebrating Valentine's Day |
Hunters Woods Fellowship House
In February, we had many celebrations. In honor of American Heart Month, residents participated in a Valentine's Day scavenger hunt about heart health. In commemorating Valentine's Day, we enjoyed an ice cream social, printed valentines and heart-shaped balloons. Recognizing Black History Month, residents played the "Who Am I" game, which involved residents guessing important African American figures.
Hunters Woods Fellowship House had other fun activities for the residents including National Croissant Day, several Chinese New Year celebrations hosted by residents and local parishes, regular monthly ice cream and popcorn socials, and a Mardi Gras celebration. No week would be complete without the generous bread donation from Panera in Reston, Virginia!
More than just celebrations, Hunters Woods held informative seminars to provide educational opportunities for residents last quarter. To help residents with monthly costs, Comcast spoke about Internet Essentials, a low-cost internet service. Representatives from Fairfax County helped residents apply for tax-relief. Lastly, Dr. Melanie Bush introduced a new doctor, Dr. Benson Yu, to the team of doctors who regularly visit residents. Overall, last quarter was filled with fun activities and events to improve the lives of all our residents.
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Residents from Lake Anne and the Silverlight Senior Center sing a song for Chinese New Year.
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Lake Anne Fellowship House
Lake Anne Fellowship House residents celebrated the Chinese New Year, by planning and executing a wonderful celebration. The event featured residents of Lake Anne performing, with the assistance of seniors from Silverlight Senior Care, Chinese New Year themed skits and songs. Poems were exchanged, comedy abounded and good food was enjoyed by all.
We recently started weekly exercise classes for residents to help work on the four pillars of fitness; strength, balance, flexibility, and cardiovascular. A
s we age, these are critical
elements for maintaining healthy independent living.
With the assistance of David Liss, a certified personal trainer and member of the Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFFA), our residents learned new exercises to help them in their daily lives. This program, coupled with other activities like Tai Chi and dance classes, helps to keep our residents moving, and feeling, better than ever!
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Lake Ridge Fellowship House
Lake Ridge has been busy celebrating holidays and enjoying the fun and fellowship that has happened over the last few months. December and January were filled with holiday parties provided by some of the area schools. The residents enjoyed the luncheon provided by the Woodbridge High School students, which is an ongoing annual event for them. We had a visit from Prince William Academy and Old Bridge Elementary School. We enjoyed their singing and singing along with them. Their presentations were well received and very much appreciated.
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Residents of Lake Ridge Fellowship House and Woodbridge High School Students during their annual luncheon. |
The Lake Anne Elementary Girl Scouts Troop paid us a visit as well, to sing Christmas carols. One of the newer holiday events was a Christmas Eve service presented by Pastor Kevin Britton and The Bridge Church PWC. The Rotary Club was kind enough to provide the live music for our in-house Christmas party and we had a blast singing and dancing.
Our residents have taken the lead on a low impact exercise program called Tai Cheng. More and more residents are participating and enjoying the interaction and fellowship this program offers.
Aside from all the wonderful activities, we have also updated our laundry room, adding one additional washer and dryer and changing the system to a card system. While this new system is an adjustment, we are transitioning well and the additional machines are much needed.
We are looking forward to some Spring projects that will sustain our building and further enhance the quality of life here at Lake Ridge Fellowship House.
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Largo Landing Fellowship House
In November 2016, 14 residents came together to create the Largo Landing Choir, with plans to fellowship and produce performances in future Largo Landing Fellowship House events. The first major event performed was in February in celebration of Black History Month
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| The Largo Landing Choir performs for residents at the Black History Month Celebration. |
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The Choir
as
si
gned residents and staff to different roles to participate in the program. Participants w
e
r
e singing, making and serving food, and most importantly reading the biographies of A
frican Americans past and present who contributed to making America a better place. It was a
p
ac
ked house with nearly all residents participating or attending, and several family members were in attendance as well.
Largo Landing Fellow
ship House celebrated Valentine's Day with more than half of our residents attending the festivities. What a great start to 2017 it has been!
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Mrs. Annette Bergeron smiles while
discussing all that Lake Ridge Fellowship House has to offer. |
Resident Spotlight
Mrs. Annette Bergeron, 77 years old and originally from France, has lived at Lake Ridge for nearly a year. Her story is not unlike most of our residents and she is not afraid to tell anyone how happy she is to be here at Lake Ridge Fellowship House.
Mrs. Bergeron's story is quite familiar to the senior population in our area; after her retirement, she found she could no longer afford the rent on her market-rate apartment. She decided to move to a subsidized senior garden apartment, with 80 units, in South Carolina to be close to her daughter. The staff there was made up of one rental agent and one secretary, and the community activities consisted of a birthday party once a month. In that particular area there was no transportation or any amenities close to the apartments. While visiting her son, who lives in the Woodbridge area, Mrs. Bergeron came to visit Lake Ridge Fellowship House and immediately signed up.
That was in April of 2013. Her dream of becoming a resident was realized in January of 2016. She is delighted to find all the activities and amenities she had hoped for and often says, "there is something to do every day, if that is what you want. There is a shopping center, bank, drug store and restaurants all within walking distance. Finally I have the security of knowing I have a staff dedicated to my well-being."
For seniors like Annette, Fellowship Square Foundation makes affordable housing possible through its fellowship houses in Reston and Woodbridge, Va., and Upper Marlboro, Md. Learn how you can help support low-income housing options for seniors.
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Get Involved
Our mission would not be possible without your support. You can get involved with Fellowship Square Foundation with the
gift of your time, talent or treasure.
Learn about volunteer opportunities.
Consider making a charitable donation to support our mission.
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Save the Date:
The Fellowship Square Annual Meeting
9:30 - 11:30 a.m. - Meeting & Presentation
at Hunters Woods Fellowship House
Social Hall
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