This last month has been a whirlwind of activity at Handmaker. Beginning with the special festive meals and holiday services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, followed by the joyous celebrations of Sukkot and Simchat Torah during which residents experienced near perfect Sukkah dining weather. The holidays began a season with so many opportunities for residents to engage in Jewish life.
During the holidays, a group of residents from the Rubin Assisted Living Neighborhood took part in an outing to the Tucson JCC where they had a delicious meal at the Café at the J and had a chance to view the beautiful art displayed in the JCC Gallery. It was fun for them to be out and about in the community, and they even got to meet Todd Rockoff, Fran Katz and Olivia Diaz from the JCC who all stopped by the Café to say hi!
Just last week Handmaker had a special visit with Abbii Cook, the Director of the Weintraub Israel Center. She came to Handmaker and talked to residents about the Lone Soldiers who serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The residents enjoyed learning about the Lone Soldiers, meeting Abbii, and making holiday cards to be sent to the soldiers in Israel. They all expressed their pride and gratitude for these Lone Soldiers.
Handmaker residents are also looking forward to participating in the upcoming intergenerational programs that are being planned with students from Tucson Hebrew Academy and BBYO beginning this fall, thanks to grants that both groups received from Better Together. Last month, Tucson Hebrew Academy students came to the Handmaker campus to meet with residents for their first program meeting, and residents are looking forward to their first visit with BBYO teens at the end of October. Teens from each group will pair up with Handmaker residents and visit monthly through May. They are all excited to get to know one another! There are also some events planned with both groups together, including a Hanukkah party in December, and an end of the year party in May to which families and the community will be invited as well. The High Holidays kicked off a very busy Autumn indeed!
