“I haven’t been here since my grandmother lived here,” is a comment frequently shared by visitors attending Handmaker’s recent community events. When they look around, they are usually amazed at how much Handmaker has changed since their last visit. What began as a 40-bed non-profit nursing home over 60 years ago is now a nearly 200-bed non-profit continuing care community. This is just one of the reasons Handmaker is thrilled to be able to host events for organizations in our community. It is an opportunity to reintroduce the community to the CMS Five-Star Quality-Rated Handmaker of today; the 2025 Arizona Daily Star Reader’s Choice Favorite Continuing Care Community, Assisted Living Facility, and Memory Care Facility.
On Monday, Oct. 20, the Handmaker Great Room was filled with 40+ women and girls from the community, gathered together for a monthly program organized by Rochie Leiter from the Tucson Torah Center.
While socializing with other women was a big draw for the event, the main purpose this month was to assemble care packages “filled with comfort, treats and heartfelt notes for the wives of IDF soldiers.”
Yuval Malka, from the Weintraub Israel Center, spoke about how traumatic it is for the entire family when soldiers go to war, and the comfort they would get from receiving these care packages from this group.
Everyone present put a lot of love and care into each gift, beautifully decorating the packaging and writing thoughtful notes, knowing how meaningful and healing they would be to those who received them.
Additionally, in late October, JPSA’s Young Men’s group will bring their families and friends to Handmaker for a post-Shabbat dinner singalong with Handmaker residents. There will be live music, refreshments, and plenty of ruach to go around!
And on Nov. 2, Hadassah will hold its Annual Luncheon Meeting in the Handmaker Great Room featuring Dr. David Graizbord, Director of Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona. Dr. Graizbord will present the challenges of being a young Jewish adult in the United States today, as distinct from being a Jew who is in their 70s and beyond, from a historical perspective. Handmaker residents are invited to attend as well. Contact Nanci Levy by Oct. 29 for more information about the luncheon.
Handmaker is happy to host organizational events, especially those that include Handmaker residents, and to offer catering by Mae’s Kosher Kitchen. It is an opportunity to reacquaint the community with Handmaker, for residents to engage with the community, and for everyone to sample the Handmaker Great Room’s new AV System, installed thanks to a Community Impact Grant from JPSA. Contact Nanci Levy at [email protected] for more information about hosting your organization’s event at Handmaker.
