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Fellowship Square improves the lives of older adults who struggle to make ends meet by providing them with affordable housing and supportive services. |
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Keeping Healthy Hearts Beating
Community Partner Highlight
Awards and Honors
A Woman's Perspective
Christy's Corner
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Program Spotlight – Music To Free
Participate in the
VA Community Engagement Survey!
Call for Interns
Guide Our Mission
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Keeping Healthy Hearts Beating |
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Hunters Woods Fellowship House
Hunters Woods held its ‘Eating Well’ Clinic on Tuesday, February 8th. The seminar began with a dance performance by the Hunters Woods dance team followed by heart-healthy diet tips, healthy food sampling, and a Q&A session. Residents were also taught how to use a blood pressure monitor. After the seminar, residents enjoyed heart-healthy refreshments.
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Lake Ridge Fellowship House
On February 14th, Lake Ridge residents celebrated Valentine’s Day through various programs which included learning about the importance of self-care, cardiovascular resources, and classic love song trivia! Aetna health care was available to assist residents with Medicare/Medicaid questions as well.
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Largo Landing Fellowship House
Largo Landing residents participated in an interactive lecture from United Healthcare representative Xiomara Leslie on how older adults can access Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
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COMMUNITY PARTNER HIGHLIGHT |
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Creativity is Sparked Across Generations |
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We are grateful for Ideaventions Academy as a community partner to help Hunters Woods Fellowship House residents engage with youth in the area through their intergenerational programs.
Together, students and residents created beautiful stained-glass paintings on canvas.
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Reston’s Community Advisory Committee Secretary Announcement |
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Katherine Alexander,
Resident Life Director
The Fairfax County Community Advisory Committee enhances communication between residents and the Fairfax County Police Department. Committee Members are kept informed about significant safety matters in their neighborhoods and are encouraged to bring any issues or questions to the attention of local police commanders.
"I am excited to join the Community Advisory Committee as a Secretary because I am firmly committed to serving the public. Strong communities are critical because they're often essential for social connection and a sense of belonging. In addition, participating in a city bonded by attitudes, values, and goals is vital to enjoying a fulfilling life,” says Katherine of her new role.
Join monthly meetings and see updates here.
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“You can’t go into the Pool Room.” Judy La Porte, a resident at Lake Ridge Fellowship House, recalled being barred from this particular hometown establishment during her childhood. This ‘Pool Room’ was also a sandwich shop that served really tasty food, but women were not allowed in. Women had to order food at the takeout window because only men were allowed inside the building. Remarkably, she never really thought much about this situation because ‘that was just the way it was back then.’
Today, Judy feels it is important to celebrate International Women’s Day because women should be recognized for the contributions they bring to the world, and enjoy fair and equal access to the same opportunities and spaces that men have. Reflecting on the past, Judy recalls that when she grew up in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, there were many female doctors, legal professionals, and many other accomplished women. However, she felt that often they did not get credit for their achievements. “It has always been known as a man’s world,” she said. It was difficult for women to break into roles held almost entirely by men.
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Demand for affordable senior living, especially assisted care, is rising while the availability of units that are considered affordable are hard to come by. Driven by the worsening staffing shortages, low pay, and lack of qualified candidates, there are not enough people doing the work of a home health aide and demand for these services is rising sharply.
Fellowship House residents can wait up to several months before finding an available assisted living apartment that they can afford. In fact, due to the shortage of subsidized assisted living units, many of our residents already work with one or more home health aides or caregivers who provide support for daily living activities, like bathing, dressing and cooking.
At Fellowship Square, we recognize this challenging environment and want to do more to create pathways of caregiver support at our communities. We will always be an independent living community, but we can also encourage and support those that need the additional help.
We intend to strengthen and encourage this collaborative approach and make our communities a welcoming place not only for residents but those that visit regularly to care for the residents. Caregiver recognition, appreciation and thank you’s are some of the ways we’ve already begun to highlight these important members of our community.
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While Congress and the private sector may create solutions to address this problem in the future, the reality is that many residents need help now. Thankfully, Fellowship Square is exploring new ways to bring caregiver support into our communities that will make a world of difference to those that need it.
Thank you for being a part of our support network!
With gratitude,
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Music is an integral part of the human experience. For some, it represents a cultural identification, for others an artistic and emotional expression or release, but for just about everyone it brings pleasure. This is evident from studies that show how listening to music can release dopamine in the brain, which helps elevate our mood. This effect is intensified when someone is actively playing a musical instrument.
Because playing a musical instrument affects several different portions of the brain simultaneously, it has been referred to as a ‘total brain-workout.’ For those just learning how to read music, it is truly like learning a new language. Music has its own notation (pardon the pun), syntax and structure. And while learning to read music does have its challenges, the residents at Hunters Woods have shown it is never too late to take this on.
Music To Free’s Handbell program began at Hunters Woods in July of 2021 as the pandemic started to loosen its grip, and residents could once again meet as a group. At the start, no one in the group had ever played a musical instrument and no one knew how to read music. Now, most of the participants understand the fundamentals of reading handbell music and, specifically, finding their parts to play in a musical score.
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Participate in the Virginia Community Engagement Survey!
You are invited to participate in a research study about community engagement in Virginia. The goal of this research study is to understand how people in Virginia contribute to their communities in a variety of ways.
Participating in this study will help us learn how the Virginia Service Commission (VSC) can help grow community engagement and volunteer opportunities in Virginia.
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In addition to our Fellowship Square Board, each of our Fellowship Houses has its own board that helps to enrich the lives of our residents and provides a tie to the communities where they are located. We welcome individuals who have a passion and interest in ensuring seniors have dignified, affordable housing, and robust programs and services to help them.
Interested in serving on the Fellowship Square Board or on an individual Fellowship House Board? Contact Christy Zeitz, CEO. |
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Reminder: If you have a Thrivent account, please designate Fellowship Square for donations
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Stay in touch with Fellowship Square on Facebook!
We post articles, updates on activities and events, our monthly newsletter, and pertinent information regarding our properties.
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