NEWSLETTER FALL 2020 • shareridgewood.org • 201-670-9605
What is SHARE?
Share's mission is to provide affordable housing for senior citizens in family-like settings,
 and to improve the community where we live. Share House consists of two houses for up to 14 people each at 130 Prospect Street and 104 Cottage Place in Ridgewood, NJ.
OUR NEWS TO SHARE
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Welcome to Our House
With this season comes a time of hope, renewal and thanks. We are grateful to all of you in the SHARE family, and here's why.
Greetings SHARE Family.

Welcome to Our House, a new quarterly newsletter, which we plan to use to showcase important people, events, and resources.

With so much happening in our community—not to mention our world—we think it makes sense to reach out to you a few times a year with information you can use as well as stories you can enjoy.

Additionally, we are working to update the SHARE website to make it more user friendly for you and for others who may be interested in who we are and what we do. We welcome any and all ideas.

One last thing while I have your attention: I just want to thank each one of you for all you did this year—individually as well as collectively—to help us weather the coronavirus storm. Granted, the pandemic has not gone away (yet), but our team efforts over the past several months have been invaluable. 

I hope this newsletter is both useful and enjoyable. Please let us know.
Stay safe and well.

With appreciation,
Gwenn Hauck
President, SHARE, Inc.

STAY INFORMED
Did you know our website has senior services, a monthly column and even recipes! Visit us at shareridgewood.org
SPOTLIGHT on giving back
COUNCILMAN DONATES ENTIRE SALARY TO SHARE
“I wanted to give back in a meaningful way—to help give the residents a nice place to live.” says Jeff Voight. Voight donated his salary earned over four years as Ridgewood councilman. He credits his friendship with SHARE’s former president Hans Lehmann and his wife, Jan Philips, for spurring his ardent support. Voight volunteers every week, serving up homemade lasagna and oatmeal cookies.
OUR VOLUNTEERS
Staying Close During Distancing
Ridgewood High School students turn a time of social distancing into an opportunity to get closer—through writing.
WRITE ON!
Members of the RHS outreach club are ready to be your pen pals. Click on photo to see their video.
Ridgewood High School’s Community Outreach Club plans to help residents feel more connected in these isolating times by recreating the pen pal tradition at SHARE, Inc in the Fall and Winter of 2020. Club member Katrina Eilander says, “I started the program because of my experience during the pandemic. Isolation has had a bad effect on all generations. Everyone becomes more anxious when they are devoid of meaningful social interaction. We were interested in each other’s perspectives and thought that pairing today’s two most vulnerable populations might have a mitigating effect.” 

Matt De Meulder, founder and president of the club, explains that any member who has an idea can implement it with support from other members. He, and Vice President Kaela Owitz, encourage members to be creative and to gain experience as their own project development managers. Share management always encourages community involvement. Thus, the project took root. 

The students made a 30-second video for SHARE residents to introduce themselves and getting buy-in to their Pen Pal Project. They also canvassed residents to learn about their interest or lack of interest in the project. To date, many have pen in hand and there is a sense that this will be the beginning of something wonderful.
OUR HOME IS YOUR HOME
RESOURCES to share
Our community offers so much to our residents. Help is often just a click away!