Housing, Help and Hope for Older Adults |
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Largo Landing Open House
National Night Out
Final Frontier
Christy's Corner
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New Officers
Resident Life
Community Partner Spotlight
Welcome Jessica & Vanessa
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JOIN US
for an Open House Event!
A Home Built on Hope:
Strengthening Our Community Ties
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Tuesday,
October 17, 2023
6:00 – 8:00 pm
Stop by for refreshments, win raffle prizes, meet our residents and learn how you can make a difference in your community!
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Largo Landing
Fellowship House
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Can we count on you?
Help strengthen our community ties by working together
to improve the lives of our senior residents with
very limited income and resources.
Your support makes an impact!
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We look forward to seeing you! |
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For more information, call 276-468-9250 or
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Community Unites:
Embracing 'National Night Out' Together
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On August 1, Fellowship Square residents were joined by police, public safety personnel, and elected officials during the National Night Out (NNO) events held across our communities. NNO is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. These gatherings provided platforms for local older adults to openly discuss concerns with police officers, foster community ties, and commit to collaborative efforts in upholding neighborhood safety. Our residents also had a chance to show their gratitude to the officers for their unwavering dedication to serving their community. Read the press release to learn more about the events!
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Relive the exciting moments shared between residents, community members and police officers during the National Night Out celebrations at our properties.
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Do you remember watching William Shatner on TV as a kid? If you do, you most likely remember his iconic role in Star Trek where he played the character Admiral James T. Kirk. Well, isn't it ironic that this actor actually went to space? In fact, he’s the oldest individual to travel to the edge of space! That’s right, the beloved Star Trek actor (and character) accomplished the closest thing to a real-life Star Trek journey. In 2021, when the actor was 90 years old, he boarded Blue Origin’s New Shepard and became the oldest person to travel to space by crossing the Kármán line.
By Cara Kiser, Communications intern
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A Portal into Better Health |
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When the pandemic descended across the United States in 2020, many of our seniors worried about access to their doctors and routine healthcare. Seemingly overnight, online portals for telehealth visits became mainstream and proved to be a convenience for many.
Unfortunately, for older adults who have little experience or knowledge of being online, accessing their doctors via a portal proved challenging. For example, computer settings on both ends (the user’s and the doctor’s office) had to be compatible. At our congregate living apartment buildings, where computers are kept in common areas, lack of privacy was a major concern. And, most challenging was the resistance that most residents had with them not willing to learn how to get online and discuss their healthcare needs.
While the industry will continue to evolve to create more efficient systems, Fellowship Square has implemented numerous training opportunities for residents to learn how to use computers and smart devices, to break down barriers and help seniors gain confidence in their online experience. We have launched free Wi-Fi throughout our buildings for all residents to access in common areas as well as in their own apartments. We have made available Google Nest Hubs to each resident and developed a Tablet Share program that allows any resident who wants to use a tablet the ability to do so for a week at a time.
Technology is now an important priority in senior living. The work that we do at Fellowship Square – in the area of technology and all our Resident Life programs - could not be accomplished without the dedicated support of so many volunteers, community partners and funders.
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New Leadership Announcement |
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We are delighted to share exciting news from our recent annual meeting held in May 2023. Two esteemed members of our board of directors have taken on new leadership roles, further enhancing our commitment to excellence and community-driven initiatives. Mark Fleming now serves as Vice President of the Fellowship Square board, and Kristin Norris has taken on the role of Secretary.
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Residents Enjoy Fun and Informative Summer Programs |
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Reta L. testing the phone volume. |
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Largo Landing
Fellowship House
Residents at Largo Landing learned about the ClearCaptions Phone and how it helps people with hearing issues by transcribing phone calls into written words that can be read on a screen. Thank you, Ms. Dewan, from ClearCaptions, for your presentation to Largo Landing residents!
View the phone in action here.
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Hunters Woods Fellowship House
On August 21st, Hunters Woods residents enjoyed an end-of-Summer Luau Party celebrating Senior Citizens Day. During the event, residents played “Guess That Baby!” from baby photos that were provided by the residents. Aloha!
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Residents Mr. Y. Hsiao and Mrs. M. Wu enjoying the summer party.
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Lake Ridge Fellowship House
Lake Ridge residents learned how expert nursing staff, dietitians, and pharmacists at Sentara Home Health guide and assist their clients in achieving and maintaining independence while aging.
Pictured on the left, Sara Gentry speaking to residents at Lake Ridge Fellowship House about Sentara Home Health.
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COMMUNITY PARTNER SPOTLIGHT |
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Thanks to Jane Kung, Hunters Woods’ Service Coordinator, and Lee Altman (music professional) the Tuesday Music Café program has grown tremendously — from 5-10 attendees to 50+ residents. Lee has also welcomed and encouraged resident musicians to perform and share their talents. His program has become a resident favorite, and Jane says that even residents who haven’t participated in other programs flock to the weekly event.
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MEET OUR NEW STAFF MEMBERS |
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Jessica Hamann and Vanessa McKay—
Welcome to the Fellowship Square Team!
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Jessica Hamann
Executive Support Manager
Jessica is excited about joining the Fellowship Square team!
Jessica graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Psychology. She is currently taking classes to earn her master's degree in human services counseling at Liberty University. Jessica has over 10 years of experience supporting executive-level management. She credits her degree in Psychology to helping her work with a variety of personalities and work styles.
Jessica is passionate about helping others. She has volunteered in many homeless shelters as well as for the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots, the Make a Wish Foundation and Habitat for Humanity. She also has a passion for rescuing animals and has rescued over 100 dogs through fostering and volunteer transport.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her 2 dogs, her 9-year-old daughter, and playing soccer and volunteering.
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Vanessa McKay
Office Operations and Accounting Manager
Vanessa began her tenure with Fellowship Square in June as a temporary employee and she is thrilled to become part of the regular, full-time team!
Vanessa has over 20 years of experience as an Administrative and Management Professional, predominantly supporting the Operations Division of the companies she has worked with. She has worked for a variety of companies in her career, mostly in the medical industry. At the National Spine & Pain Centers she received the Employee of the Year award 7 out of the 12 years she worked with them for her outstanding dedication to the staff and physicians. She also planned their bi-annual meetings for over 400 staff and physicians, working with the hotel to set up the audio-visual, planning menus, and preparing agenda items and presentations.
Vanessa became acutely aware of the difficulty of finding affordable housing for the senior population when she began caring for her aging mother and attempting to find affordable housing. Vanessa’s diligence working with her mom gave her a very good understanding of the need for organizations like Fellowship Square and she is very passionate about the organization’s mission and vision!
Vanessa’s after-work pursuits consist of long walks in the park with her husband and their beautiful rescue dog, Gracie. Vanessa loves spending time at the beach and just relaxing with family and friends.
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Correction
The resident pictured in the Lake Ridge Fellowship House "Resident Life" article was misidentified. The correct name is J. Omine.
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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!
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We post articles, updates on activities and events, our monthly newsletter, and pertinent information regarding our properties. |
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