Friendship Circle for Senior Adults
Since 1972, Temple
Emanuel has provided special programming through the Friendship Circle for its
senior members and others in the community who are at least fifty-five years
young.
Today, there is a menu
of choices for seniors. On the first and third Thursdays of each month,
participants can join their friends, old and new, for a variety of
activities. Beginning at 11:00 AM, there
are Early Bird Specials from which to
choose: 1) One-on-one visit with the congregational nurse, Gilda Friedman, 2)
Sing-a-Long with Barry Strulson, 3)
Chairercise, 4) Special Friends Time
with the children enrolled at the Early Childhood Enrichment Center and 5)
starting this Fall, walkercise with water (inside or out). At 11:30 AM, check-in
begins with appetizers and fresh fruit to enjoy. At Noon, programming begins with a D’var
Torah by Rabbi Guttman or Rabbi Koren as they help seniors preserve Jewish
culture, traditions, values, beliefs and their relationship to current
events. At 12:15 PM, lunch is served
with a salad bar, home-cooked entrees and sides. Assorted desserts are
available to satisfy a sweet tooth. 
Following lunch,
members enjoy an entertaining or informative program. An Extended Day Program
of games is available for those who wish to stay until 3:00 PM. On the second,
fourth and fifth Thursday of each month, there is a “Seniors-on-the-Go”
program. Seniors can join each other at a different restaurant each time to
enjoy a dutch-treat meal and the company of others.
On the third Friday of
each month, members may choose to have a Shabbat dinner at the K & W Cafeteria at 5:00 PM and then
proceed to the synagogue of their choice for Shabbat Service. Thanks to
anonymous donors, there is no fee for those members who use the Jewish Family Services
van for transportation that evening.
This past year, a new
program has been added. With a very
generous grant from the BJH Foundation for Senior Services, the Friendship Circle
has been able to form its own Mitzvah Corps. This new endeavor is reaching out
to serve those seniors who are living in senior living residences that provide
assisted, nursing or memory care help with “A Taste of Judaism” through holiday
foods or favors. In addition to this mitzvah, Rabbi Guttman has asked Friendship
Circle’s Mitzvah Corps to help enhance the lives of the Jewish senior Russians
living in Greensboro.
The
Friendship Circle is very grateful to the BJH Foundation for Senior Services,
the William A. Stern Foundation, the Strasser family and many others who make
donations throughout the year that enable
the Friendship Circle to continue to
expand the menu of opportunities for the well-deserving seniors in our community.
For more detailed information or to be put on
the mailing list for the quarterly newsletter, please contact Leah Strulson,
Director of Friendship Circle, at 336-288-3050, or email:
friendship@tegreensboro.org.