A Mother’s Day—and Month—to Remember at the Los Angeles Jewish Home
A Mother’s Day—and Month—to Remember at the Los Angeles Jewish Home
For more than two decades, the Los Angeles Jewish Home has hosted the annual World's Largest Mother's Day Celebration—a chance to honor our special mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers with special meals, festive music, and fun activities. Although the pandemic continues to require many modifications to events such as this one, the Mother's Day spirit is still alive and well at the Jewish Home, as families and Jewish Home staff and volunteers find innovative ways to mark the special occasion, not just on Mother's Day, but throughout the month of May.
Under the direction of Mother's Day Celebration dynamic Chair Elizabeth Jacobs, the Home produced a tribute journal, featuring special ads and messages from residents' loved ones, distributed digitally to more than 15,000 people. Producing the journal was a big undertaking, but Elizabeth shared it was worth the hard work.
"The Los Angeles Jewish Home holds a special place in my heart since my mother lived at Eisenberg Village and received extraordinary care," she says. "It is so very important to cherish and pay tribute to the special mothers in each of our lives. I was delighted to serve as chair of this year's celebration and to honor all of the beautiful women at the Home."
This year's Mother's Day festivities at the Jewish Home will take place throughout the month of May during what the Home is calling "Mother's Day Month." Plans for the celebration include special meals, as well as various fun, safely distanced activities. In addition, on Mother's Day itself the Home distributed sweet gifts to show appreciation to all of the moms.
These outpourings of affection have been made possible, in part, by generous Jewish Home donors and partners like Torrey Pines Bank, Presenting Title Sponsor of the Home's Mother's Day celebration.
"On behalf of Torrey Pines Bank, we wish all mothers a very Happy Mother's Day," said Monika Suarez, managing director of public, nonprofit, and affordable housing finance at Western Alliance Bank. "The bank is proud to sponsor the Home's Mother's Day celebration once again. We are pleased to be able to give back to the community and to celebrate the mothers living at the Home."
Families of Jewish Home residents, who have been accustomed to gathering at the Home for Mother's Day, have been supportive of this year's temporary shift away from in-person visits. "We know how hard it is on everyone unable to celebrate in person," says James Mackay, administrator of the Mark Taper building at the Jewish Home. "Public health regulations, space constraints, and the safety of our residents required us to come up with an alternative plan. We are tremendously grateful for everyone's patience and understanding, and we look forward to resuming our Mother's Day tradition next year. In the meantime, we anticipate safely accommodating more visitors as the regulations change in the coming weeks."
No matter what form the holiday takes, the Jewish Home remains dedicated to helping residents feel seen and loved, notes Dale Surowitz, the Home's CEO and president. "Mother's Day is always a very special occasion here. This year, we have so much hope for a bright future. As we cautiously return to more normal routines, we want to make certain we celebrate all mothers, today and every day," he says. "Happy Mother's Day to all those here at the Home and throughout our community."
