Why People From Many Generations Choose to Volunteer at the Los Angeles Jewish Home

Home / News & Events / Newsletter

Why People From Many Generations Choose to Volunteer at the Los Angeles Jewish Home

Jun 1, 2022

There is no one single secret ingredient to the Los Angeles Jewish Home’s success. Our extraordinary staff, talented administrators, trailblazing board members, and generous donors all play a critical role in creating the kind of warm, nurturing, supportive environment that has earned the Jewish Home its stellar reputation nationwide.

However, one bit of Jewish Home magic deserves special attention: its incredibly dedicated cadre of volunteers, who tirelessly give of themselves—day in and day out—to improve the lives of the seniors we are so privileged to serve.

Aylene Kovary Gift Shop Volunteer, Eisenberg

At the Jewish Home, volunteering is central to our mission and to the smooth operation of our daily schedule. Volunteers hail from different places (some are loved ones of current or former Jewish Home residents; others are community members who have heard about our work and are excited to join in to help), but they share a common interest and intention, says Stacy Orbach, the Jewish Home’s director of volunteer services.

"No matter how they come to us, our volunteers are so grateful for the services we provide to seniors. They understand how much elderly men and women have done for our community, and they are eager to show their appreciation by giving back," she says.

Volunteers participate in the life of the Jewish Home in a myriad of ways, from reading to residents, to troubleshooting their technology issues, to assisting with special events. Many bring in their certified therapy dogs to visit with residents and enhance their emotional well-being. Others help lead our growing music therapy program, or simply play an instrument and bring it with them to the Home to share their skill with a deeply grateful audience. Another area of participation for volunteers is our intergenerational programming, which enables kids to spend time with our residents and delight them with their youthful vigor, as the younger generation learns so very much from the seniors.

Phil Moser, Book Cart/Book Distribution Volunteer

During the initial stages of the pandemic, we had to put a temporary pause on allowing volunteers onto Jewish Home campuses; securing the health of residents is always our top priority. Now, as the ongoing health safety protocols remain in place, we are ready to welcome volunteers back on campus. Volunteers must be vaccinated and have received at least one booster.

Even when COVID-19 necessitated isolation, there was another population of volunteers who did not have to vacate the Jewish Home premises: our residents themselves! Many of them spend a portion of their day volunteering in a broad range of capacities, from the mailroom to the arts and crafts studio, to our active Resident Councils.

Resident Robert Lehman is just one example. After arriving at the Jewish Home in 2011, he discovered that volunteering helped him put his own challenges in perspective.

"When I first got to the Home, I was focused on my own health issues, but then I realized there are so many people here in need of more assistance than I am," he recalls. "Volunteering helped me forget about my own troubles and concentrate instead on uplifting other residents as I worked to meet their various needs."

Robert’s volunteer efforts have included serving as President of one of the Jewish Home’s Resident Councils. In that capacity, he would meet each week with Jewish Home staff to address his fellow residents’ questions and concerns.

"The council was a vehicle for residents to express their needs and requests, and I am so grateful they confided in me and enabled me to serve them," Robert says. "I did my best to make everybody comfortable, and I worked hard to get people the ‘yes’s’ they were hoping for!"

Stacy points out that, whether they are residents or community members, volunteers make a crucial contribution at the Jewish Home. "Some of our residents can feel isolated from time to time, and volunteers help them feel they’re no longer alone," she says. "In addition to their able minds and bodies, our volunteers bring us unconditional love, which is the greatest gift we could possibly ask for."

To learn more about volunteer opportunities at the Jewish Home, contact Stacy Orbach at (818) 774-3219 or [email protected].

Prev Page Next Page

Share

Sign up for the Los Angeles Jewish Health newsletter, Connections.

First Name

Last Name

Email

Recent Articles

Oct 2

Los Angeles Jewish Health Receives $1 Million Gift from Alfred E. Mann Charities

Leading foundation supports Southern California’s premier senior healthcare provider(LOS ANGELES, CA – October 2, 2024) Los Angeles Jewish Health has received a $1 million donation from the Alfred E. Mann Charities Inc., a prominent Los Angeles-based charitable foundation that supports scientific advancement, education, community development, and cultural initiatives. The gift will support the newest location of LAJH’s Brandman Centers for Senior Care, a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).Situated in the heart of L.A.’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood, the new Westside BCSC is a full-service adult day care center offering head-to-toe medical assistance, social activities, transportation, and home care services to eligible seniors. Through its 5,000-square-foot Wellness Center, the Westside BCSC’s coordinated team orchestrates comprehensive health services including medical and specialty care, behavioral health services, social work services, physical and occupational therapy services, home care services, prescription medications, and delicious meals. The Wellness Center is being named in the Alfred E. Mann Charities’ honor in recognition of its landmark gift, which will help advance the Westside BCSC’s work and play an important role in enabling the facility to serve more than 400 area seniors.“We are tremendously grateful to the Alfred E. Mann Charities for helping to further LAJH’s mission to provide excellence in senior care reflective of Jewish values for all,” said Dale Surowitz, LAJH’s president and chief executive officer. “Thanks to this gift, our newest Brandman Center will have critical resources to make a meaningful difference in seniors’ lives.”Each day, BCSC PACE offers a vital lifeline for frail, elderly adults still living in the community (more than 95% of program participants live outside of a nursing home). Most participants are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Once they enroll, the BCSC becomes their exclusive provider for all medical needs—coordinating their appointments and care and eliminating the need for them to pay medical bills.For the Alfred E. Mann Charities, investing in the vision of the BCSC continues a longstanding partnership with Los Angeles Jewish Health.“We are proud supporters of LAJH, a community where every individual is valued and treated with kindness,” said Michael Dreyer, president of the Alfred E. Mann Charities, and Anoosheh Bostani, the organization’s chief financial officer. “The team is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for seniors by providing exceptional medical care rooted in compassion, respect, and dignity.” The Alfred E. Mann Wellness Center in the Brandman Centers for Senior Care West Los Angeles LocationExam room at the Mann Wellness CenterTreatment room at the Mann Wellness CenterDental Exam room at the Mann Wellness Center

Los Angeles Jewish Health Receives $1 Million Gift from Alfred E. Mann Charities

Helping seniors stay in their own homes for as long as possible—while remaining as independent as possible—is a central goal of Los Angeles Jewish Health’s (LAJH) Brandman Centers for Senior Care (BCSC), a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). This fall, the Alfred E. Mann Charities Inc., a charitable foundation dedicated to improving healthcare and accelerating medical innovation, demonstrated its support for the program with an extraordinary $1 million donation to benefit LAJH’s newest PACE facility on L.A.’s Westside.Located in the heart of the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, the Westside BCSC is a full-service adult day care center offering head-to-toe medical assistance, social activities, transportation, and home care services to eligible seniors. Through its 5,000-square-foot Wellness Center, the Westside BCSC’s coordinated team orchestrates comprehensive health services including medical and specialty care, behavioral health services, social work services, physical and occupational therapy services, home care services, prescription medications, and delicious meals. The Wellness Center is being named in the Alfred E. Mann Charities’ honor in recognition of its landmark gift, which will help advance the Westside BCSC’s work and play an important role in enabling the facility to serve more than 400 area seniors.“We are tremendously grateful to the Alfred E. Mann Charities for helping to further LAJH’s mission to provide excellence in senior care reflective of Jewish values for all,” says Dale Surowitz, LAJH’s president and chief executive officer. “Thanks to this gift, our newest Brandman Center will have critical resources to make a meaningful difference in seniors’ lives.”Brandman Centers for Senior CARE PACE in West Los Angeles (left) and the Alfred E. Mann Charities Wellness Center Each day, BCSC PACE offers a vital lifeline for frail, elderly adults still living in the community. Most participants are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Once they enroll, BCSC becomes their exclusive provider for all medical needs—coordinating their appointments and care and eliminating the need for them to pay medical bills.For the Alfred E. Mann Charities, investing in the vision of the BCSC continues a longstanding partnership with Los Angeles Jewish Health.“We are proud supporters of LAJH, a community where every individual is valued and treated with kindness,” says Michael Dreyer, president of the Alfred E. Mann Charities, and Anoosheh Bostani, the organization’s chief financial officer. “The team is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for seniors by providing exceptional medical care rooted in compassion, respect, and dignity.” Treatment room in the Alfred E. Mann Charities Wellness CenterDental Exam room in the Alfred E. Mann Charities Wellness Center

Seniors and the Benefits of Social Connections

Los Angeles Jewish Health is dedicated to ensuring the wellbeing of thousands of seniors each year. Physical health is just one indicator of how older adults are faring; mental and social health are also critical markers. This was the focus of a recent event held at LAJH’s Fountainview at Eisenberg Village featuring noted scholar Lené Levy-Storms, PhD.An associate professor of social welfare and medicine/geriatrics at UCLA, Dr. Levy-Storms addressed a near capacity crowd in the Fountainview Theatre about the importance of nurturing and maintaining social connections. It’s a topic that is drawing more attention as researchers deepen their understanding of the ways in which social health impacts human lives.“It’s programmed in our DNA to be social,” Dr. Levy-Storms said. “In fact, scientific literature shows that not having adequate social connections can yield the same adverse health effects as obesity and smoking.”Dr. Levy-Storms addresses the crowd at the Fountainview TheatreThis year, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report detailing what he called the country’s current “epidemic of loneliness.” According to the report, too many Americans feel an acute sense of social isolation. Dr. Levy-Storms noted that shining a light on the problem is essential to fixing it, since lack of awareness has prevented the development of vital resources.“We don’t have a healthcare system designed to give us remedies when we’re ailing from social health issues,” she said. “Beyond the healthcare arena, there’s also a big emphasis in our society on building up financial capital, and especially saving for retirement and older age. But where’s our social capital? What’s going to sustain us to feel connected as we get older and start to lose some of the people in our lives?”Dr. Levy-Storms’ talk was part of LAJH’s larger efforts around assessing urgent community needs. “Part of being a licensed nonprofit hospital means continually gauging how best to serve the people who rely on our care,” says Ilana Springer, the CEO and administrator of LAJH’s Joyce Eisenberg Keefer Medical Center. “Our most recent assessment revealed that seniors are particularly susceptible to isolation and loneliness, with 20%-40% reporting feeling lonely at any given point in time.”The solution, in Dr. Levy-Storms’ view, is not just building new relationships throughout our lives—it’s also making sure they are meaningful ones.“What is a meaningful relationship? The key is to establish emotional connections,” she said. “This requires us to get into a mindset of finding common ground with other people. It’s easy to say, ‘I don’t have anything in common with this person,’ but we can change that through listening and connecting with them. Then, hopefully, we experience reciprocity, where the listening goes both ways.”At the conclusion of Dr. Levy-Storm’s talk, the audience moved outside to chat over brownies and lemonade, giving them a chance to forge new connections and put her advice into practice.