UJA Volunteers Focus on Happy Times

On Monday, November 30, 2009, a group of volunteers from the Women’s Division of the UJA Federation of Northern NJ traveled to the Jewish Home at Rockleigh for the first part of a two-part program.

The initial program partnered a volunteer with a resident at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh in Rockleigh, NJ or the Jewish Home Assisted Living in River Vale, NJ for about an hour. Each volunteer interviewed a resident about their lives before they moved to these facilities. They talked about family connections, careers, volunteer work, travels and hobbies. The goal? To get the residents talking about their memories and the events that most influenced their lives.

Each volunteer took copious notes, and briefly summarized the interview at a follow-up luncheon. The interviews focused on each resident’s life – one was a writer for Women’s Wear Daily and had an active life as a businesswoman; another traveled here from Germany in 1938 at the age of 18, met her husband and found a new life in the U.S.; still another was very active in politics and met some well-known celebrities; others were successful homemakers and happily raised children.

The volunteers then created a book of memories for the residents and their families to treasure.

The second part of the program took place on December 8th with residents and volunteers pulling together a cooking program. Recipes were given by several residents that were used in their families for their holiday celebrations. Participants prepared baked chicken, challah stuffing, latkes and apple crisp. There was a lot of laughing and chatting about the many times each person had prepared holiday meals – successes and occasional disasters.

It was clear that this event brought back many happy memories. Finally, volunteers and residents sat down to an excellent lunch.

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