4th Annual Jingle Mingle, December 21, 2016

Juniper Village at Mount Joy kicked off the new year a week early by hosting the 4^th Annual Professional Jingle Mingle.  This highly anticipated yearly event brings together professionals from across the tri-county region and beyond.  All of which have a come bond-all in attendance work with or work for the betterment of area seniors.  Of the seventy-some in attendance, a wide range of professions were represented.  Physicians, nurses, social workers, consultants and care managers to name a few.  Rehabs, hospice providers, home care staff and respiratory care as well.  Resources like The Red Cross, Area Office on Aging and the PA Alzheimer’s Association were on hand also.  This event celebrates the good works done by so many throughout the year,  provides an opportunity to thank our colleagues and allows for new connections to be made for a prosperous new year. 

January 2017 Events in Mount Joy, PA: Welcome New Beginnings

Welcome to 2017! What a wonderful time for us to reflect on the past year and forge ahead with new beginnings. January is a time to begin again; a time when we make (and sometimes break) our New Year’s resolutions and focus on how we want to improve in the coming year.

January is also the month that Juniper Village begins our Winter Alive In All Seasons theme of Creative Expressions: “Explore Your Creativity” where in January we will focus on music! Do you know that research shows that music can help us physically by easing pain, helping us sleep better, eat less and enhance our blood vessel function? It is also suggested that music can help us mentally by reducing stress, relieving symptoms of depression, elevating mood, decreasing anxiety and improving cognitive performance. Because of this, Juniper Communities has adopted the Music & Memory program.

Through the use of MP3 players and headphones our teams download personalized music for each resident. These musical favorites tap deep memories and can bring participants back to life, enabling them to feel like themselves again, to converse, socialize and stay present. Learn more about our Music & Memory program by talking with our Connections Director and consider making a donation to this worthwhile program. We accept donations of new or used iPods, new over the ear headphones and iTunes gift cards.

Join us this month as we explore our creativity through music with outings to local musical performances, Elvis’ birthday celebrations and concerts by our Joyful Noise Choirs. We invite you to Welcome New Beginnings at Juniper Village and make a resolution to join us for activities and events throughout the year!

Our fabulous January 2017 events in Mount Joy, PA at Juniper Village at Mount Joy include our:

§  Elvis Birthday Bash because if you are “Lonesome Tonight”, grab your “Blue Suede Shoes” and head over; we’re gonna get “All Shook Up” for Elvis’ Birthday Bash, and Elvis will be ‘in the building’ entertaining us and enjoying birthday treats, so “Don’t Be Cruel” and feel free to bring a friend or two to come see first-hand what all the buzz is about on January 10^th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. (RSVP for this “Jailhouse Rockin’” good time by calling 717-492-9692 by January 9^th.)

§  50s Genre Song Sampler with Professional Songstresses, Jeanie Kent and (our very own) Renee Heiser, who will be performing hits from the 1950s, so get out of the cold and cozy up with hot beverages, yummy desserts and the feel-good musical vibes of this great decade, and bring family and friends to this enjoyable evening of free fun on January 26^th at 6:30 pm. (An RSVP by January 24^th to 717-492-9692 is greatly appreciated.)

We look forward to sharing our January 2017 events in Mount Joy, PA at Juniper Village at Mount Joy with you as you Welcome New Beginnings.

Mount Joy Resident and Family Holiday Party

The spirit of the holiday season was felt by all at Juniper Village at Mount Joy’s annual Resident and Family Holiday Gathering.  Children of all ages enjoyed a delightful assortment of delectable treats and beautiful decorations as they welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Claus.  Santa and the Mrs. visited with each and every resident.  The children waited patiently as each got a chance to sit on Santa’s lap and tell the jolly couple their Christmas wishes.  Residents and their families offered many thanks and complements to the Juniper staff.  Many notes thanks like the one below were received.

Deb & Staff:

THANK YOU so much for the lovely evening with Santa last night!  We so much appreciate the opportunity to have mom partake in this social event in your lovely facility.  Looks like it was a huge success!  We really appreciated everything!

Sincerely,

Scott & Andrea H.

Mount Joy Giraffe Awards

Tuesday, December 6, 2016  marked a very special annual event at Juniper Village at Mount Joy.  Each year at this time a select few staff members are recognized for their service and dedication.  The Giraffe Award is the highest honor at Juniper Communities.  The giraffe symbolizes three key characteristics.  These superior team members ‘stick their neck out’, go ‘above and beyond’, and have ‘very big hearts’.  The recipients receive their gold Giraffe pins from none other than Dr. Lynn Katzman, CEO and founder of Juniper Communities.  This year’s Mount Joy recipients are Theresa Dumez, Thomas Martin, Sharon Balmer, Dru Meluskey and Desiree Myers. They are pictured here following their recognition.  These team members share these positive traits with their colleagues, our families, and most importantly, our residents, every day.  A huge “thank you” to each of them for making Juniper Village at Mount Joy a wonderful place to work and live!

December 2016 Events in Mount Joy, PA: Celebrate Little Things

Juniper Village nurtures wellbeing by encouraging an active body, an engaged mind and a fulfilled spirit. This month this custom is more evident than ever as we share our celebratory spirit - mind, body and soul. December is a month filled with holidays and celebrations, but at Juniper we like to kick it up a notch! All around the community all of your senses will be stimulated as you see traditional holiday décor, hear joyous laughter and singing, smell heavenly treats baking and taste them as well. We will celebrate all the joyous little things that make this time of year so special. Traditions both old and new will be honored. And through sharing our numerous cultures and traditions with each other we will learn more about each other, opening the door to deeper understanding.

This month take a moment to reflect on the little things that bring joy to your life. Reminisce about the traditions from your past and the new traditions you have started with your family. Celebrate the holiday season with us as we share a bit of ourselves with our annual cookie exchange and ethnic holiday celebrations. December is always an eventful month and we look forward to sharing it with you.

Our fabulous December 2016 events in Mount Joy, PA at Juniper Village at Mount Joy include our:

§  4th Annual Professional Jingle Mingle that is Not Your Ordinary Networking Meeting but Definitely Your Favorite because with all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays we all need to “Un-Wine” a bit, so join us for a fun and festive spin on the traditional networking meeting at this social event that will give you an opportunity to meet and have fun with members of Lancaster County’s Senior Outreach Services, local Chamber of Commerce members and other professionals all while sampling wines, brews and specially selected pairings with featured “action station” by our Executive Chef, Jason Hampton, that is always a crowd pleaser, and fabulous door prizes that will be won by a lucky few with fun guaranteed, and if you attended last year, you know you this is an event you don’t want to miss since this event will brighten your holiday season and kick-start your 2017 professional year with the right contacts, so bring your business cards and good cheer, and join us on December 20^th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. (RSVP to Mary Main at mary.main@junipercommunities.com by December 16^th.)

We look forward to sharing our December 2016 events in Mount Joy, PA at Juniper Village at Mount Joy with you as you Celebrate Little Things.

November 2016 Events in Mount Joy, PA: Show Your Colors

Each November we turn our attention to Family with our Alive In All Seasons Theme: Cherish the Journey. We have always enjoyed helping our residents chronical their individual life journeys through journaling. In addition to keeping track of the daily happenings in our lives, journaling has surprising health benefits as well. University of Texas at Austin psychologist and researcher James Pennebaker contends that regular journaling strengthens immune cells, called T-lymphocytes. He also believes that writing about stressful events helps you come to terms with them, thus reducing the impact of stress on your health. Other research indicates that journaling decreases the symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Scientific evidence also shows that writing your thoughts down can help clarify your thoughts and feelings, help you to know yourself better, reduce stress, and problem solve more effectively. An additional benefit of journaling is that you are leaving a legacy for future generations. Review your journal together! Reminiscing about the events in one’s life is a way to affirm who they are, what they’ve accomplished in life and relive happy times. So, pick up a pen and Cherish the Journey, the benefits are endless!

Join our journey through November as we honor and celebrate family and the journey of life with our autobiographical journaling. Help us support our greater community with our annual Food Drive and our on-site support groups. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Our fabulous November 2016 events in Mount Joy, PA at Juniper Village at Mount Joy include our:

§  Month-Long Food Drive Collection as Juniper Village at Mount Joy accepts donated food items for the Mount Joy Food Bank in efforts to decrease the burden of local families struggling to keep nourishing food on the table, so please help us reach our goal of 1000 pounds of food by bringing your non-perishable, non-expired items anytime and placing them in our shopping cart, because each donation makes a difference to someone in need and is greatly appreciated.

§  Veteran’s Day Give Away as Juniper Village at Mount Joy’s own Debra Miller and Mary Main will be on hand to greet and thank veterans for their service at The Country Table Restaurant in Mount Joy, a local dining favorite, that offers a discounted meal for all vets this day, and all veteran patrons will also receive a gift from Juniper Village, so we hope to see you there on November 11^th from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.

§  Memory Box Workshop as Donna Welsh brings her crafty talents to Juniper Village at Mount Joy and will walk us through creating a unique memory box for ourselves or a loved one; memory boxes are a beautiful way to store and collect meaningful personal items that can be used as means to reminisce, spark memories and evoke positive feelings of love and happiness; all craft materials will be provided; registrants for this free workshop need only bring the personal items to be placed inside the memory box, so join us on November 13^th from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. (RSVP by November 10^th to 717-492-9692.)

We look forward to sharing our November 2016 events in Mount Joy, PA at Juniper Village at Mount Joy with you as you Show Your Colors.

Balloon Volleyball Tournament

October 11^th marked the 1^st Annual Juniper Village Balloon Volleyball Classic. Teams from Juniper Village at Mount Joy, our sister community, Juniper Village at Lebanon, Mount Zion Retirement Community and Moravian Manor Retirement Community gathered to volley to victory!  Teams were made up of three residents each and played single elimination rounds to crown a champion.  The “stands” were packed with spectators cheering on their teams with pom-poms and signs of encouragement!

The completion was fierce and the scores were close.  In the end, the home team, Juniper Village at Mount Joy was the winner!  The winning team, Dan Einfalt, Jamie Reider and Bob Boyce, were awarded first place medals!  Following the games, all participants and guests enjoyed a lively “Sportsmanship Social”.  What a wonderful afternoon of community and healthy competition!