How Greater MetroWest Cares for Our Older Adults

by Laura Dorf Queller, Vice President, Communications and Marketing

Classes in nutrition, Yiddish and sculpting. Films and concerts. Museum excursions. Kosher meals. These are but a smattering of the programs that the JCC MetroWest in West Orange offers for older adults, ages 60 and above. 

Women’s Philanthropy held its December board meeting at JCC MetroWest, where we spent the morning learning about services and opportunities available to seniors in our community. For me, the timing couldn’t have been more appropriate, because our newsletter team was wrapping up this issue on the same important topic. So I sat up front and furiously scribbled notes as Larry Rein, chairman of the JCC’s Board of Trustees, offered an exhaustive list of activities for seniors that nourish “the body, mind, and soul.” 

Larry’s words were then brought to life by Anita Gordon, who is both a participant and a volunteer at the JCC’s Margulies Senior Center. Anita described how grateful she was for the fitness classes, lectures, and even birthday parties tailored to its older members. But mostly, she said, she’s thankful for the friends she eats lunch with since becoming a widow.

The most moving part of the morning was being able to see the impact of the senior programs first-hand. Our group toured the Memory Center, a new initiative for adults with memory impairment, also located at JCC MetroWest. We witnessed the safe and stimulating environment the center creates for its members, and we recognized the comfort and relief it provides for families. Our group also helped distribute kosher lunches to seniors who had come for a hot, nutritious meal and, more importantly, to socialize with friends. I asked the women and men seated at the long cafeteria-style table if I could join them with my food tray, and before long, I, too, was engaged in their lively discussions.

JCC MetroWest is but one of many facilities within Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest’s network of agencies that delivers services to a diverse group of seniors and their families. This newsletter presents an overview of the breadth and scope of vital programs that Federation provides, both locally and as far away as Israel and Ukraine. From installing grab bars in bathrooms to delivering meals to homebound elderly, and from conducting vocational training to nursing the sick, Federation’s partner agency professionals and volunteers help meet a wide range of needs to ensure its older community members can age with dignity.

This is a topic that touches us all. Many of us will find ourselves as both donors to Federation and recipients of its services for older adults during various stages of our lives. This is particularly true for us women, who not only navigate the aging process for ourselves, but often act as caregivers for other aging family members as well. And throughout our journeys, Federation remains steadfastly there.