Rachel PeaseDear Supporters & Friends,
One of the most beautiful tenets of the Christian faith is that God left heaven, took the form of a helpless baby, and lived among us – fully human and fully divine. The idea of “Emmanuel – God with us” is especially comforting in the midst of our current circumstances. We are battling a devastating and insidious virus. We have lost friends and loved ones, and we grieve with those who mourn. The promise of “Emmanuel” reminds us that God understands our suffering, and He offers comfort and hope in these times of distress.
To me, holding onto hope doesn’t mean we are ignoring reality. It means that we believe in a God who transcends our reality – who has overcome the darkness of the world, who will restore all that has been lost, and who will one day make all things new. And so, this Christmas, we hold on to the hope of Emmanuel and we rejoice in the birth of our Savior, who came to bring life and to bring it abundantly.
Our theme at Messiah Lifeways this season has been John 1:5, which states: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” In this special Christmas edition of “Spotlight on Philanthropy – Stories of Hope,” I invite you to choose hope with me and learn about some of the ways that light is overcoming darkness, even in the midst of a hard season.
With gratitude and hope,
Rachel Pease, Senior Director of Development
“Operation Enhance Life” Brings Gifts of Comfort & Connection
When we launched the $50,000 “Operation Enhance Life” campaign on September 30, 2020, we had no idea we were about to face a terrible outbreak in our nursing neighborhoods. It turns out that this campaign – created to purchase tangible, wish-list items for nursing and personal care neighborhoods – came at just the right time.
Residents, family members, and community donors responded quickly to this special appeal. Even before reaching the goal, we began making purchases from the wish lists – 42 life-like robotic dogs and cats, several mobile craft carts, weighted blankets to help soothe anxiety, festive Christmas decorations to make the holidays as merry as possible, a trellis to provide shade cover to the Nittany balcony, and 30 tablets to expand virtual chat capabilities between residents and families and offer the ability for residents to listen to audiobooks and music.
Now, as we transition recovered residents back to their neighborhoods and convert the Manchester neighborhood to meet the particular needs of those residents who previously lived in the Asper Special Care neighborhood, we look forward to the arrival of a very special purchase made possible by gifts to “Operation Enhance Life” – a Mobii Magic Surface.
This award-winning mobile projection unit invites greater engagement in residents with a variety of cognitive, emotional, and physical diagnoses. The interactive games and activities can be played anywhere there is a flat surface, and the use of color and music stimulates response, fosters laughter and enjoyment, and transforms a passive experience into an active one. We anticipate that this purchase will arrive from the United Kingdom by Christmas, and we can’t wait for the joy it will bring to residents.
Lead Enrichment Specialist Shelly Mann is using many of these items directly with residents, and her gratitude says it all:
“When I gave a resident one of the life-like cats that were purchased through Operation Enhance Life, she immediately started giggling and laughing as she stroked the cat’s soft fur and heard it purr. Seeing her joy was so uplifting after several very hard weeks. Another resident was so excited to help decorate the new Christmas tree in the Donegal neighborhood. She helped hang ornaments and never stopped smiling. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful we all are to donors who gave to make purchases like these possible. It means so much, especially right now. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Advent-Themed Music Therapy Sessions Available via MVTV and YouTube
As a way to bring the power of the Music Therapy program to a wider audience during this season, our partners at WB Music Therapy have recorded Advent-themed sessions that can be viewed on MVTV as part of our holiday programming, or anytime at youtube.com/messiahlifeways. (Look for the videos titled “Music with Meaning.”) These 20-30 minute sessions invite viewers to focus on topics such as hope, peace, joy, and love. Shorter sessions also offer techniques for immediate stress reduction and increased well-being through deep breathing and relaxation exercises.
We are grateful that the Music Therapy program continues to be an avenue of outlet and expression for nursing and personal care residents, and we hope these special videos will bring some of the benefits of music therapy to residents as well as all members of our extended community.
Volunteers Provide Christmas Gifts & Cards to Village Center Residents
Knowing that the holiday season would look very different for residents in personal care and skilled nursing this year, volunteers responded enthusiastically to opportunities to shower residents with gifts and cards to let them know they are loved and remembered.
- The Messiah Village Helping Hands committee and the Messiah Village Auxiliary – two community groups of dedicated volunteers – each allocated funds to the “Stocking Stuffer” account to allow enrichment team members to purchase Christmas gifts for every nursing and personal care resident. Items chosen varied depending on neighborhood and resident preferences.
- The Messiah Village Quilt Guild worked hard to provide residents in all levels of living with a hand-crafted bookmark and prayer card, and additional volunteers provided all nursing residents with a cheery, hand-made ceramic figurine.
- Volunteers from on campus and the surrounding community – including several elementary schools – sent in Christmas cards, pictures, and words of encouragement for all Village Center residents.
- Our friends at Delta Dental sent in dental kits for residents and clients.
I’m sure there are many more acts of kindness that we don’t even know about – and we are grateful for each person who has blessed residents, team members, and clients during these difficult days. From my heart, I wish you a blessed Christmas season and a happy, healthy New Year!
Do you feel that giving spirit? If you would like to bless Messiah Village residents this Christmas season, please consider a year-end gift designated to current-year benevolence. Last year, 87 residents received more than $3.5 million in benevolent care due to outliving their resources through no fault of their own. We will need philanthropic support of benevolence this year more than ever because of increased operating costs related to COVID-19 mitigation. Visit messiahlifeways.org/giving to give now or contact me at rpease@messiahlifeways.org or 717.591.5598 to discuss tax-wise giving options.
