At rush hour on the Monday before Thanksgiving, a winter storm hit Seattle. While snow and ice made driving treacherous in and around that hilly city for three days, team members at nearby Judson Park pulled together to make sure that residents’ needs were met.
Team members who could make it to the Des Moines, Wash., campus safely took on the duties of those who live farther away. Some caregivers stayed in guest quarters. Executive Director Russell Akiyama and Director of Facilities Gary Trotter slept in their offices so they could drive team members to work and home again at shift changes.
The Judson Park team showed exemplary compassion and commitment – and they are not alone. In a year of continuing economic difficulty and company-wide budget cuts, when morale could have slumped, the people of ABHOW instead found ways to give to others with grace and generosity. Residents and team members alike stepped forward to care for their neighbors and to help address needs at home and across the globe. Here are a few more examples:
- After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, residents of Piedmont Gardens in Oakland, Calif., created and donated boxes of quilts, dolls, pillows and baby garments; residents of The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens in Fresno, Calif., collected financial donations; and a resident of Valle Verde in Santa Barbara, Calif., raised relief funds by selling paintings he had made.
- Residents of Grand Lake Gardens in Oakland grew more than 550 pounds of fresh, organic produce on their campus and donated it to a nearby food program for homeless and low-income seniors.
- Residents and team members at The Terraces of Phoenix sponsored a casino night and auction that netted more than $50,000 for their local foundation, money that will go toward a new activity center and to support residents who need financial help.
- Team members at Plymouth Village reached out to a woman who lost her husband unexpectedly just before the couple planned to move into the community. At her request, they returned her deposit – and followed up with a gift of three gourmet meals delivered to the woman’s home.
ABHOW faces real hurdles in the months ahead, chief among them lower occupancy rates and the likely expansion of California’s provider tax on skilled nursing facilities. Yet in the face of hard times, we are inspired by the giving spirit so amply demonstrated by our residents, our team members and our community leaders. In this season of sharing, we are grateful for the humanity they display.
