Things that move us....

Those who know me know that I am often moved by the smallest of things. Music, Hugs, Acts of Kindness. We are, like most of you, sheltering-in-place. There is only one person in The Jewish Pavilion office at a time and we are being extremely conscientious.

That being said, we are also still doing all that we can to help the elder care community. We have three different challenges we are trying to meet and the outpouring of love, attention, donations and supplies has been incredible.

I have truly been moved by what I have seen in the last 6 weeks.

We have received over at thousand letters, cards, and pictures from around the country. We were highlighted on the TODAY show on March 24 (watch here https://www.today.com/parents/writing-cards-nursing-homes-others-isolation-can-help-t176680) and the items poured in. We have been sanitizing and delivering to elder-care facilities throughout Central Florida. The residents have been thrilled to receive them and to feel the outpouring of love they represent.

Our friends Jill Goldsmith and Joanne Fink helped to start a Facebook Mask Challenge. They have asked people to help make masks for the healthcare workers in elder-care facilities. We have had incredible results and the group has dropped off hundreds of masks we have delivered. You can get more information at https://www.facebook.com/groups/579109062683073/. We can’t express our appreciation enough.

We have been getting tons of calls to the Orlando Senior Help Desk. We are so happy to be able to provide such a valuable, informative free service. We also have helpful links on our info packed website at www.orlandoseniorhelpdesk.org.

Finally, we also received a forward thinking, extremely generous offer from THE PARGH FOUNDATION. Andy Pargh called us with the most wonderful idea about one of the ways we could say “thank you” to our elder-care facility heroes. The Pargh Foundation funded a program to send food trucks from TOASTED restaurant to numerous facilities in Central Florida. (Read stories and see video https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/04/07/jewish-charity-donates-lunches-for-health-care-workers-at-assisted-living-communities/ and https://www.heritagefl.com/story/2020/04/10/news/free-lunch-for-healthcare-workers/13042.html and https://app.box.com/s/bfbsh5dd4g1fa4t2v0hsq7qao9ln0xo2.) We have fed more than 400 healthcare workers.

I have seen so many examples of grace, kindness and generosity under some of the most difficult conditions I have ever witnessed. It is wonderful when we are reminded of all of the good in our surroundings and all of the positive people we know instead of all of the negative. Keep staying positive. Remember that we are all in this together – separately. Smile at all the good things that are going on around us, and reach out to those who are alone.

Thank you to the Pargh Foundation