THE RENAISSANCE REVIEW
Newsletter Date: February 6th, 2017
IMPORTANT DATES
February 1st
Bingo Marathon
February 2nd
The Senior Store
and More
February 9th
Sweetheart’s Ball
w/Jimmy Wells
February 15th
Happy Birthday
w/Craig Satchel
February 17th
Drum Circle
February 16th
Lunch on the Town
Volume 4, Issue 2
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Service of Remembrance
The third Monday of every January has been set aside by the United States Government
as a federal holiday to observe the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was
the chief spokesman for nonviolent
activism in the Civil Rights
Movement, which successfully
protested racial discrimination in
federal and state law. The
celebration of the holiday takes many
forms with one of the most common
being acts of service by groups or
individuals serving their community.
This spirt of service stems initially
from Dr. King’s message, but also
from legislation related to the
holiday. The national Martin Luther King Day of Service was started by former
Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, who
co-authored the King Holiday and Service Act. Here at Renaissance, staff, residents, and
community combined together to create an
atmosphere of service, learning, and
celebration. Students from the Christy
Recreation Center, led by “Uncle Buddy”
Martin came to meet with residents to discuss
civil rights. Many residents were able to bring
historic accounts of the Civil Rights Movement
to life for the students, offering first hand
accounts of the life and times of Dr. Martin
Luther King. As their small groups concluded the assembly had gathered and everyone
was welcomed by Activities Coordinator James
Garrett. The Remembrance Service opened with a
listening of Dr. King’s famous “I Have A Dream”
address from August of 1963 on the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial. Next, long-time Renaissance
volunteers “The Sharers of The Good News”,
known personally as Harvey Wren and Delores
Mitchell led the assembly in song. In what was becoming a moving tribute, no person in the crowd
was aware of the fantastic surprise that was in store
for them. The students from the Christy Recreation
Center had brought two beautiful pieces of artwork
they had created. They took time during the
presentation of their art to explain how each piece was inspired by Dr. King’s message,
displaying imagery designed to illustrate how all men belong together at home with God.
In the spirit of togetherness all joined together for coffee, tea, hot cocoa and cookies.
“UNCLE BUDDY” MARTIN AND STUDENTS FROM THE CHRISTY RECREATION CENTER PRESENTING THEIR ARTWORK
February 20th
Presidential
Bake-Off
February 23rd
Atlantic City
Casino Guild Visit
February 23rd
Family Council Meeting
February 28th
Fat Tuesday Celebration
w/Live Mummers Music
IN THIS ISSUE
Martin Luther King
1
Nutritional Education
2
Employee Spotlight
2
Volunteer Visits
2
Happy Birthday
2
THE SHARERS OF THE GOOD NEWS LEAD EVERYONE IN SONG
THE STUDENTS WITH RENAISSANCE ADMINISTRATION AND RESIDENT MS. STEVENSON
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Johnathon Rubin — Maintenance Director
You could say that Renaissance Maintenance Director Johnathon Rubin grew
up with a hammer and nails in his hands. Although he was raised in the
Nutritional Education
Germantown section of Philadelphia Johnathon spent every summer on a farm
It is no secret that Renaissance Residents enjoy
in Mississippi. It was there that he built his first house at age ten. Although it
having hot cocoa during Café Corner every
was a playhouse, it still stands today. He shared that on that farm visiting his
morning. Our Dietician Erin McNamara used
grandparents he learned skills and values that still benefit him today. Not only
that as an opportunity to host a hot cocoa bar
was his grandmother a carpenter who regularly put tools in his hands, he also
to discuss the importance of calcium in the diet.
learned work ethic, customer service, and hospitality. These traits stayed with
him through high school at W.B. Saul Agricultural, business administration
studies at Thiel College in Greenville PA, and his time in the Air Force
Reserve. Johnathon feels that he has a talent for understanding the way things
work and that he can visualize mechanical instructions. Most importantly he
added, “You can’t be afraid to try.” He feels that fear is a learned response
and that fear keeps people from attempting many things that they are probably
capable of doing. He also feels that there is nothing wrong with trying your
best and not succeeding and cited a famous quote from Michael Jordan where
the basketball great shares how many games he had lost and the amount of
times he was given an opportunity to take a final
winning shot and missed. Johnathon loves the
quote, but not Michael Jordan so much. As a life
long sports fan, he loves the Eagles, but also
ERIN HOSTING THE RESIDENTS AT A HOT COCOA BAR
supports the L.A. Lakers. A love which he traces
Residents were offered their choice of cinnaback to being seated behind the Lakers bench at
mon sticks, marshmallows, caramel, sprinkles
the Spectrum watching Magic Johnson during the
and whipped cream to top their beverages
Laker great’s rookie season. We’ll all be sure to
while they received valuable information about
remind him that the Sixer’s bandwagon is filling up
their dietary choices at Renaissance.
fast and we don’t have much room for Laker fans!
Volunteer Visits
Happy Birthday w/Jon Turk
Every third Wednesday of
On January 13th a group of nurses from Presbyterian the month is a very special
day at Renaissance. It is
Medical Center came to Renaissance on a mission to
the day we celebrate the
spread good cheer. Led by Nese Ercan, pictured
second from the left, the group collected donated gifts birthdays of
any resident
in their own facility. Upon arriving at
who was
born in that
particular
month. The
dining room
is decorated
with an
array of
balloons and
colorful
table cloths.
We also in
Renaissance they distributed the gifts to every
most cases hire live
resident in town. Gifts included puzzle books,
entertainment to
perfumes, and purses among others. Following the gift celebrate the occasion.
giving the group sat down to engage our residents in a We have new entertainers
Renaissance vs. Presby volleyball game. Team
all of the time but our
Renaissance remained undefeated, beating team
Renaissance family has
Presby 15-13.
THE GROUP OF NURSES FROM PREBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER PROUDLY DISPLAYING THE GIFTS THEY BROUGHT TO DISTRIBUTE
their favorites that we
repeat on a regular basis.
A few that perform every
couple months are Jimmy
Wells, Craig
Satchel, Rich
Carmen, and
Jon Turk. Mr.
Turk
entertained
the crowd for
our January
birthday party
with his
repertoire of
smooth R+B
hits including
James Brown
and Marvin Gaye. The
Activities Team served the
residents with birthday
cake while they danced to
the music. Happy Birthday
to our January birthdays!
JON TURK WITH JANUARY BIRTHDAY ROBERTA GASS