“There’s just something about this place.” It’s a phrase I hear often since joining Beatitudes Campus! I have to agree, it’s true. There is an energy and positivity here on campus that is hard to explain. In marketing, it’s called a brand experience – and it is something that we marketers work hard to capture, communicate and share with the outside world.
Music connects us to one another. Music is the language of the soul. Music knows no boundaries of time or place. Music tells stories about peoples’ triumphs and tragedies. Music can evoke strong feelings, from ecstatic joy to devastating sorrow and all that lies in between.
There are occasions and events that move us beyond what might ever be imagined and leave us wanting to invite others to join us. One such event is Violins of Hope, a concert experience enjoyed by about twenty Beatitudes Campus residents at Central Methodist Church on March 3. Beatitudes Campus resident Cecilia Rolston commented that the event was “so heart-warming and beautiful” and “provides hope.” Others in attendance echoed Cecilia’s comments.
What are the Violins of Hope? These are violins actually played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, including in the concentration camps. Our residents who attended this concert heard beautiful and powerful music produced by three of those surviving violins played by members of the Downtown Chamber Series. They also heard the story of these instruments as each passed through the horrors of Nazi genocide into the skilled hands of Ammon and Avshi Weinstein who restored each one. Through their restoration project, the Weinstein family gave new voice to the instruments and to all people and generations traumatized by the Holocaust. The violins symbolize the power of music and highlight resilience and hope.
Equally moving at the March 3 concert were the performances by the remarkable young musicians and singers with Rosie’s House (one of the largest completely free music programs in the nation for youth who would otherwise not have such an opportunity). The voices and spirits of youth were also very heartbreaking and hopeful when the Phoenix Girls Chorus sang a Yiddish Lullaby in the opening performances of Violins of Hope on February 23-24. The Phoenix Boys Choir will be singing in a performance on March 24.
Want to Know More About the Violins of Hope Events in March?
On March 19th a Tribute Concert honoring those who perished and those in the Phoenix community who survived the Holocaust. Charlotte Adelman, a Holocaust survivor and friend of the Beatitudes Campus, will be featured at this concert.
Until March 24th, 21 of the violins will be exhibited and the story of each recounted at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (Free admission).
Until March 26th, a photography exhibit at the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center will showcase the work of Ammon Weinstein as he restored each violin.
As you read this article, we hope you are interested in finding out how to attend the Violins of Hope activities, concerts, exhibitions, and lectures throughout the remainder of March. Do visit the main website page for more information or ask a friend to help. It is best to scroll down the page until you reach the section listing all of the March events and click on the event(s) of interest. Here is the website: https://violinsofhopephoenix.com/buy-tickets/events
Please note that Beatitudes Campus will not be providing transportation to any of the remaining Violins of Hope events.*
Veteran’s week started as an annual event on campus three years ago. We knew as staff that one day of honoring our Veterans was not enough and we wanted to do more. A special day within the week is our Veterans Ball. The ball includes a 12-piece band, three course meal and lots of dancing.It is admirable to see our Veterans gather in one place on a special occasion and hear them converse about their time in the service. Two gentleman from mutable came to realize that they had been on the same ship with one another while doing two different jobs and in two different branches. Hearing them walkabout the ship, their surroundings and how they prayed day in and day out for those around them, I could only imagine myself in the scene they were portraying. Every year I watch our Veterans stand up proudly for the sacrifices they have made for our country and that image will forever stay fresh in my mind. You never know ones story until you sit down with one another and listen. Some stories are less intense than others but each one of these brave men and women played a vital role in the freedoms that we have today. Thank you doesn’t seem to be a strong enough statement for what you Veterans have done but I have a grateful heart for everything you have put on the line for myself and those who live freely in America. With a grateful heart, I cannot wait to celebrate Veterans week again next year with you.
Herbert Lunchtime theater will be presenting Snow Queen.During this trip, you will bring your lunch to eat while in the theater before the show begins. Ticket price for the show is $7.00. You can purchase your boarding pass at the Welcome Center. Deadline to sign up is Monday, December 3rd. For any questions call Didi at x18473.
We will be heading to Barleen’s Arizona Opry for their Home for the Holidays show! Ticket prices range from $37-$42. Your ticket includes full meal including a HUGE piece of chocolate cake and the show. Barleen’s is family-owned and each member of the family is either entertaining, cooking or working the lights, videos etc. You will not want to miss their amazing Christmas show and great food! If you are interested in attending the show,call Didi at x18473 to put your name on the list. Deadline to sign up is Tuesday,December 4th.
Our annual Holiday Light Tour will take place on Monday,December 17th and Wednesday, December 19th at 6PM. Call x12905 to put your nameon the list for either day until the bus is full. For questions, call Transportation at x16135. Our annual Holiday Light Tour will take place on Monday, December 17th and Wednesday,December 19th at 6PM. Call x12905 to put your name on the list for either day until the bus is full. For questions, call Transportation at x16135.
If you are interested in taking part in our first ever craft sale, call Didi at x18473. The sale will be taking place on Monday,December 10 from 10AM -2PM outdoors. Therefore, you will want to plan accordingly for chilly weather. There will be a $20/table fee. For any questions, call Didi at x18473.*
Monday, November 5, 2018 11:45AM- Sunnyslope Card Presentation- Asking for veterans to meet in the Welcome Center to be presented with a card from Sunnyslope High School and take a picture.
10AM- Faith In Living Movies (LC)-“ Maya Lin: A strong clear vision” – All are welcome to attend this Faith in Living Movie.
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 10AM-Trip to Arizona Commemorative Air Force Base.
During this time, we will be heading over to the Arizona Commemorative Air Force base to take a tour of all the old warplanes.
To join this trip, call x12905 to reserve your seat on the bus. Disabled Veterans are free and senior rate is $12.00. After the tour, we will be heading to lunch at Milano’s Pizzeria, Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Bring cash for the tour and lunch. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018- 11AM- Lunch with Active Military-Grab your lunch and join us in the back of the Bistro for lunch with Active Military personal. Enjoy conversation, great company and chat about what has changed in the military since you served.
Thursday, November 8, 2018- 6PM- Our Veterans Ball is exclusively for our Veterans and one guest. During the ball, you will enjoy a 3-course meal, 12 piece band and room for open dancing as we encourage you to dance the night away. Tickets to the ball are $12 each and available for purchase at the Bistro.
Friday, November 9, 2018
7:30AM- Veterans are invited to attend the Veterans service held at Maryland School. Transportation will be provided. Call Monica, x18526, if interested in attending.
4PM- Join us in the Bistro for Happy Hour with Valerie and Anthony as they entertain us with some Patriotic favorites. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!
Saturday, November 10, 2018- 9:30AM-Sunnyslope Choir (PB)
Sunday, November 11, 2018- 3PM- Join us for Worship Service as we honoring our Veterans. All are welcome to attend.
For questions about any of the events listed, please contact Didi at 18473 or Monica at 18526. We look forward to honoring our Veterans throughout the week and showing our appreciation as a community.*
As a first announcement, the Arizona Diamondbacks game scheduled for Tuesday, July 31st, has been moved to Wednesday, August 8th against the Phillies. If you are interested in attending this game, the deadline to sign up is Friday, July 27th. Tickets price ranges from $40-45. To join this trip, call Didi at x18473 to put your name on the list.
Be sure to check out the Boy’s Christian Choir group on Friday, June 8th at 2:30PM in the Life Center. There will be 44 singers not including instrumentalist on stage. You will not want to miss it. On Saturday, June 9th, we will have a Harp Program going on as well in the LC. Kim Robertson is an internationally known harpist of great skill and finesse. She instantly connects with her audiences in a most delightful way. The program will take place at 2PM in the Life Center. All are encouraged to attend.
Hungry much? We will be headed to Red Robin for lunch on Tuesday, June 19th at 10:30AM. Enjoy burgers, salads and more! If you are interested in attending this trip, call x12905 to put your name on the list. Deadline to sign up is Friday, June 15th.
We will be heading to the Phoenix Art Museum on Tuesday, June 26th at 10AM. Enjoy taking a self-guided tour around the museum (the Phoenix Art Museum in ADA accessible). The entrance fee is $15 and you can pay upon arrival. After the museum, we will be heading to the Spaghetti Factory for lunch. The price of lunch is not included in the $15 fee. To join this trip call x12905 to put your name on the list. Deadline to sign up is Friday, May 22nd.
For more information on trips and on campus events, feel free to call Didi at x18473.*
On Super Bowl Sunday recently, I was watching the pre-game ceremonies, enjoying some of the tremendous promotion and frankly, “hype.” It’s rather astonishing that over $400 million has been spent by companies on Super Bowl ads and that $14.1 billion will be spend by Americans on Super Bowl related activities. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching a good football game and the ultimate in that genre is today. By the time you read this, the outcome will have come and gone, but as of this moment, it’s still up in the air. What I do know is that it all seems very important. Companies from Skittles to Buick to Mr. Clean to Budweiser (with a nod to the ghost of “Spuds” McKenzie) are banking much of their upcoming year of sales on today. And that is, of course, pretty significant—but it’s pretty rarified air for most of us.
In the world in which generally most of us are living, we seek a day to day value to that daily living. We’re not in the Super Bowl, but we’re certainly running a race toward what may be the real question. I was reading recently about an event held every other year in which athletes aged 50 and older, from all around the country, gather in a new city for the National Senior Games. Athletes compete at state competitions in events including golf, swimming and track and field for a chance to ultimately strut their stuff in a national competition. It’s not the Super Bowl—but it’s probably more relevant to many of us.
Recently, luxury fitness chain, Equinox, spotlighted a few of this year’s athletes in its editorial publication, Furthermore—and the author of the piece I was reading, wrote, “their stories left us feeling oh-so inspired (read: super ready to get back on track with those New Year’s resolutions that have since fallen by the wayside).” He’s got that right. Read what a few of them had to say and check out the ages.
Fitness doesn’t have to be complicated.
“The mailbox is about 100 meters from the house, so I don’t walk to the mailbox. I run,” says Norman Meeker, 88, who will compete in the 400- and 800-meter dashes. “We also go dancing once a week.”
The way you start your day changes everything.
“I get up in the morning and stretch the body for 15 minutes,” says Norman’s wife, 89-year-old Misako Meeker, who will compete in the discus event. “Instead of getting up or staying in bed, I stretch. I do that for 15 to 20 minutes every day, no question.”
It pays to listen to that encouraging little voice inside your head.
“When I first saw the list of events [back in November 2002], I said to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve never done any of this!'” says Joann Sampson, 76, who now competes in the 50- and 100-meter dash events. “A voice said to me, ‘You can do this.’ So, I’ve learned to listen to the soft voice now that speaks to you because that voice normally is the right voice to listen to.”
On March 1st, a group of 13 senior athletes from Beatitudes Campus will be competing in the 3rd annual LeadingAgeAz Fitness Challenge at North Phoenix Baptist Church. I have been given the privilege of being a part the event once again. I have to tell you that every year I feel a little more proud—and maybe a little more chagrined about my own lack of attention to that little voice when I see our residents pushing themselves to excel in the events of the day, doing just that—hearing their brains say “you can do this.” I can’t wait to see inspiring seniors from throughout Arizona showing us that all of the grit and determination isn’t just at the Super Bowl.
Speaking of the Super Bowl—in the most stunning upset in Super Bowl history, New England prevailed over the Falcons, leaving many wide-eyed and a little speechless.
Regardless of who anyone wanted to win, no one can deny that “never give up” spirit—the voice obviously awake in many of the Patriots players that kept saying “you can do this.” So—good lessons all around for us; the inspiration of the pros and the motivation of our indomitable seniors—I love them both but, as you might imagine, I really am most impressed with the grit and determination I see every day on this campus. Go, Beatitudians! You are my heroes!
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Photo Caption: Melvin Larsen running the 100 meter dash during the National Senior Games
Hosanna Rae De La Rosa
If you were wondering where Monica has been for the last month and a half, wonder no more because she is back! While Monica was out, she welcomed her first baby, Hosanna Rae De La Rosa into the world. Hosanna’s birthday came 3 weeks early and she still weighed a healthy 5.7 lbs. If you haven’t seen a picture of her precious baby, you must stop by the Recreation Center and take a look for yourself. Now that Monica has returned, her hours, days and title have changed. Monica is now a full time Recreation Specialist and no longer with transportation. She is here Monday through Friday and no longer Wednesday- Sunday. Church runs will remain the same with another driver. We would like to personally thank Mireya for helping out while Monica was gone. Mireya will still be on campus for some time helping out with transportation in the meantime.
On Tuesday, October 4th, we will be packing our lunch and heading to the Herberger Lunch Time Theater for a show called “A Little Something Called Family.” Boarding passes for this event are available at the Welcome Center for $7. You will also want to grab your ticket to the Arizona Broadway Theatre for a show called “Funny Girl.” Boarding passes are $80 and includes lunch.
Come and hear the courageous story of Adolfo “Harpo” Celaya. Adolfo will share his life story and how he didn’t speak a word of English when entering the first grade, how he survived one of the most horrific experiences a man could endure with the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and how he led a band of six Mexican Americans on a rampage through the Arizona state high school basketball championship tournament in 1947. Adolfo will be speaking on Tuesday, October 25th at 10AM in the Life Center. All are encouraged to attend.
Our Oktoberfest theme dinner will take place on Thursday, October 27th starting at 5PM. Entertainment by the Oom-Pah-Pah Band will start at 6PM. Tickets and menu will be available for purchase and viewing in all dining venues closer to the event date.
We will be hosting our second Annual Variety Show on Friday, October 28th, from 10AM-12PM in the Life Center. Come ready to sing along, laugh and enjoy awesome entertainment from our very own residents and staff.
With only a few events highlighted, please be on the lookout for the monthly synopsis sheet located in your building lobby with ALL the upcoming events on and off campus.
Spring is in the air and that means our next Buzy Bee bazaar is coming up shortly! The sale will take place on Thursday, April 14th from 10AM-2PM outside the Bistro facing Plaza North. The Buzy Bees have been working hard at creating new crafts for the sale that you surely won’t want to miss. Not only will we have crafts available but there will also be ceramics for sale and those yummy baked goods. This is the time of the year that we ask for baked good donations from residents and staff on campus. If you are interested in donating one of your specialties, we ask that you call Didi at x8473 or Monica at x8526 and let us know what you will be contributing for the sale.
Not only is the sale taking place but there is so much more to come in April. We all know the song “Take Me Out to The Ballgame” right? The Diamondbacks’ regular season is also upon us and we will be hitting Chase Field on Wednesday, April 6th to see the D-Backs take on the Colorado Rockies. Boarding passes for this trip will be available at the Welcome Center for $45.00.
Arizona Broadway Theatre Presents: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas – we will be heading to the Broadway Theatre on Saturday, April 16th to catch this fun musical. Boarding passes are available at the Welcome Center for $68.00. Lunch is included in the fee. Ready, Set.. GO get those tickets!
Are you a Veteran from WWII? If so, we will be hosting our very first organizational meeting Saturday, April 2nd at 2PM in the Admin. Conference Room. No need to sign up, we want to welcome you and meet together.
Look for all the other upcoming events such as…
Fashion Square Mall, The Chinese Cultural Center, The Phoenix Symphony Pops & Coffee Classics, The John Waddell Sculpture Garden in Cornville, Arizona, Cliff Castle Casino, Wells Fargo History Museum and much more! Look out for the synopsis sheets as well that are distributed the first week of the month. These sheets have all the details about the trips, including where to sign up, if a boarding pass is needed and numbers to call with any questions. They are located in the main lobby of your building where the weekly sheets are placed.
As always, if you have an idea, suggestion or want to join in on creating the fun, slip a note in our idea box located outside of the Recreation Office. Happy Spring! *
Have you heard? The Recreation Department is looking to bring our community recreation programming to its highest level yet! But first, with all new visions coming with the new people and preparation for new opportunities, we have been doing a little remodeling so, when complete, we will be ready to start climbing. During this transition time, however, some misperceptions have arisen that we would like to address and, hopefully, create some clarity. One example is a revamping of our staffing and trying to create the most efficient structure to maximize our potential. Where we previously had one part-time driver and one one part-time Recreation Coordinator positions that we were looking to fill, after only receiving a couple of applications, the Transporation and Recreation Departments got together and came to a conclusion of offering a full-time, dual responsibility, position. This position will have dedicated hours for both being a driver and being a Recreation Coordinator. These hours may vary, but Jeff Mathison, Transportation Director, and Didi Cruz will be working together to ensure this new position is successful for the employee and our community.
This does not mean we will have our drivers be fully responsible for off campus events. It is quite the opposite. 90% of our off campus events will have both a driver and a staff/volunteer to make sure that tickets, meals, attendance and your experience is a great one! We do make some decisions where there may be only a driver. These will primarily be trips that only include a drop-off and pick-up at a location (such as a casino). The reason for this is we feel our trip participants to certain off campus venues are fully capable of being independent while enjoying their time off campus. This also allows our Recreation Staff still on campus to provide engaging programming to the other 450 plus residents who do not attend these trips.
Speaking of on campus programming, let’s talk about Theme Dinners. We hear you, and are thankful for our residents who take the time to express the good, bad, ugly and everything in between about community sponsored programming. As you read this, the Recreation Committee members are brainstorming different ways for you to share ideas on what the themes will be moving forward. The on campus and off campus programs that Didi has put on have come directly from residents’ suggestions, and we are so happy that community members share those ideas with her. In the meantime, Didi is working on a suggestion box outside her office and always please bring suggestions/concerns directly to Didi. Thank You!
