At this festive time of year when food becomes a focal point of our celebrations, we want to express our heartfelt thanks for the incredible work Nancy does as our Kitchen Manager. Her dedication to creating delicious, nutritious meals makes a world of difference for our residents, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Nancy, your efforts – along with your support staff – are truly appreciated and we’re grateful for the care you put into every meal!
Updates
Grateful for Caregivers
In the quiet moments of each day, there are those whose hearts and hands make all the difference—those who care for our loved ones in ways both big and small. To the caregivers of Community Village, your compassion is a light that brightens the path for so many, offering not just physical care, but a sense of dignity and belonging. You provide more than assistance; you offer kindness, patience, and a deep understanding of what it means to make someone feel seen and valued. In your unwavering dedication, you remind us all that the greatest gift we can give is love in action, and for that, we are forever grateful.
If you listen for very long, you’ll hear the deep love pulsing through our team of caregivers.
Avoid the Grandparent Scam
Our family and friends who are 60+ are undeniably a primary target for scammers. Besides being more trusting, they tend to be less tech-savvy and have more resources that a scammer wants to access.
“Americans over the age of 60 lost $1.7 billion to fraud in 2020 — the highest loss amount reported out of any age group.” (Source: FBI’s latest Internet Crime Report)
The Grandparent Scam
A scammer will contact someone with a grandchild. Then the grandparent is told their grandchild was in an accident and are fine. But there’s been a mix-up! The grandchild is in jail and needs bail money sent right away. The scammer will even offer to put the grandchild on the phone for a brief conversation with you. And it’s incredible how easily our brain can trick us to thinking the person sounds like our grandchild!
How to Avoid the Grandparent Scam
- Pause. Scammers make it sound extremely urgent that you act immediately.
- Ask. Ask the caller/texter for their name, their phone number, and a physical address. If they will not give this to you, ignore them. In an actual emergency, the caller will provide this information.
- Hang up. Take a deep breath, collect your thoughts, and remember that there may be no emergency with your loved one!
- Call. Do not call the number they provided; instead, look up the phone number for the police station they referenced and call the station directly. Tell them your situation. If the story is real, they will confirm this for you or give you information on how to confirm.
Of course there are numerous variations of this scam, but the process you should follow to protect yourself is much the same. If you are contacted by someone you do not know and the person makes it difficult or impossible to confirm what they’re telling you… it’s a scam!
Although scamming cases are at an all-time high, we want to help you avoid scams! Protect yourself, your resources, and your identity!
Report fraud: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
It Felt Like Jesus Visited Us
Noting the focus of Saginaw’s New Life Church, you quickly learn that they consider their church more than a building. To quote their website: New Life is a church that shows God’s love by serving Saginaw.
Through the years, people from New Life have participated in dozens of ventures to enhance the quality of life for Community Village residents and contributed to the attractiveness of the facility including painting resident rooms and hallways and major landscaping projects. Their 2023 “Operation Serve” provided exterior cleaning in preparation for painting the entire facility’s facia. Striving for excellence in the project, they hired professional tree trimmers to remove unattractive trees and bushes that helped highlight the beauty of their hard work. They even plan to return to clean windows sometime soon!
Robin Rappley, Administrator of Community Village, expressed appreciation for New Life and noted their efforts not only lifted the spirits of residents and staff but exemplified the mission of Community Village. “We provide care for many seniors unable to afford other assisted living options. The people from New Life have reminded us of the love we want to demonstrate as we serve residents every day”.
If you or your church/organization are the kind of people who like to help our community, let us know here! Thank you!
Celebrating Mothers
Like so many mothers do, Dorothy Owens worked hard for her family for years making carbide cutting tools at Fullerton Tools. “When you reach the age of 93, you don’t expect to be concerned about the health and well-being of your children” she recently commented as she solemnly gazed out the window of her Community Village room. Surrounded by photos of her late husband, her two sons and their wives, her emotions well up as she reflects on the challenges her oldest son faced with his military service in Vietnam, the loss of her husband 10 years ago, and the recent loss of her younger son. For more than a year, she prayed daily for this son as he was restricted to a hospital bed in Detroit. Her greatest consolation was the love her daughter-in-law poured out for him – on Dorothy’s behalf, too.
Brushing a tear from the corner of her eye, she remembers “we had wonderful times camping together at Big Bear Lake. We started in tents and gradually moved up to a motorhome.” She recalls how her husband helped build Sheridan Road Nazarene Church and again, years later, was part of the construction team when the church relocated and became Saginaw Valley Nazarene. And one of the biggest smiles came to Dorothy as she talked about singing duets at that church. Today she’s a regular attender at our Sunday services.
Happy Mother’s Day to you, Dorothy! And Happy Mother’s Day to all our other mothers! We’re grateful for you!
A Winning Combination
Pentra Trevino. She loves it when you can pronounce her name with all the beauty intended in the Spanish dialect. This mother of eight always enjoys visitors to her Community Village home. Like most of our families these days, her children are scattered from Saginaw to San Antonio. When Pentra lost her husband, she came to the conclusion she needed a home she could afford on her Social Security budget and one that met her various physical needs. Her answer came in two parts: Great Lakes PACE meets her health/medical needs and Community Village meets her needs for a safe home, nutritious meals, 24/7 assistance, and a friendly community.
Pentra fondly recalls days she used to play football with her children and go fishing on occasion. Many of those early days, though, were spent working together in sugar beet fields.
Today, life is a lot more enjoyable with activities like big ball kickball and BINGO. Pentra tells how she really appreciates the care she receives at Community Village and at Great Lakes PACE. She highly recommends combining the two programs to affordably address all the needs of someone advancing in years.
