Local News
Update to how various organizations are coping with the pandemic
Shalom Residences’ Micah Kraut & Rabbi Yitzchok CharytanEd. note: As part of our continuing effort to report on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on all Jewish organizations and agencies in this city, we present information about Shalom Residences and Gwen Secter Centre based on email exchanges we had with Shalom Residences Executive Director Nancy Hughes and Gwen Secter Executive Director Becky Chisick. We also present information from Rady JCC Executive Director Rob Berkowits about enhanced amenities at that facility.
Shalom Residences update:
We should note that we were invited to attend a mezuzah hanging event at the newest Shalom Residence at 841 Oxford Street, where Rabbi Yitzchok Charytan attached mezuzahs to every room in the house. Previously there were only mezuzahs on the front and rear door frames. Since I was not allowed into the house myself, I asked Nancy Hughes to take my camera with her and take some pictures inside.
Following is information Nancy Hughes provided us about the situation re Shalom Residences. I had asked Nancy what specific impact the coronavirus and subsequent lockdown has had on Shalom Residences:
We now have six homes rather than seven. This past year, we were saddened by the deaths of two long-time residents. There were some internal moves by residents to fill these vacancies and we closed a two-person rented home.
We now support 21 people living in the six homes, eight people in apartments and three people in outreach.
We have one vacancy in one of the community residences (group homes). We want to be able to offer a home to someone to fill the existing vacancy before we would plan for any new home. As well, currently there is very limited funding available for adults with intellectual disabilities for group living. Provincial government funding is given mainly to people who have a critical need to move.
The area where we anticipate expanding the number of people is in apartment living and outreach in the next while.
The most significant impact of the corona virus for us has been that the day programs attended by most of the people we support have been closed since mid-March.
This means all of those people have had to adapt to a big change in routine and we have had to provide a great deal of extra staffing for weekdays.
Our staff are required to wear masks and for a while also had to wear eye shields. The people we support became accustomed to staff in masks and for the most part have gotten along very well staying home with their housemates. Only the three young people at Oxford St who you saw last week have been attending day programs again.
We are particularly grateful for the support we receive from the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba as well as the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. Above all, we are grateful to our staff who have worked throughout this challenging time accepting the risks involved in front line care and providing comforting and positive support.
If you would like to contact Nancy Hughes to find out more about Shalom Residences, her number is 204-582-7064.
Gwen Secter update
It seems that each time I check in with Gwen Secter’s Executive Director Becky Chisick to see how many more meals Gwen Secter is producing and delivering for seniors, she astounds me with an ever increasing number.
In our April 15 issue (which was our last print issue for one month) I reported that the Gwen Secter kitchen staff had just turned out 60 meals for seniors the week of March 30 – April 3 – all free of charge. I also noted that Gwen Secter had stepped into the breach left by Meals on Wheels, which had stopped taking new clients as soon as the province went into lockdown mode on March 13.
Then, in our May 27 issue I reported that Gwen Secter had stepped up the production of meals for seniors to 286 during the last week in May, and to 340 meals the first week in June.
In our July 8 issue the figure had gone up to 400 meals (consisting of four meals a week delivered to individual seniors). The Gwen Secter Centre had also brought on Lauren Cogan as a volunteer coordinator for the meal program.
So, it should come as no surprise that when I contacted Becky for an update as to how many meals the Centre was now turning out, and whether Lauren Cogan was still coordinating the meal program, Becky responded (on July 27): “Last week we distributed 520 meals.
“Lauren Cogan is still the meal program coordinator.”
In addition, Becky noted that “We have launched our transportation hotline for medical appointments in partnership with JCFS, thanks to a grant from JFM. The response has been great. We have hired a summer youth, Kendra, through the Canada Summer Jobs program as community development coordinator and she is currently managing the hotline.” (In case you didn’t see the ad in our July 22 issue for the hotline, the number to call for the transportation hotline is 204-899-1696.)
Rady JCC update
We received the following notice from Rady JCC Executive Director Rob Berkowits:
Someone once said to me that we become what we repeatedly do. That means if you want to live a well-balanced life, not only do you need to create positive daily routines, you also need to live them, day-in and day-out.
For many of us, before the pandemic hit, the Rady JCC was an important part of our daily routines. It was one of the many parts of our everyday lives that helped define who we are. Coming to our facility for a swim, a few laps around our track, or a simple visit with friends was as important as the meals we would eat every day.
When we shuttered our doors back in March, everything changed in an instant. Our daily routines we had worked hard to develop were put on hold, including regular Rady visits.
Well, that was then and this is now.
Fast-forward to June 15, and we reopened our doors to our fitness and aquatics facilities. Those who were ready to come back, did so proudly and cautiously. Members who made their return tell us how great it is to have the Rady back in their daily routines. They tell us about how much they missed this part of their lives. How even the simple things like saying hello to our Rady staff as they make their way upstairs for their workouts make their days better.
Many members who haven’t yet returned tell us in order for Rady to be part of their routines once again, we need to add some additional amenities at our facility. Amenities that we temporarily put on hold when we reopened. Amenities that were once part of their routines.
With that in mind, beginning next week on Tuesday, August 4, our men’s and women’s locker rooms will reopen along with access to our showers. We are doing so with proper physical distancing and sanitization measures in effect. Everything we do is done so with the safety and well-being of our members and staff top-of-mind.
So, if your morning routine used to involve getting a workout in before you head straight to your office, this may be the added amenity that will bring us back in your lives.
For some others not quite ready to return: your daily routines do not include Rady right now. We understand and support your decisions. Please know that when you are ready to have us be part of your routines again, we will be ready to welcome you back through our doors.
Local News
Winnipeg-born Elliot Lazar to star as Paul Simon in “The Simon & Garfunkel Story” at Centennial Concert Hall
By BERNIE BELLAN Elliot Lazar’s career has long been chronicled in the pages of The Jewish Post & News. Do a search for his name in our “Search Archives” button and you will find a multitude of stories about Elliot from the time he was five years old.
A talented singer, musician, and musical arranger, also a graduate of Gray Academy, the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music, and the Boston Conservatory, Elliot has appeared many times in Winnipeg, including most recently last summer in Rainbow Stage’s production of “Rent.”
He’s been constantly busy – as a review of some of his past acting credits reveals. Last season alone, in addition to his performing in “Rent,” Elliot also appeared in the National Tour of “Fiddler on the Roof,” and “The Band’s Visit” (Huntington/Speakeasy Stage).
We’re excited to announce that Elliot will be appearing in Winnipeg for one night only, May 21, starring as Paul Simon in “The Simon & Garfunkel Story.”
Here’s Elliot’s own story about his growing up in Winnipeg:
“I grew up in Garden City, attended Gray Academy (K-12) and majored in vocal performance at the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music. I lived in Winnipeg until I was 22, so I’m pretty connected with the arts scene there still. The venue we’re playing, the Centennial Concert Hall, I was last seen in Guys and Dolls in concert with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Rainbow Stage (2019), and before that I sang with the Manitoba Opera Chorus in 3 productions there. My last performance in Winnipeg was in Rent with Rainbow Stage this past summer. Other local performing arts companies I have a history with there are Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Winnipeg Studio Theatre, Dry Cold Productions, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Manitoba Underground Opera, Little Opera Company, and the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. I grew up going to see shows at the Concert Hall, so it’s a wonderful full circle moment for me.”
About “The Simon & Garfunkel Story”:
Nostalgia-inducing unforgettable hits! The internationally-acclaimed hit theater show The Simon & Garfunkel Story (www.thesimonandgarfunkelstory.com) returns to the road in 2024 with a North American tour to more than 25 cities. Kicking off in Richmond, Kentucky on January 28, 2024, the immersive concert-style tribute show will recreate the magic and authenticity of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel on stage and chronicles the amazing journey shared by the iconic, GRAMMY-award winning folk-rock duo. It tells the story from their humble beginnings as Tom & Jerry, to their incredible success as one of the best-selling music groups of the ‘60s, and to their dramatic split in 1970. The Simon & Garfunkel Story culminates with the pair’s famous “The Concert in Central Park” reunion in 1981 which had more than half a million fans in attendance. Tickets are on sale now.
The show features a set list of nearly 30 songs and uses state-of-the-art video projection, photos and original film footage. A full live band will perform all of the hits including “Mrs. Robinson,” “Cecilia,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Homeward Bound” and many more complete with the unmistakably perfect harmonies that will transport audiences down memory lane.
With more than 100 million album sales since 1965, Simon & Garfunkel’s unforgettable songs and poetic lyrics poignantly captured the times made them one of the most successful folk-rock duos of all time. Over the years, they won 10 GRAMMY Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1977, the Brit Awards honored their “Bridge Over Troubled Water” album with Best International Album. In 2003, Simon & Garfunkel were awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the following year saw their “The Sound of Silence” awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.
Local News
Ida and the late Saul Alpern have donated 2 ambulances and a scooter to Magen David Adom in past 4 years
By BERNIE BELLAN Saul Alpern passed away in 2022, but before he died he and his wife Ida had decided to make Magen David Adom a major recipient of their generosity.
As Myron Love noted in an October 2020 article the Alperns had been contributing small amounts to the Canadian Magen David Adom for some time, but it was in that year they decided to donate $160,000 for the purchase of a Mobile Intensive Care Unit for Israel’s Magen David Adom.
As Myron wrote in that 2020 article, an MICUA (which is larger than an ambulance, is staffed by paramedics, and responds only to the most medically serious cases) was donated “to the people of Israel in memory of Saul Alpern’s parents and siblings who perished in the Holocaust.
“It is an expression of my love for my family and my love of Israel,” Saul Alpern said at the time.
In early 2022 the Alperns donated yet another $170,000 for the purchase of a second MICU for Magen David Adom.
Saul Alpern passed away in November 2022, but Ida Alpern has now continued the legacy of giving to Canadian Magen David Adom that she and Saul had begun several years before. Just recently Ida contributed $39,000 toward the purchase of an emergency medical scooter. According to the CMDA website, “the scooter, which is driven by a paramedic, can get through traffic faster than the Standard Ambulance or MICU and provide pre-hospital care. It contains life-saving equipment, including a defibrillator, an oxygen tank, and other essential medical equipment.”
I asked Ida whether she wanted to say anything about the motivation for her and her late husband’s support for CMDA. She wrote, “Having survived the Holocaust, and being a Zionist, Saul felt that supporting Israel was of the utmost importance.”
On May 7, CMDA will be honouring Ida and Saul z”l Alpern at a dinner and show at the Centro Caboto Centre. Another highlight that evening will be the announcement of the purchase of an ambulance for CMDA by another Winnipegger, Ruth Ann Borenstein. That ambulance will be in honour of Ruth’s late parents, Gertrude and Harry Mitchell. The evening will also commemorate the late Yoram East (aka Hamizrachi), who was a well-known figure both in Israel and here in Winnipeg.
For more information about the May 7 event go to https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/canadian-magen-david-adom-for-israel/events/cmda-winnipeg-an-evening-of-appreciation/ or to purchase tickets phone 587-435-5808 or email sfraiman@cmdai.org
Local News
Simkin Centre looking for volunteers
We received the following email from Heather Blackman, Simkin Centre Director of Volunteers & Resident Experience:
Happy Spring Everyone! Hope you all are well. We have a number of upcoming volunteer opportunities that I wanted to share with you. Please take a look at what we have listed here and let me know if you are available for any of the following. I can be reached at heather.blackman@simkincentre.ca or 204-589-9008.
Save the date! The Simkin Stroll is on June 25th this year and we need tons of volunteers to assist. This is our annual fundraiser and there is something for everyone to help with from walking with Residents in the Stroll to manning booths and tables, event set up and take down and much more. Volunteers will be needed from 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on this day. Come and help for the full event or for any period within that timeframe that works for you.
Resident Store – This tuck shop style cart will be up for business shortly. Residents will be assisting to stock and run the store for 2 hours 2- 3 times per week in the afternoons. Volunteer support is needed to assist residents with restocking items and monetary transactions.
Passover Volunteers
Volunteers are needed to assist with plating Seder plates for Residents (date to be determined for plating)
Volunteers are needed to assist Residents to and from Passover Services and Come and Go Teas.
Times volunteers are needed for services/teas:
April 22cnd – First Seder 1:30-3:30 p.m.
April 23rd – Passover Service Day 1 – 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
April 23rd – Second Seder – 1:30-3:30 p.m.
April 24th – Passover Service – Day 2 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
April 29th – Passover Service – 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
April 29th- Passover Tea – 1:30-3:30 p.m.
April 30th – Passover Service – 9:30 -11:30 a.m.
April 30th – Passover Tea – 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Admin/Paperwork Volunteers – Volunteers are needed to assist with filing and other administrative duties. A monthly volunteering job is also available to input information on programming into Recreation activity calendars. Support would be provided for this.
Adult Day Program – A volunteer is needed to assist with the Mondays Adult Day Program Group. A regular ongoing weekly commitment on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Assist with Recreation programming and lunch supervision for our Adult Day Program participants that come in from the community for the day.
Biking Volunteers – Take our residents out for a spin on one of our specialty mobility bicycles. Training is provided and volunteers will be needed throughout the Spring, Summer and early Fall.
With summer coming there is also opportunity to assist with outings and other outdoor programming! Please let me know if you are interested!
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