Seated at a table awaiting the start of a recent COJO Flatbush seniors luncheon, she insisted her name wasn’t important. We’ll call her Rachel. Eyes sparkling behind rimless glasses, she briefed her tablemates on what to expect. Rachel had been to these events before; two of the other three were first-timers.
“This is wonderful,” she told them. “Such a joy to have something worth leaving the apartment for in the middle of the week. There’s the singer over there, tuning his guitar, and last time I was here he had such a repertoire of songs, you wouldn’t believe it. And I’m sure we’ll hear from a rabbi or some other speaker. Oh, and the food is good.”
“You should be a paid spokeswoman for this event,” joked one of the women at the table.
“They wouldn’t have to pay me,” Rachel joked back.
Just then, the singer, Binyomin Lerner, launched into the first of many songs to come – a selection that spanned the inspirational to the nostalgic, in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian. Old favorites and newer crowd pleasers had the audience singing and clapping with vigor and enthusiasm, their years seeming to melt away with each successive number.
Capping off the afternoon was a concise and insightful talk on the importance in Jewish belief of optimism and a cheerful spirit, delivered by Rabbi Aron Wajsfeld, spiritual leader of the Boro Park Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, where the luncheon was held.
The event, which drew more than 120 attendees – nearly all of them Holocaust survivors, some accompanied by their personal aides – was one of a series of regularly scheduled senior lunches and art parties organized by COJO’s Pikus Senior Enrichment Programs division, which oversees a wide array of resources for seniors.
“Senior services are a vitally important part of the work we do,” said COJO Flatbush CEO Louis Welz. “As people get on in years, they’re confronted with new challenges – health issues, adjusting to life on a fixed and usually reduced income, longtime friends and acquaintances moving away or passing on, the unspeakable sorrow of losing a spouse – and we can help by offering encouragement and assistance on many levels. One of the ways we help is with events like the June luncheon, where seniors, in this case Holocaust survivors, can come together for a shared afternoon featuring fellowship, entertainment, and a lot of all-around good cheer.”
The Pikus Senior Enrichment Programs hardly start and stop with luncheons and parties. Volunteers Coordinator Naomi Shapiro noted that “eligible seniors can benefit from assistance with prescription and utility bills, free transportation to and from medical appointments, cleaning services, and the companionship of volunteers.”
The volunteers, she continued, “are happy to visit with them in their homes, accompany them to stores, doctors’ offices, or on a neighborhood stroll, and speak with them on the phone, whether they need help getting information and services or are just feeling lonely and want to talk. And we feature many services specifically geared to Holocaust survivors.”
Seniors historically have held a place of esteem, even reverence, in Jewish society, valued for their wisdom and experience. “That’s why my colleagues and I, and the many volunteers who help make it all work, receive such a sense of satisfaction and reward from what we do,” said Naomi.
That dedication is shared by caseworkers Malkie Eizak and Shoshana Carmen, whose interaction with seniors takes up a good part of their workday. “It’s a good feeling when you know you’re making a difference in people’s lives,” said Malkie. “There’s a lot involved in taking care of all the details involved when you’re trying to help a large group of people who really come to depend on the services we provide. But the smiles we see and the grateful calls, letters, and cards we receive validate the importance of our work.”
For Shoshana, fulfillment comes from “giving seniors something to look forward to, providing a sense of involvement, and letting them know we care about them. Loneliness is a fact of life for so many seniors, and much of what we do is meant to alleviate that.”
Naomi said that every COJO Flatbush art party and special luncheon confirms to her just how important it is for seniors to have somewhere to go and something constructive to do. “We recently had a picture-frame painting party, and the participants were so intensely focused, lavishly praising or gently critiquing one another’s choice of colors and designs. It gives them a break from their usual daily routine as well as the opportunity to express their creativity. Their spirits are genuinely uplifted.”
The same uplifted spirits are in evidence during COJO’s luncheon events, said Naomi, and reach even greater heights at the Chanukah and pre-Purim luncheons when Rabbi Avi Pearl brings 6thgrade students from Yeshiva Torah Temimah to sing and dance – and walk around in groups of two or three to talk with the seniors.
Rabbi Pearl described the children as “living testimony to the seniors, particularly Holocaust survivors, that despite Hitler’s best efforts, the Jewish people are alive and well, and our future, as personified in these young students, is a vibrant one.” In turn, he added, the children “experience the difference they can make in the lives of others and in their own lives by performing acts of chesed, of loving-kindness.”
For CEO Welz, senior services are a reflection of COJO’s mission – indeed, its very reason for being: helping others. “At COJO Flatbush,” he said, “our catchphrase is ‘Help Starts Here.’ That’s not just a nice slogan – it’s the unambiguous reality.”
For more information about COJO Flatbush’s senior services, call 718-377-2900 (ext. 7633).