By Carol Wilson, 
Rebecca Axelrod-Cooper, 
and Chelsea Karp
JFS Staff

The holidays are an especially good time to get together with friends in the community. Knowing we have older adults who have much to offer, but have limited opportunities to socialize, JFS invited nine women to share Chanukah with us.

The invitations were mailed, the menu was set, and the room decorated to celebrate the festival of lights. The inaugural Ladies Day Out get together took place on Dec. 13, 2017 at Jewish Family Service. In a show of community partnerships, JFS was able to coordinate with the Jewish Day School, which provided a delicious kosher luncheon complete with latkes, applesauce and sufganiyot. Transportation was not a barrier as we coordinated rides through our partnership with ShareCare Faith in Action. In the spirit of memories of Chanukah, Jewish Family Service sent each guest home with traditional Chanukah gelt.

One does not lose the ability to make friends as one ages; however, the opportunities become more limited. These women appreciated the chance to talk about what they have in common, what they want to be involved in moving forward, and just enjoy the day. The role of JFS is to strengthen the fabric of our community by making connections with people of all ages and stages of life. We hope Ladies Day Out continues, grows and leads to more relevant programming for the older adults in our community.