L?Dor V?Dor table host Elaine Jacobs, left, serves program participant Anne Marks lunch before the entertainment begins.
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L?Dor V?Dor table host Elaine Jacobs, left, serves program participant Anne Marks lunch before the entertainment begins.
marlene karas/viewA group of L?Dor V?Dor seniors gathered in the Temple Beth Sholom sanctuary Feb. 19 to enjoy a dance performance by the Silver Belles.
photos by marlene karas/viewTop, seniors from Temple Beth Sholom?s L?Dor V?Dor lunch program enjoy a dance performance by the Silver Belles, Feb. 19. Right, Stanley Hoffman and Helen Goggin leave the temple to catch their van ride home.
photos by marlene karas/viewTop, seniors from Temple Beth Sholom?s L?Dor V?Dor lunch program enjoy a dance performance by the Silver Belles, Feb. 19. Right, Stanley Hoffman and Helen Goggin leave the temple to catch their van ride home.
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Temple Beth Sholom's L'Dor V'Dor program sent buses to retirement homes and private residences Feb. 19, whisking off senior citizens to a day of food and fun.
They were brought to the Summerlin temple at 10700 Havenwood Lane and treated to 45 minutes of local entertainment, a catered meal from Gustav Mauler's chefs and a chance to socialize. L'Dor V'Dor, an ongoing program, means generation to generation. The program is open to seniors of any faith.
"This is a wonderful organization with wonderful people," said Adele Kadans, 88.
Kadans lives in a retirement community in south Summerlin with her 13-year-old pomeranian, named Brandy. She said she ran a successful advertising business for 50 years and is now in a wheelchair. She gave up driving a car in 1995. Kadans occupies herself with reading, and she's thinking of writing a book.
The L'Dor V'Dor program operates every other month and costs roughly $8,000 to put on each time. The support comes from individual donors at the temple.
Also among participants was Libby Rosenauer, 77, who said she had to give up her car and move into an assisted living facility due to illness.
"I'd rather be in my own home," she said.
Rosenauer said she is a former schoolteacher and psychologist. She explained that she has been on her own for the past 26 years and was always independent. Now, her days are filled with writing, watching television and attending some of the activities at her assisted living facility.
"I used to be able to go any place I wanted, whenever I wanted," she said. "Not anymore."
Volunteers are a big part of the L'Dor V'Dor program, and each table in the banquet room had a table captain who was responsible for his or her circle of diners, including taking their walkers to a corral in the corner.
At the helm of the volunteer effort is Shel Kolner, a temple member and the director of the program. He estimated that 250 seniors were brought to the temple during the Feb. 19 program. About 20 of the participants were in wheelchairs full time and roughly 50 were homebound seniors -- living in their own homes, but without their own transportation to get out, Kolner said.
The logistics of putting on the event had a few harried moments, he said, but "after six years, we're getting pretty good at doing this."
He used a walkie-talkie to keep in contact with his volunteer team. One of those teams handled the logistics of transportation. Fifteen buses were hired to gather up the seniors and take them to the temple doorstep.
"Getting them off the buses, we know where they're going," said Priscilla Hodes, who is in charge of transportation. "But getting them back on is not so easy."
She explained that she had to ensure that each senior got on the proper bus.
"We couldn't do this without the volunteers," said Ruth Goldfarb, chairman and founder of the program.
Rosenauer attended a L'Dor V'Dor event last year and told others about it.
"When you're living alone, you don't see many people," she said.
The next L'Dor V'Dor program is slated for 10:30 a.m. on April 22.
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