franciscan ministries logo

Franciscan Ministries Introduces “Hope Rises” at University Place

As the world begins to recover from the pandemic and we reopen our senior living communities to visitors, we want to share with you our Hope Rises initiative.

Hope Rises shares inspirational stories from Franciscan Communities’ employees, residents and family members in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, the country seems to be held hostage by fear, confusion and uncertainty. Combine that with the contradicting opinions between the government and healthcare officials, quarantine restrictions, and reports of uncertainty from the general population, and you have what has become a perfect storm.

Franciscan Ministries sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago, has developed an initiative, inspired by our philosophy of Living Joyfully, called “Hope Rises”. Hope Rises will chronicle the quiet, untold stories of the healthcare workers and residents from our senior living communities. As stated by Judy Amiano, President and Chief Executive Officer “The purpose of Hope Rises will help bring awareness to the positive and inspirational stories from our senior living communities. It’s meant to celebrate the resilience and spirit of the human condition, where kindness, good works and compassion are what truly matters to overcome any obstacle.”

Visit Franciscan Ministries Hope Rises for all of the Ministries stories.

Here are some of our stories:


Easter:
easterThe Easter Bunnies were very busy this year at University Place. They colored over 400 Eggs! Then while the eggs dried, the Bunnies secretly made around 200 Easter baskets filled with candy and cookies. The next morning the colored eggs were added to the basket right before delivery to all the residents. Thank you to Amy Allen and Sue Martin for all the Egg Hopping times. We had lots of compliments from residents about how much they appreciated the Easter Baskets.

 

 

Mother’s Day:
mia smith holding mothers day cardsA big thank you to Joe and Amy from our Life Enrichment Team for making Mother’s Day so special for all of our residents. They took the time to visit and pass out special candy gifts to each female resident throughout the community.

Pastor Mia Smith and Mandy Altman worked very hard on a Special Project for Mother’s Day. Mandy sent out E-mails to residents’ family’s, asking them to make a short video for their beloved family member. Then Pastor Smith worked countless hours on editing and formatting the videos. All in all, there were nearly 100 families that participated. Thank you to Mia and Mandy for all your dedication in making sure a great Mother’s Day was had by all.

 

 

 

A Donation of Live Flowers:
flowersPay Less Supermarket worked with the Life Enrichment Team on a donation of live flowers.

The staff of the Pay Less Floral Department contacts the community, whenever they are getting ready to dispose of flower bouquets that are nearing their sell by date. University Park picks up the tubs of flowers and brings them back to community.

The Life Enrichment staff enlists the help of fellow residents in Health Care and Assisted Living to help refresh the flowers by trimming down the stems and pulling off the wilted leaves and petals.

Residents help make the new arrangements and Life Enrichment staff distribute them throughout the community. At times there are so many flowers donated that they are put into the lobby for everyone’s enjoyment. Thank you Pay Less!

Memorial Day:
militaryThis year, Memorial Day at University Place was different due to the COVID-19 precautions. Amy Allen, part of the Life Enrichment staff set up a special Memorial Day Display in the main lobby, which included a military uniform.

The military uniform was brought in by Sergeant Ryan Monk. Ryan is a line cook in dining services.

Ryan joined the Army in 2000. He spent 10 years with the US Army Infantry with his first combat tour in 2001 with 5th special forces and the second in 2002 with the 101st Airborne. He received an Air Assault Qualified Infantry badge, Combat Badge from the 5th Special Forces Group and 101st Airborne. He is also a certified Javelin Gunner (shoulder fired anti -tank weapon).

Thank you Ryan for sharing your Military uniform with us here at University Place.

 

Check back later for updates! For more information about Franciscan Ministries, call +1-331-318-5200.