Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day

Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day

Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day.
Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day. Courtesy of Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

Calendar models are always a staple of the New Year, smiling from the pages to greet us in the morning. For many professional models, selection to be one is something of a dream come true, a career apex they put in years of hard work to achieve.

But as any calendar model will tell you, they can come in many, many shapes, sizes, and walks of life.

Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day.
Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day. Courtesy of Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

Nowhere is this more true than the latest calendar from Gurwin Jewish Residences Calendar, which has become an annual tradition. Gurwin is a leader in specialized care for the senior community of Long Island.

This year, their theme is “L’dor v’dor From Generations to Generations,” which offers advice and words of wisdom from 14 distinguished members of the Gurwin living community in Long Island.

Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day.
Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day. Courtesy of Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

To commemorate the calendar’s release, the community held a classic celebrity-style event for the new models, complete with a red carpet entrance, and autograph session, and even a documentary viewing about the shooting process.

“The calendar event is the highlight of the year for staff, resident and their families,” says Stuart B. Almer, President and CEO of the Gurwin Healthcare System.

Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day.
Gloria and Grace on the red carpet. Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day. Courtesy of Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

“Our community is home to members of the Greatest Generations whose rich and sometimes difficult life experiences formed true character and resiliency. The calendar is an opportunity for us to preserve their stories and heed the invaluable advice that is etched on each months of its beautiful pages.”

Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day.
Fortunee and Ed red carpet. Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day. Courtesy of Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

The stories they have to share are truly inspiring. For example, William “Bill” Bomzer, is a Vietnam Veteran who survived not only narrowly avoided death in an Army plane, but also in the World Trade Center on two separate occasions.

Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day.
Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day. Courtesy of Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

“Be positive,” he said when asked what he would want to share with the younger generation. “Optimism gets you somewhere…I’ve done it every day of my life.”

Leona Rothfield is another example. Well known as one of the centenarians the Gurwin community, it is only natural that she be selected to be “Miss June.”

Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day.
Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day. Courtesy of Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

Being a calendar girl “is something I never expected!” she says. When asked what her secret is to a long and happy life, she says to “Be kind to everybody.”

Arguably the most harrowing story belongs to Ruth Meador and her husband Louis. Ruth is a Holocaust survivor and retired nurse, while Louis is a WWII veteran and retired teacher.

Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day.
Nursing home residents preserve their stories & get happiness boost by being calendar models for a day. Courtesy of Gurwin Jewish Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

“Enjoy every day,” they say. As you get older, you realize you must make the most of every day … enjoy your family. That’s what’s most important.”

The calendar is available to order for free from the Gurwin website.

For both the calendar models 2020 and the lucky few who get to read their stories, 2020 is going to be a bright, wonderful year.


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