Posts

The hills are alive: Homeland residents celebrate “Sound of Music” anniversary

/in /
test

Miniatures of bright copper kettles, white dresses with blue satin, warm woolen mittens, and wild geese flying with the moon on their wings hung from the chandeliers of Homeland’s Main Dining Room.

Edelweiss and Austrian flag centerpieces decorated the tables. Brown paper packages tied with string were stacked by the piano.

It wasn’t hard to guess the theme of the Board of Managers’ annual spring party.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the premiere of “The Sound of Music,” the Board of Managers turned the dining room into an Austrian dreamland of goatherd marionettes and mountain vistas.

The Board of Managers is the unique, all-women volunteer group devoted to maintaining Homeland’s renowned home-like feel. They lead redecorating projects, deck the halls for the holidays, support upkeep and maintenance, and host quarterly parties that residents eagerly anticipate.

The parties are always themed and festive. Past events have celebrated sock hops of the 1950s and brought casino nights directly to residents.

The “Sound of Music” party idea seemed like a natural fit, full of music, food, thematic décor, and memories. Crisp apple strudels and pretzels were on the menu, plus lemonade served in cups festooned with musical notes. Child-sized Bavarian dresses hung on the walls. One staff member wore genuine lederhosen. Another dressed as a nun.

BOM member Joyce Thomas often spearheads the décor choices, using her knack for design and a basement full of props collected over years of organizing high school proms.

“We all remember ‘Sound of Music,’” she said. “It’s 60 years old. All these things bring it back.”

This afternoon, the windows, normally draped in drapes that the Board of Managers had installed for the dining room’s most recent redecoration, were hung with an exact replica of the green and white damask curtains that Maria turned into play clothes for the Von Trapp children.

Sarah Pugh, who played Maria von Trapp in Allenberry Playhouse’s 2024 production of “The Sound of Music,” provided the entertainment. Rehearsing for the Homeland appearance reminded her how much she loves the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein songs.

“This is my favorite musical,” Pugh said. “My dream role was Maria, and I was lucky enough to get cast in it and play in it.”

Between songs, Pugh shared interesting factoids about the difference between the movie and the stage musical – for instance, that the onstage Maria doesn’t sing “My Favorite Things” with the children but with the Mother Abbess.

Singing for the Homeland residents, Pugh added, “is an honor. It’s a pleasure.”

When she stepped up to sing, residents mouthed the words along with her, singing, “The hills are alive with the sound of music,” and “Do, a deer, a female deer.”

The theme’s popularity was evident in the standing-room-only crowd. Residents filled the seats, and staff members watched the fun from the doorway and hall.

Resident Margie Welby recalled that much of the movie was filmed on location in Austria.

“This is very nice,” she said of the party. “I loved Julie Andrews’ singing. I went to see it when the movie came out. I saw it in Europe because I lived in Germany.”

Margie’s tablemates included Steve and Sue Valoczki.

“I liked the Germanic part of it because it made me think of home,” said Steve, who immigrated to the U.S. from his birthplace in Germany at 5 years old. “The music is excellent. It’s a favorite.”

“We’re trying to figure out where Steve’s lederhosen is,” joked Sue.

As the son of a Hungarian soldier who rebelled against his conscription into the German army during World War II, Steve recognized that “The Sound of Music” has a dark side — one that the spirit of the von Trapps vanquishes in the end.

“It’s not a happy story,” he said.

“Back then, it was a matter of survival,” said Sue.

The party, she added, was a lovely effort by the Board of Managers.

“They did a fantastic job,” she said. “I love the curtains. Somebody really put it all together.”

A “Souper Bowl” of a cookoff delights residents with comfort-food favorites

/in /
test

And the winner is . . . the mushroom soup!

“Five kinds of mushrooms, a gallon of roasted garlic puree, a gallon of caramelized onion puree, sherry, white wine, black truffle oil, and heavy cream,” said Homeland Assistant Director of Dietary Services John Scunziano, rattling off the recipe for the soup he originally created for a steakhouse. “I used black truffle, which is very subtle. White truffle is very strong.”

Homeland’s first soup cookoff was held on a chilly and rainy day, perfect for everyone’s favorite comfort food. Inside, the Homeland Main Dining Room was warm and scented with the enticing aromas of soups simmering in a line of crockpots.

The Homeland Activities Department, always looking for novel experiences for residents to enjoy, proposed the soup cookoff. Nine Homeland staffers pitched in with rich broth- or cream-based concoctions made from cherished recipes.

Representing the traditional soups were the tomato, vegetable, chicken and wild rice, chili, and beef stew. Non-traditional got to shine, too — roasted garlic cream of mushroom with black truffle oil, smoked chicken sausage tortellini with kale, chili, beef stew, and lasagna soup.

Each soup was served in mini portions, and the cook’s name was unknown, so the name of the chef wouldn’t sway voters. At the table of residents tapped to be the judges, Carl Barna, an experienced cook, and Homeland’s resident gardener, said he likes broth-based soups.

“You have to start with a good broth,” he said. “If it’s got a good broth, then it’s good to me. If you have a good broth, you can throw in anything, and it’ll be good.”

He added that the chicken noodle soup he used to make was flavorful with dark meat “and gizzards and hearts and things.”

Another judge, Joe Pulaski, said he was having difficulty deciding.

“They are delicious,” he said. “I’m pretty much a ‘whatever is in front of me’ kind of guy.”

When he was a child, his mother always made vegetable soup and potato soup.

“She always did a pretty good job cooking,” he said. “She had three boys and my big dad, so she had to be a good cook.”

Resident Bonnie Waddell, another judge, was lining up her soups according to her preferences. After tasting six soups, she had the vegetable in first place, but there were three more to taste. She had never heard of lasagna soup or truffle oil, but she was happy to give them a taste.

“I find it interesting because I’m a fan of cooking,” she said. “I’m a believer in seasonings. My mother taught me that. She was a good cook.”

Waddell honed her culinary style by working in homes, cooking, and caring for children.

“I learned what they liked, and from there, it was what I liked,” she said. “I can tell you if something is going to be good or not by the way it’s brought to me. If I have to season it, you can forget it.”

Sandra Ware, a housekeeper in Homeland’s personal care, made the popular vegetable soup.

“It’s something my auntie used to fix for us, with corn, stewed tomatoes, okra, and a little seasoning,” she said.

Activities Coordinator Diomaris Pumarol also contributed an aunt’s soup – the Dominican chicken soup traditionally served when her family gathered to mourn the loss of a loved one.

“Instead of going to a restaurant, we would go to a home, and she would make that for everybody,” she said. “That’s why it’s a comfort food. We related with being together and sharing the tradition.”

Finally, Assistant Director of Activities Emma Lengyel announced the winners, the top five of whom won kitchen goods and soup bowls. Three soups tied for third place – the chicken tortellini, vegetable, and tomato. Second place, lasagna soup. And first place, that delectable, creamy mushroom soup.

Resident Mike Ennis was thrilled to learn that non-judge attendees didn’t have to cast votes or rank the soups.

“I felt a responsibility to taste them all because so much effort went into making these,” he said. “And then I realized that the judges will pick the winners so that I can enjoy them. It took all the pressure off. I could just enjoy it for the flavor of one until the next one came. They were all so well done. They were all so flavorful.”

Art from the Heart: Celebrating Homeland Hospice’s 15th Anniversary

/in /
test

When members of the Homeland community were invited to decorate canvas hearts to celebrate Homeland Hospice’s 15th anniversary, many chose to depict hands. 

“What comes out of our hands exudes from our hearts,” said Homeland Center Director of Nursing Jennifer Tate-DeFreitas. “These are the hands that care for you.” 

Homeland Hospice collected 52 decorated hearts from generous sponsors. All were displayed at the anniversary celebration themed “History, Heart & Honor.” The hearts were decorated by selected artists and crafters. 

Appropriately for February, 15 of the hearts are on display in Homeland Center’s Florida Room art gallery for residents, staff, and visitors to enjoy. Another 15 will be displayed in March. 

The idea was a spinoff from Homeland Hospice’s 10th-anniversary “Guitars, Gifts, and Gratitude” celebration when sponsors supported the decoration of wood guitar forms. For the 15th anniversary, hearts were chosen for their universal feel – accessible and relatable enough for anyone to participate. Sponsors ranged from Homeland staff teams and board members to donors and friends of Homeland, including Homeland Center’s new neighbor, the Catherine Hershey Schools for Learning Harrisburg.  

Tate-DeFreitas decorated two hearts on behalf of Homeland Center’s skilled care team. She said that for people in the last phases of life, Homeland Center staff members share a commitment to heartfelt care with Homeland Hospice.  

“Your effect on that portion of their life can be very impactful, so you have to make sure that it’s meaningful and uplifting and quality, and that you respect dignity because all of those are important,” she said.  

Homeland at Home team members also contributed their funds and talents for hearts to join the gallery. Homeland HomeCare Assistant Director Bobbie Jo Weigel corralled her staff of CNAs to put their handprints on a heart under the phrase, “May your hands be an extension of your heart, and may you do the work of love with them.” 

The artwork aligns with the work of the HomeCare aides because “we go into people’s houses with our hearts and our hands,” said Weigel. “We provide hands-on care, and most of our clients are dear to us in our hearts.” 

The HomeCare aides who help their patients with daily tasks, such as light housekeeping and administering medications, found it easy to support Homeland Hospice because “with Homeland, we feel like we’re one big family,” Weigel said. “We all help each other out.”  

Homeland Hospice weekend on-call nurse Erin Zinobile appreciates the teamwork and “great crew” of her workplace, as well as the environment where she can get help and answers from a colleague at any time. 

“A lot of us say that it’s not easy by any means to be a hospice nurse, but I really do feel like you can put your heart into it and make a difference,” she said. 

Even amid their busy and consequential workdays, the Homeland Hospice nurses joined forces to sponsor a heart. Zinobile was the natural person to tap for decorating it, for her artistic and quilting abilities. As a working mom in a stressful job, art is the therapy that helps her care for herself and keep her own heart healthy, she said. Her Homeland Hospice heart, in mixed media, depicts words the nursing staff chose – care, faith, presence, comfort, compassion, grace, and love. 

“This was to represent all the nurses, and the idea was to put in words what we do,” she said. 

Joining the “History, Heart & Honor” celebration reminded nurses that “we’re part of something bigger than ourselves,” Zinobile added. “You get to see your footprint in the world.”  

Tate-DeFreitas also noticed a heart that the Homeland HomeHealth team encircled with a stethoscope.  

“That’s what we drape over our necks, and that lays over our hearts,” she said. “That’s the instrument we use to listen to your heart.” 

Staff members chipped in with their own funds in each Homeland department that sponsored a heart. 

What does it mean to Homeland staff to share their own treasure and talents to support and advance the work of Homeland Hospice?  

“That says to me that we are one, even though we’re many parts,” said Tate De-Freitas. “We’re still one.” 

View the full gallery of decorated hearts here: https://www.homelandevents.org/15th-anniversary-heart-photos/

Homeland Partner Securewire Technologies Serves as 2024 Trilogy of Trust Sponsor

/in /
test

securewire technologies is a trilogy of trust sponsorAn anniversary is more than commemorating the passage of time. It is a celebration of the people and relationships that have made each year special. As Homeland Hospice celebrated its 15th anniversary with its “History, Heart & Honor… Hats off to the Homeland Hospice 15th” event on Saturday, November 23, we honored and thanked Securewire Technologies for serving as Homeland’s 2024 Trilogy of Trust sponsor.

As Homeland’s 2024 Trilogy of Trust sponsor, Securewire Technologies supported Homeland’s three signature events throughout the year. In addition to Homeland Hospice’s 15th anniversary event, Securewire Technologies also sponsored Homeland’s 1867 Society Appreciation Reception in May and the 2024 Homeland Hospice 5K in September.

These events would not have been possible without the generosity and support of Securewire Technologies. Not only do the events help connect the community to the meaningful work of Homeland, but they also raise much needed funds to support Homeland Center’s benevolent care program. Homeland provides approximately $4 million in benevolent care annually to ensure all residents, patients and clients receive high-quality, supportive care when they need it most.

Homeland’s relationship with Securewire Technologies started last fall when Kelly English, Homeland’s Director of Emergency Preparedness and Purchasing, connected with Bob Light, owner of Securewire Technologies. Securewire Technologies was selected to upgrade Homeland’s security systems. The partnership grew beyond a business transaction as both organizations found a shared mission in providing the best care possible for families in need.

“Giving back to others is a priority for Bob,” Kelly says. “Securewire has truly gone above and beyond to support Homeland.”

Bob was eager to say “yes” to the opportunity to support Homeland’s three signature events in 2024. As the Trilogy of Trust sponsor, Securewire Technologies donated $35,000 for Homeland’s events.

“In many ways, our organizations are kindred spirits,” Bob says. “We both care for families during difficult times.”

In addition to the meaningful donation of funds, Bob and several Securewire Technologies employees have attended Homeland events, including Homeland’s Annual 5K and Memory Walk. Both organizations treat customers like family and strive to provide outstanding, compassionate service.

Thanks to Bob and Securewire, Homeland’s event season has provided remarkable opportunities for families and the community to better understand the work of Homeland and the hospice philosophy.

“We are humbled and honored to be part of Homeland’s work,” Bob adds. “Helping one another is how we make our community a better place to live.”

For more information about Homeland’s events, visit www.homelandcenter.org and homelandathome.org.

Homeland Hospice to Celebrate Its 15th Anniversary with “History, Heart & Honor” Event

/in /
test

history heart and honor event logoAnniversaries remind us of meaningful moments in time that shaped our history and guided our future. Fifteen years ago, Homeland launched Homeland Hospice as an outreach program to provide compassionate care to patients on their end-of-life journey. The years have been filled with an overarching theme of love. Hundreds of patients, families, volunteers and staff have shared their hearts with us making Homeland Hospice more than an organization. We are a family.

Homeland Hospice will celebrate its 15th anniversary with “History, Heart & Honor… Hats off to the Homeland 15th,” a special celebration on Saturday, November 23, from 2-5 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Harrisburg.  The event will honor Homeland’s history, the history of the hospice movement, our hospice patients and staff – and particularly our beloved veterans who continue to inspire us with their dedication and sacrifice.

On this special anniversary, we will “tip our hats to all veterans,” and celebrate their dedicated contributions to our community. To show our appreciation, Homeland is pleased to provide 300 complimentary tickets to veterans.

three heart decals - orange, yellow, and purplePlanning for this event began more than a year ago with longtime volunteers, like Alicelyn Sleber, who are lending their creativity and love of Homeland to create an experience for all attendees. Alicelyn is the immediate past chair of Homeland Center’s Board of Managers.

“We are bringing the spirit of love, commitment and patriotism to the day,” Alicelyn says.  “This will be a celebration like no other.”

The event will include a pre-show reception where guests will have the opportunity to browse a “Stories of the Heart” gallery featuring heart canvases artistically crafted by Homeland’s grief families to express their love and remembrance and by sponsoring groups and individuals. The gallery will also feature stories of Veterans Homeland has been privileged to serve and stories of Homeland Hospice team members who share their passion for providing exceptional end-of-life care.

In true Homeland style, we will let our hearts sing and our spirits soar during special performances. Decorated Veteran-turned-country singer Keni Thomas will headline the celebration. Thomas will share life lessons from when he served as a U.S. Army Ranger in the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia, which was recounted in the book and film Black Hawk Down, and perform his own music featuring themes of patriotism and perseverance in the face of life’s challenges.Roy Justice, singing historian

“Keni’s music is heartfelt and patriotic,” Alicelyn adds. “I think we will all be inspired by his performance and message of perseverance.”

Keni will also host a book signing at the event, and copies of his book Get It On! What It Means to Lead the Way will be available for purchase.

Roy Justice, a singing historian, will open for Keni. Roy will perform a folk-style song about Homeland’s history written especially for this occasion. Roy’s interest in music and storytelling comes from his own historical ancestry. He is a distant cousin to the Civil War poet and musician Sydney Lanier.

The service and sacrifice of veterans is deeply rooted in Homeland’s history. Homeland was founded in 1867 as the “Home for the Friendless” to serve families impacted by the devastation of the Civil War. Today, Homeland Center is a personal care home, memory care home, skilled nursing facility and rehabilitation facility. Homeland also provides hospice, home care, home health and palliative care services to serve the diverse and changing needs of families throughout central Pennsylvania.

All are welcome to attend this family-friendly event. Patriot’s Pub & Grub will be on site offering a selection of snacks for guests to purchase and a cash bar. In honor of the event’s theme, guests are encouraged to wear their favorite hat and best denim. We hope you join us as we celebrate Homeland Hospice’s 15th anniversary and the remarkable service of our local veterans.

“It is an honor to be part Homeland’s work,” Alicelyn adds. “Our community is a better place because of Homeland Hospice.”

For tickets and information, visit the Homeland Events page.

Homeland 5K and Memory Walk: A Time to Remember and Honor Loved Ones

/in /
test
12345678

Anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one knows the journey through grief doesn’t have a timeline. Memories can flood our minds at inopportune moments at the grocery store or at milestone events when there is an empty seat at the table where our loved one used to sit. Homeland Hospice held its 10th Annual 5K and Memory Walk on September 14 to provide a safe and supportive space for families to honor a lost loved one.

More than 300 runners, walkers, staff members and volunteers gathered for this special Homeland tradition. Runners and walkers wore purple event t-shirts with the names of loved ones remembered. Many participants walked in groups with their furry family members in tow wearing colorful bandanas provided by Homeland. Among the purple sea of participants was Kathy Page and her friend Kim Sowers. This was Kathy’s sixth year walking in honor of her husband Charlie who received hospice services before his death in 2019.

“I support the event every year,” Cathy says. “I am proud to see Charlie’s name on the t-shirt.”

When Kim’s mother, Gail, needed support services, Cathy recommended Homeland based on the compassionate care Charlie received. Kim’s mother has passed away, making this Kim’s first walk.

For others, the event was about supporting Homeland’s mission and connecting with friends and colleagues. Hannah Dudginski of Enola works for Homeland but rarely gets to connect with her coworkers. She brought along her sisters Madeline and Sarah.

“It is great to see everyone,” Hannah says. “We love supporting this event.”

A unique aspect of the event includes interactive stations to help families process their grief. Alexis Conkle, MSW, a Homeland Bereavement Counselor, helped create the activities at each station. The first station focused on gratitude and release. Participants could write personal messages to their loved ones on a special piece of paper which dissolved when placed in water.

“This station is emotional and personal for families,” Alexis says. “At the same time, it can provide relief for many people whose hearts are heavy because they have something to say to their loved one.”

At the second station, runners and walkers received small candles with an uplifting quote about the power of light during dark times of our lives.

Homeland’s beloved teddy bear, named Rosemary, also made a special appearance at the third station. Rosemary is a perennial herb that symbolizes love and remembrance and is often incorporated into special Homeland events.

Runners and walkers could have their photos taken with Rosemary who was in the driver’s seat of a car. Racers could also write the name of their loved one on a magnet and place it on the car.

Homeland Hospice provided a new station this year in honor of its 15th Anniversary, which will be celebrated with a special event on Saturday, November 23, 2024. “History, Heart & Honor” will include a display of handmade works of art in the shape of a heart. Participants at the race were encouraged to decorate a heart with adjectives about their loved one for the upcoming event.

As the walkers and racers completed the course, they enjoyed apples, bananas, granola bars and burritos over conversation and relaxation.

Funds raised benefit Homeland Hospice supportive services like massage, music therapy and additional in-home relief hours as well as residents of Homeland Center whose financial resources have been exhausted. Homeland Hospice is a nonprofit hospice program that serves communities throughout Central Pennsylvania.

For more information about Homeland Hospice, call (717) 221-7890.

View Full Photo Gallery
Thank You to Our Sponsors!