Saying Thank You!

As we draw nearer to the completion of our successful Capital Campaign, the Board and Capital Campaign Steering Committee began the process to determine how to recognize the contributors to the campaign.  Every gift has made a difference in the lives of the residents of the Apostles Center for Care and Gelhard House and we are thankful for each of them.  A special recognition display has been created to recognize the major contributors to the campaign.  Featuring panels of crystal, the names of the givers will be etched into the crystal and lit using special LED lights placed in the decorative bases supporting the crystal.  The recognition wall will be located near the dining room entrances to Fickes House and Gelhard House.  All gifts in excess of $3,000 will be recognized on the display.  A representation of the display can be seen below:

It Is Not Too Late!

It is not too late to contribute to the "Leading the Way in Comfort and Care Campaign."  We will be accepting contributions to the campaign for years to come, but new panels cannot be added until all the spaces have been occupied.  If you would like your name displayed on the initial display, then please make your contribution by the end of July, 2012.  

The capital campaign allowed us to create the new households and this display will allow us to honor those who made the dream a reality.

Outreach Programs Become Way of Life

Helping others has become an important part of the Homestead Village mission:

Enhancing independence and dignity as together we create a compassionate community.  

A vital part of building community is helping those around us in need.  Several years ago, an environmental services staff member suggested that Homestead Village residents and staff spend a year assisting the Water Street Rescue Mission.  That program was very successful, blessing both those in need as well as the givers.  Every year our residents and staff fill several mitten trees, and for the past several years, many staff members have contributed to a needy family at Christmas time rather than exchanging gifts.

Homestead Residents sponsor Mother's Day
Jewelry gift opportunity for Schreiber Pediatric Children

This past year our residents contributed money and supplies to Hempfield School District to assist needy school children; and for Mother's Day, contributed and distributed gifts of jewelery for Schreiber children to give their mothers and grandmothers.

The Homestead Village Resident Council has recently created a task force to oversee its outreach activities, making outreach as important as the many internal committees such as the Library Committee, Activities Committee and Safety Committee.  Integrating outreach into the fabric of daily life at Homestead Village is a great step toward making Homestead Village an even better community in which to live and to work.

What is next?  Residents and staff are excited to identify and assist other organizations that make a difference in Lancaster County.  Watch closely for our next outreach opportunity in the very near future!  

Tulips, Transportation and Memories

It has been a wonderful spring at Homestead Village.  The beautiful weather and the flurry of activities has made it memorable in many ways.  The photographs above capture some of that spring magic as well as the benefits of living at Homestead.

Spring came early in 2012 and it has blessed us with many weeks of sunny skies, warm temperatures, flowering trees vibrant spring gardens.  The Homestead Village main entrance and flag circle have never looked better, awash in a large expanse of brightly colored tulips.  All around the campus, flowering trees provide spectacular vistas.  We will be sorry to see the last vestiges of this spring season.

In addition to the beautiful grounds, a walk out our front door usually involves an encounter with one of the  many unique vehicles from the Homestead Village motor pool.  Our fleet of white GMC pick-up trucks are a common sight around the campus.  The big Chevrolet Diesel Bus still looks as striking as the day it joined our fleet over three years ago.  The Transit Connect darts all around the campus and around Lancaster proudly advertising the benefits of Homestead Village as it ferries wheelchair bound and ambulatory residents to appointments.  The Lincoln Town Car is our most stately and elegant vehicle and it has been serving our residents for nearly nine years.  It still looks brand new.

In the midst of the beauty of the spring season, we said farewell to many Homestead Village friends and neighbors this past winter and spring.  Their hard work, dedication and impact on Homestead Village, Church of the Apostles and even Lancaster County was outstanding.  Many of our lives were brightened and made better by their efforts and their presence.  We will miss them; but we will not forget!

Truth in Marketing: Enhanced Senior Living at Homestead Village

It is more than just a tag line or a marketing slogan.  Enhanced senior living is the perfect description for life at Homestead Village.  In every area, we excel in enhancing the lives of those who have chosen to make Homestead Village their home!

Enhanced Care

Perhaps the most important reason a person chooses a senior living community is the availability of future care.  Homestead Village has spent ten years developing the most comprehensive aging in place program available.  With both Supportive Services and Homecare Services, Homestead residents are able to age in place wherever they live.  Homecare allows cottage and villa residents to stay in their homes longer.  For a more comprehensive solution to aging in place, our Supportive Services program offers a cost effective 24 hours a day.  When a resident requires more comprehensive care, the households at Homestead Village offer the most homelike memory support and nursing care available.

Fickes House Dining Room and Kitchen

Enhanced Location

No other retirement community is tucked into the beautiful neighborhoods of western Lancaster and just minutes from Lancaster’s hospitals, the Fulton Opera House, Central Market and downtown shopping.  Looking up and down Good Drive, the largest, most comprehensive collection of medical offices in Lancaster is anchored by Lancaster General's Health Campus.  Good Drive is also the home of Stauffers of Kissel Hill's flagship store and leads to great shopping at Park City Mall.  Homestead Village is also located between Franklin & Marshall and Millersville University and just minutes from Route 30.  There is no better location.

Enhanced Dining

Homestead Village's dining program continues to improve its quality, freshness and selection.  With great chefs like Eloy Jaimes and Ross Keene, the food is outstanding.  Residents enjoy a wonderful Sunday Brunch and many fresh, cooked to order options throughout the week.  Our chefs enjoy moving out into the dining room to put their talents on display nearly every week.  CURA's gold standards are a promise that Homestead Village's meals will be healthy, fresh and tasty.

Enhanced Life Enrichment

One of many summer picnics featuring great food,
entertainment and fun for all!

Adventures in Life is our outstanding life enrichment program.  Homestead residents have so many great choices - educational, entertainment, social, travel, and dining.  The list goes on and on.  What used to be known as activities is a highlight of life at Homestead Village.  One look through the monthly Adventures in Life booklet will convince you that Homestead Village is the place for living an enriched life.

Enhanced Health

Do you like to swim?  Walk?  Play basketball?  Lift weights?  Practice Tai Chi?  Homestead Village has many healthy choices.  With our beautiful swimming pool and fitness club, as well as exercise programs such as Tai Chi, health is an important part of living at Homestead Village.  With Rader Park and its miles of walking trails, and outdoor sports opportunities, outdoor exercise is always available, too.

Enhanced Faith

Homestead Village's Rose Window

Founded by Church of the Apostles and forever an integral part of its ministry, Homestead Village's mission and its purpose is founded in the Christian tradition of caring and compassion.  Many Homestead Village residents have made COA their home church.  Right across the street, Faith Baptist Church offers another faith tradition and just down the street St. Leo the Great serves our Catholic residents.  Degel Israel Congregation is only minutes away on Columbia Avenue.  Many other faith opportunities exist in the immediate area around Homestead Village.  Church services our held every Sunday in the Apostles Center for Care and devotions and Bible Studies appear regularly in our "Adventures in Life."

Enhanced Senior Living did not spring out of a marketing idea that was then turned into a campaign.  In fact, Enhanced Independence and Dignity has been a core element of Homestead Village's mission statement for decades.  Our mission is:

"Enhancing independence and dignity as together we create a compassionate community."  It just made sense to feature enhanced senior living in our advertising because it clearly defines life in our community.  If one asks the question, "What does enhanced senior living look like?"  The answer is obvious.  It looks like Homestead Village!

Townstead Update!

We are nearly half way to our goal of 70% pre-reserved for Phase One of Townstead.  We have been listening to our customers and can now offer the following improvements to the already fantastic Townstead living experience.  Phase one now features two new apartment floor plans.  The Harriet Lane is a spectacular 1650 square foot residence with two balconies, a study, 21/2 baths and beautiful finishes.  The George Ross is a spacious one bedroom deluxe apartment.

The Harriet Lane, 1650 square feet, 2 Bedroom, 21/2 bath

In addition to new floor plans, the big news is smaller meal plans.  The new standard Townstead Meal Plan mirrors our cottage and villa meals plans, currently just $67 per person per month.  The Homestead Village dining department offers fresh, delicious, healthy meals throughout the day, everyday.  Contact Susan Doyle or Nettie Cimadamore in the Homestead Village marketing department for more details.  Remember Phase One depositors receive a free granite counter upgrade!  Come see why Townstead is your best senior living choice.

Scams Come in Many Flavors. Some Might Really Appeal to You!

Some of the political solicitations for money that one
Homestead resident received so far in 2012

Phone calls, e-mails and letters in the mail.  All three bring needed information, greetings from friends and family and requests for money.  Recently a Homestead Village resident asked me to review her mail because there were so many requests for money.  In the stack of official looking documents were many, many requests for donations from organizations that appear to be reputable but all wanted the same thing – hundreds of dollars to help “them” protect “us” from the evil politicians on the other side.  This is not a Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative problem.  Whenever people have passionate feelings about a topic, entrepreneurs find a way to make money on it.

It is not just politics though; religious organizations, animal rights and environmental groups and nearly every other social issue attract questionable groups that solicit money allegedly for the cause.  What should you do?  Here are some suggested responses to the avalanche of requests for donations.

Just say NO to any organization that seeks you out for money.  The sad truth is that once you give money to a cause, that organization may sell your personal information, allowing a plethora of copycats to solicit you as well.  If you are passionate about a cause, you should seek out a reputable organization or two and give to them exclusively. 

Throw away, delete or hang up on any request for money that you did not initiate.  These requests for money use passionate language and create a sense of urgency designed to cause you to write a check.  You must resist these sophisticated schemes.  Only give money to organizations that you have sought out and confirmed their integrity.  Any money sent to an unknown organization may end up in someone’s personal bank account and do nothing for the cause you are passionate about.

In other words, check writer beware!

Property Tax Article in the Lancaster Sunday News Fairly Portrayed the Story

Mews Boulevard

Property tax is a very passionate subject in today's society.  It is the principal source of revenue for most school districts and local municipalities and the tax rate varies significantly from district to district.  By law, charitable non-profit organizations in Pennsylvania are not required to pay property tax, yet most non-profit retirement communities do pay taxes or make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs).  In Lancaster County, the non-profit retirement communities pay over $10,000,000 in property taxes a year.  In Hempfield School District the three largest tax payers are  non-profit, health care and retirement organizations - paying far more in property taxes than the many large industrial neighbors in the district.


Homestead Village has paid many millions of dollars in property taxes over the past decade.  As an organization, we believe it is our civic duty to pay our share of the cost of providing quality education and services to the community. It is important to note that we maintain all private streets and infrastructure.  From paving to snow removal to lighting to sidewalks, Homestead Village is 100% responsible for our miles of roads We cost the township no money for maintenance.  When we built The Mews and expanded to the other side of Good Drive, we paid a significant portion of the cost of the creation of Noll Drive and we paid for nearly half of the cost of the traffic light at Noll and Good Drives.  it goes without saying that Homestead Village's neighborhoods do not contribute any students nor place any financial burden on Hempfield School District.

Our property tax for last year was approximately $650,000 representing one of our largest budgeted expenses.  In 2010, we refinanced our long term debt.  As part of that process, the financial institution required an appraisal on The Mews property.  To our surprise, the appraised value was 50% of the assessed value.  That discovery prompted our leadership to hire an independent consultant to analyze our property taxes.  His determination was that Homestead Village's property taxes should be reduced 30%.  It is important to point out that the consultant we contracted  with was recommended by another retirement community.  In that case, the same consultant determined that community was paying the appropriate amount of taxes.  Thus we believe our consultant is very conservative in his determination.

Lastly, it is important to note that Homestead Village is committed to paying our fair share of the property tax burden