Here are 4 Easy Ways to Build Stronger
Connections with our Communities
Let’s celebrate! May is Older Americans Month.
In tough times, communities find strength in people—and people find strength in their communities. This past year, we’ve seen this time and again at The Residences at the Essex in Essex, VT, as friends, neighbors, and staff have found new ways to support each other.
In our community, our residents are a key source of this strength. Through their experiences, successes, and difficulties, they have built resilience that helps them to face new challenges. When communities tap into this, they become stronger too.
Each May, the Administration for Community Living leads the celebration of Older Americans Month (OAM). This year’s theme is Communities of Strength, recognizing the important role older adults play in fostering the connection and engagement that build strong, resilient communities.
Building Communities of Strength in Vermont
Strength is built and shown not only by bold acts, but also small ones of day-to-day life—a conversation shared with a friend, working in the garden, trying a new recipe, or taking time for a cup of tea on a busy day. And when we share these activities with others—even virtually or by telling about the experience later—we help them build resilience too.
This year, The Residences at the Essex will celebrate OAM by encouraging community members to share their experiences. Together, we can find strength—and create a stronger future.
Each month we have a Calendar of Events with activities for our residents to participate in. Whatever your interests are, we have something for everyone. We offer crafting, movement and exercise time, book club, game tournaments, BBQs, happy hours, French class, and much more! Check out our calendar here! Don’t see anything you enjoy doing? Tell our amazing staff and we will get it on the calendar!
Also, don’t forget a membership to The Essex Resort and Spa is included with each unit we offer. What better way to connect with yourself than getting a massage or relaxing in the hot tub?! Or connect with your friends by doing activities together like swimming in the indoor and outdoor pools or playing tennis!
Here are some great ways to share and connect with your community:
- Look for joy in the everyday: Celebrate small moments and ordinary pleasures by taking time to recognize them. Start a gratitude journal and share it with others via social media, or call a friend or family member to share a happy moment or to say thank you.
- Reach out to neighbors: Even if you can’t get together in person right now, you can still connect with your neighbors. Leave a small gift on their doorstep, offer to help with outdoor chores, or deliver a home-cooked meal.
- Build new skills: Learning something new allows us to practice overcoming challenges. Take an art course online or try a socially distanced outdoor movement class to enjoy learning with others in your community. Have a skill to share? Find an opportunity to teach someone, even casually.
- Share your story: There’s a reason storytelling is a time-honored activity. Hearing how others experience the world helps us grow. Interviewing family, friends, and neighbors can open up new conversations and strengthen our connections. There is a great site we came across called Storyworth.com where you can answer pre-written questions about your life every week for a year and at the end, it gets compiled into a lovely keepsake book. It is very fun and you can learn a lot about someone’s past who you love.
When people of different ages, backgrounds, abilities, and talents share experiences—through action, story, or service—we help build strong communities. And that’s something to celebrate! Please join The Residences at the Essex in strengthening our community – post a photo on our Facebook page of you doing something you love, a video of you telling a story, a quick “how-to” video about something you are good at or write us a message or story! We would love to hear from you and enjoy seeing what others are doing out in the community.
Give us a call soon at 802-861-1131 to take advantage of our special Spring pricing! Units are going quickly and we would love to see you move in!
Sarah Hergenrother
802-861-1131
