Tai Chi is a low-impact, relaxing form of exercise for the body and mind.  Among many of the benefits, Tai Chi can aid in improving balance and stability.  Come check out the class on Fridays at 2:30!

We're on DAY 2 of Punch Your Way to Wellness! We have had a great turn out thus far! Looking forward to the rest of the 6 Week Challenge filled with classes, seminars, and much more!

Congratulations to our January Dow Deck winner! Ken G. claimed his Nook color today!

Work-out, attend a class or bring a friend for FREE from January 15 through February 25 and you will earn one punch for every time you come work out. Get 10 punches and you’ll be entered in a drawing for our grand prizes at our February 29th social. Call our Wellness Center at 605-575-0193 for more information!

The Dow Rummel Wellness Center offers a fully staffed wellness and aquatics center, full size pool, therapy pool, cardio equipment, strength room, land and water exercise classes, neurofit and wellness seminars!

 I was fortunate to spend Christmas with my family which is something that becomes more precious to me every year.  My favorite time of the year is celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, with my family in church on Christmas Eve at the church I grew up in.  I also spent the New Year holiday with my family celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of my aunt and uncle in Madison.  I hope everyone here haf a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve and Day, as well.

We have been hearing a lot of buzz about the new hall meetings that started in October in the independent living areas.  It is nice to read through the notes from the town hall meetings & see the great questions, the wonderful suggestions for new things we can do, and ways that we can improve our services and care here at Dow Rummel.  Some of the things that have been brought up have been recurring items or are subjects that we want to spend more time responding to in-depth 
As a result, we plan on bringing some of these topics to the Town Hall Meetings to discuss in more detail.  I encourage everyone to attend the January TOWN HALL MEETING on Tuesday, January 18 at 1 PM in the Chapel.  In addition to discussing a couple of these items we have invited staff from Aegis Therapies to come talk about therapy services that are available to residents here at Dow Rummel through Medicare Part B.  Now that we are able to offer Medicare services to you at Dow Rummel we want to make sure you are informed of all the ways you can benefit from this and take advantage of the Medicare services that are available. I hope to see you all at the TOWN HALL MEETING on January 18.

May you have a God Blessed Day!

Darla J. Van Rosendale,

Chief Executive Officer

The Heritage Partners was created for those supporters who have named Dow Rummel Village as the beneficiary of a planned or deferred gift. This may occur through their will or a designated portion of their estate to be used for an endowment or unrestricted purpose.

Supporting a Bright Future

It’s not the amount you give that makes you a Heritage Partner. Rather, it’s your foresight—seeing tomorrow’s needs today.

We, likewise, applaud our friends who have made outright gifts to Dow Rummel Village. These discerning donors reveal a winning attitude as they invest in the future of this community through their support. They excel in their commitment.

We would like to induct you into our planned-giving Heritage Partners Society so we can honor you and introduce you to other champions who have made a planned or deferred gift to Dow Rummel Village.

To learn more about the Heritage Partners, call Tom Claycomb, Director of Fund Development and Public Relations, at 605-575-0173. You can also contact him by e-mail at tomclaycomb@dowrummel.com

Many of them are familiar faces, but we’ve made some big changes at Dow Rummel Village that we’d  like to share.  In July, Tracey Hughes assumed the duties of Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer.  Tracey now oversees the marketing, sales, wellness, activities and spiritual programs at Dow Rummel Village.  She is excited about the change and the people on the team - Tim Worthington, Darci Hustrulid, Melissa Guiliano, Tarra Gacke, Lisa Geis and Kjersten Joachim.

Tracey has been with Dow Rummel Village for eight years and brings an infectious enthusiasm to us.  Tracey and husband Tim celebrated their 10^th anniversary this year and have four children – Kendall, Morgan, Payton and Carson.

Our newest member is Kjersten.  She became Sales Specialist for independent living on September 1.  Kjersten has a background in sales and marketing and is a new mom.  Kjersten, husband Davin and daughter Johanna live in Sioux Falls.

In September, Lisa became Resident Care Specialist, serving our independent residents as their support person.  Lisa will celebrate her 11^th anniversary at Dow Rummel Village in December.  She is married to Troy and they have three children, Daniele, Josie and Samuel.

Tarra is our Volunteer Coordinator.  Tarra works hard to secure volunteers for special events and programs at Dow Rummel Village year-round. Tarra also continues her Wellness Program duties.  She has been on the Dow Rummel Village staff for 2 years.

Dow Rummel Village’s Wellness Manager is Melissa.  Melissa has been at Dow Rummel for almost three years.  She runs a growing Wellness program with our residents as well as outside wellness center members.  Melissa is married to Matt.

Darci joined us in March as the Activities Manager.  She has a very diverse background and recently completed Activity Managers Training.  Darci has two children. Starting in February, Whitni will serve in the Peace Corps in South America and Dominic is a freshman at Lincoln, NE.

Celebrating three years at Dow Rummel in January is Pastor Tim.  Pastor Tim is our Chaplain, serving the spiritual and emotional needs of our residents and staff.  You can find him around the campus on Tuesdays (including an afternoon Bible study), Thursdays (including the evening “Spiritual Speaking” program) and Sunday afternoons.  Tim is married to Kathryn Timpany and they enjoy spending time with their family – especially those grandkids!

If you’re like many people, you do your major giving toward the end of the year. This probably occurs for several reasons: the closing of the tax season encourages itemizers to obtain income tax deductions; a barrage of earnest appeals by nonprofits increases awareness of financial need; and many are simply predisposed to end the year by making a charitable gift.

Here are five tips to help you make the most of your year-end giving:

1. Calculate your income.

Try to get a handle on your tax liability for the year. Did your unearned income increase? Did you sell any appreciated assets? Will you owe more taxes? This alone may motivate you to increase your giving before December 31. In fact, you may even want to move some of your giving forward from next year to create a larger income tax charitable deduction for yourself this year. Non-itemizers may especially find this “grouping of gifts” useful in order to take advantage of an itemized tax return every other year. In any case, by the time you fill out your income tax return, it will be too late to make charitable gifts for the previous year. Take the time to do some planning while you still have the opportunity to make a year-end gift.

2. Review your stocks.

Look at the stocks you have held for more than a year. Even in this economy, some stocks have actually appreciated in value. Which ones have appreciated the most? It may be prudent for you to make your year-end gift using one or more of these stocks. Here’s why: If you sold the stock, you would incur capital gains tax on the appreciation. However, if you give the stock and allow Dow Rummel Village to sell it, no one pays tax. You get a charitable deduction for the full amount of the stock, just as you would if your gift was made with cash. And what’s more, if you can’t use all of the income tax charitable deduction resulting from the gift, you can carry it forward for up to an additional five years. Such gifts are deductible up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income.

3. Consider a life-income gift.

Life income arrangements, like charitable trusts and charitable gift annuities, combine a planned gift with income to you or loved ones. These are excellent planned giving alternatives that not only benefit Dow Rummel Village, but also include income and tax benefits for you or your family.

We encourage you to check with your own professional advisors before making a gift. 

4. Do your giving early.

This is especially true if you want to make a gift of non-cash assets (stock, real estate, etc.). It also applies to life-income gifts (gift annuities, pooled income fund contributions, trust arrangements, etc.). Your professional advisor is busy beyond belief as the year winds down. The sooner you can get your gift activity going, the better it will be for everyone concerned.

5. Talk to your advisor.

Before making any significant gift to Dow Rummel Village, or to any other nonprofit for that matter, you should have your CPA, attorney or other advisor help you understand the impact of your gift on your income tax return and estate. We at Dow Rummel Village want your giving to be prudent, as well as generous and joyful.

For more information, please contact Tom Claycomb, Director of Fund Development & Public Relations. Phone: 605-575-0173 or e-mail tomclaycomb@dowrummel.com We are here to help you in any way we can.

With the coming of a New Year on January 1^st comes the launch of a new annual campaign!

Every year, we identify a number of exciting opportunities that will enhance and improve the quality of life for ALL of our residents here at Dow Rummel Village. Be it improved facilities, additional programs, advanced staff training or the continued growth of our financial assistance program, we take pains to identify those elements which will continue to make Dow Rummel Village the region’s premier senior adult living community.

We strongly encourage your support. Please use the envelope in this newsletter to make a gift that helps us make one or more of the following projects and programs a reality:

Neighborhood Security System - $30,000

The security and well being of all our residents is a top priority. An in-house security system would provide peace of mind with a 24/7 monitoring of the Dow Rummel neighborhoods, starting with Village North and Village West.

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Care Training & Program - $25,000/year

We take pride in the professional abilities of our staff, particularly in the care and treatment of residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia. We aim to be a model for other Memory Care facilities. We have identified one of the world’s most respected medical consultants specializing in patient-centered health care to assist our staff in achieving the next level of care, and in a multi-year development of unique programs for our memory care unit.

Chapel Multimedia and Communication Services - $5,000

Our chapel is a multi-use facility which hosts public programs, monthly all-staff education and information meetings, and numerous other Dow Rummel community gatherings. Internet access in the Chapel and the Assisted Living reading area will greatly increase program flexibility.  A widescreen TV will provide maximum viewing convenience for meetings and events using multi-media tools.

We also have identified a resident need for updated television services in the common areas of the Allen Wing, Assisted Living and the Memory care units. This would consist of three(3) widescreen TVs.

Electronic Records System - $30,000

We plan to add the first phase of a network program that would give licensed staff the ability to create computerized medical records of nursing home residents. Such a system allows more efficient storage, retrieval and modification of records. It would facilitate the updating and co-ordination of healthcare records. This kind of system is estimated to improve healthcare delivery efficiency by up to 6 percent annually.

Employee Rewards Program - $5,000

We would like our employee benefit program to include more benefits for our staff than just scholarships, as originally intended.  Currently, staff are encouraged to apply for scholarships to assist with school expenses, or help pay for workshops they attend.  We would also like to develop reward or incentive programs for the staff as well.

Resident Financial Assistance - Ongoing need

This fund was established to provide financial assistance to residents who find that they are outliving their financial assets.  Those residents can apply for assistance through this fund, which is financially supported to a significant extent by many Dow Rummel residents and friends who strongly believe in the concept of “neighbors helping neighbors”.

 

During this season of giving, we ask that in 2011 you consider helping Dow Rummel Village to continue to be THE Premier Senior Adult Living Community in our region.

Every day, we strive to make living at Dow Rummel “The Best Years” for our residents. We need and appreciate your help in that very important mission.

December 4^th, 6 - 8 PM: GALA

& December 5^th, 1 - 4 PM: Open House

An event for the whole family

Over 200 Nativity scenes from around the world.

Refreshments, live music and a silent auction

For a complete, updated listing of events at Dow Rummel Village,

please go to www.dowrummel.com/Calendar.html