Friendship Village has received the Village of Schaumburg's Most Improved Landscaping /Residential Award

Friendship Village has received the Village of Schaumburg's prestigious Annual Landscape Award in the category of Most Improved Landscaping /Residential. The award was presented at the Schaumburg Village Council meeting on October 28th.

The Village of Schaumburg Environmental Committee launched the recognition program in 2005, in order to honor residences, businesses and organizations that have made a strong commitment to their landscape management program.

Friendship Village was lauded for its Secret Garden, acknowledging more than $500,000 worth of landscaping improvements to the space. This enclosed garden was designed to provide residents of assisted living with an opportunity to safely enjoy the outdoors. The project, which was funded by Friendship Senior Options Foundation, had been a dream in the making for more than three years and came to fruition after support from hundreds of donors supporting the initiative. Today, approximately 100 residents in Friendship Village's assisted living utilize the garden that was specially designed to engage them with the outdoors, improving their quality of life.

Friendship Senior Options Foundation was established to foster an environment of philanthropic giving in order to enrich the lives of seniors in the area. The Secret Garden, which was the first capital project of the Foundation, was completed last summer. "The award pays tribute to a wonderful project. Friendship Village is an asset to the greater Schaumburg community, and the objective of the garden was to beautify and enhance the lives of our residents," said Kate Garbarek, manager of Friendship Senior Options Foundation. "We are really proud and humbled to receive this award."

Friendship Village is a leading Chicago-area retirement community offering a complete continuum of care including independent living garden homes and apartment homes, as well as assisted living, memory support, skilled care, and short- and long-term rehabilitation services. For more than 35 years, Friendship Village has been providing Chicago area seniors with exceptional retirement living options. For additional information visit www.FriendshipVillage.org