Sedgebrook's Squires Club honors Lambs Farm partnership
Since the opening of Sedgebrook senior living community in Lincolnshire nearly 10 years ago, residents of nearby Lambs Farm, for people with disabilities, have provided waste management services to residents of Sedgebrook.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, three Lambs Farm residents come with a coach to each individual apartment, picking up trash and properly disposing of it. In recognition of their service, Sedgebrook's Squires Club honored them with a luncheon shortly before Christmas and the entirety of the club's annual charitable contributions ($1,000).
In determining who should receive this year's donation, Squires Club president and Sedgebrook resident Jim Levy said, "Why don't we do something for the people who work here?"
Levy's reasoning took hold when he was president of Sedgebrook's resident advisory committee and sought to increase attendance at RAC meetings by better acquainting residents with the community's staff and services.
Over the years, Levy and the resident advisory committee introduced members of general services, department heads, human resources personnel, and many others on staff at Sedgebrook.
"People were amazed by what they learned: what the people who serve us do, how they were hired, how they were trained," he said.
According to Levy, a RAC meeting featuring Dr. Elliott Kroger, one of Sedgebrook's two on-site physicians, attracted more than 160 residents.
"It just made sense that we would acknowledge Lambs Farm, considering all they do for us," said Levy, whose children and late wife often visited the Libertyville community that features living quarters, a pet store, farmyard, cafe and bakery, and many vocational opportunities.
"It's been a wonderful partnership," said Sedgebrook housekeeping manager Don Robertson.
Acknowledging that Lambs Farm employees were shy at first, Robertson remarked that they now socialize with Sedgebrook residents and staff and know them on a first-name basis.
"I couldn't be happier. They are so dependable and reliable," he said.
Levy, who couldn't attend the Lambs Farm luncheon and gift bestowing because he was on a three-week family vacation in Hawaii, is nevertheless mindful of the Squires Club's busy agenda for the new year.
A men's social club that includes about 170 members, the Squires Club meets weekly to plan in-house and outside programs and activities, restaurant outings, and various appreciation events, such as pizza parties for the high school scholars who serve in the Sedgebrook dining hall.
Guest speakers are hired to deliver exposés of popular entertainers (Dick Van Dyke, Frank Sinatra, Steve Allen) and offer presentations of historical and modern-day interest. Everyone, including women, is invited to attend Squires Club programs.
"After my wife passed away (from Parkinson's disease), I got more involved at Sedgebrook," said Levy. "I love this place; staying active here keeps my head in the game and gives me purpose.
"We have such great people here … entrepreneurs, veterans, lawyers, judges."
The staff, he added, is "fantastic" and the reason he wanted to establish programs for residents featuring staff members.
"We have 300 some people working here, many who've been here since day one. They're just great."
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