Flower Power!

What’s your favorite kind of flower? Dahlias, daisies, marigolds, snap dragons, roses… they’re all fabulous.  Flowers bring joy to many.  How do flowers make you feel?  Here’s what Spearly residents and staff had to say:

“They make me feel happy, peaceful and relaxed.”

~ Aisha B., Connections Assistant Director

“I like the way they smell.  They make people grow.

~ Linh H., Spruce Neighborhood

“They make me feel happy and free.”

~ Linda S., Juniper Neighborhood

They make me feel 15 again.”

~ Steven J., Pinon Neighborhood

“They make me feel good, like someone cares.”

~ Theresa J., Juniper Neighborhood

“Flowers make me happy.”

~ Vincie D., Pinon Neighborhood

July 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Stand In Integrity

Each summer Juniper Village begins our quarterly Alive in All Seasons focus on Staying Connected. We promote staying connected to the community, the environment and each other. In July we shed light on staying connected to our community through volunteerism. Do you know that, as a company, we receive more than 10,000 hours of precious volunteer time each year? We have many volunteers, both human and animal, who contribute to our mission of nurturing the spirit of life. Elizabeth Andrew said it best, “volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” This month we honor all of the wonderful volunteers who make time to share a bit of their heart with us. We appreciate those who lead groups in our communities; those who share their unique skills and talents with our residents; those who provide friendly visits to our residents and give a reassuring hug or comforting puppy kiss; and the many, many other special people who enhance our lives.

This month as we focus on volunteerism we invite you to find a way that you can make a difference. Whether helping us at Juniper Village or another organization, volunteering has countless emotional and physical health benefits. Volunteering gives a boost not only to those receiving, but to those giving of their time as well.

Review our full calendar and make time to join us for any and all events.

This month we highlight our Ambassador Program and other volunteer opportunities for residents. In addition to volunteer opportunities, we invite you to join us during July for our summer celebrations and share our thanks as we honor those who Stand In Integrity with us.

Our fabulous July 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Denver Rescue Mission Donation Station because here at The Spearly Center we enjoy giving back to the community, and what’s one man’s trash may be another man’s treasure, all month long we will be accepting donations for the Denver Rescue Mission from residents, family members, staff, and the community, so look for our drop box in our front lobby; clothes, books, toys, shoes, and other small items are welcome any time before July 31^st.

§  Stand In Integrity July 4th BBQ as our Juniper family believes that staying connected to the community is beneficial to all, we would like to extend a sincere invitation to our Partners in Caring, First Responders and family members to this holiday BBQ, with Dave Hidalgo performing festive American classics and grilled favorites of summer will be served on our Outdoor Patio on July 4^th at 11:30 am.

§  Spearly Sidekick Summer Cookout to enjoy warm weather, green scenery and plenty of sunshine and all the many reasons why summertime is the favorite season of many people, the Spearly Center would like to invite volunteers, local businesses, Partners In Caring, community neighbors, family and friends to our Spearly Sidekick Summer Cookout, so come mingle with friends and enjoy tasty grilled treats on July 21^st at 11:30 am.

We look forward to sharing our July 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as you Stand In Integrity.

PAWS: Pets Are Wonderful Support

Meet Makwa.  Makwa (which is Ojibwe, or Chippewa for bear) is a lovable 140 pound Newfoundland who loves to visit residents, staff and family members  here at Spearly regularly.  He is a one and a half year old gentle giant who brings smiles to everyone’s faces whenever he visits.  Studies show that pet interactions can have tremendous health benefits which promote an active body, an engaged mind, and a fulfilled spirit.  Improved physical health, reduced stress, improved heart health, improved mood and an increase in self-esteem are some of the great benefits associated with Pet Therapy.  Makwa would love to meet you! 

Spearly Talks The Talk & Walks The Walk at the 2017 NAMI Walk Colorado

Juniper Village The Spearly Center was excited to participate in the 2017 NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Walk Colorado on May 20th.  Team Spearly was 58 human and 4 canine walkers strong this year and was comprised of residents, staff, family members and friends.  We surpassed our fundraising goal of $1000 and raised $1350.  This year, NAMI Walk Colorado raised over $125,000.

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is a national organization with a Colorado chapter.  NAMI Colorado’s mission is to build communities of recovery and hope by educating, supporting, and advocating for individuals affected by mental illness and their families.

NAMI Colorado is dedicated to building better lives for the One Million plus Coloradans and their families who are affected by any number of mental illnesses - schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, PTSD,

obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, panic disorder and others.  They offer free educational classes, support groups and political advocacy.

Donations on behalf of Team Spearly are still being accepted online at https://www.namiwalks.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=627.  For more information, find NAMI Colorado on the web at www.namicolorado.org or call (303) 321-3104.  Together, we can all stomp out stigma of mental illness.

June 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Live In Wellness

“You are what you eat.” The old adage is now truer than ever. Good health is largely dependent on good nutrition, so much so that doctors trace many physical and emotional ailments back to a diet deficient in vitamins and minerals. Eating a well-balanced diet is a major part of encouraging long life, lowering the incidence of disease, and helping sick people recover. On the flip side, inadequate nutrition and poor quality foods can generally cut life span and open us up to many illnesses and disease. In effect, food is medicine per Webster's definition of medicine: "The science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease." Food acts as medicine - to maintain, prevent, and treat disease.

With this month’s Alive in All Seasons focus on food, we’d like to give you a prescription for a healthy diet: breakfast daily (do not skip); meals x3 (at least) daily; foods from each of the food groups per meal daily. The food pyramid defines the food groups as grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy and proteins. The amounts vary according to age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level. Here’s a good guideline to start you on your way. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. Make half your grains whole grains. Move to low-fat and fat-free dairy. Vary your protein routine and eat and drink the right amount for you.

Join us as we continue our focus on healthy aging by shedding light on our hydration program with healthy snacks and juices, and demonstrate how food and nutrition help us to Live in Wellness from a dietitian’s point of view.

Our fabulous June 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Spearly Sidekicks Live In Wellness BBQ because enjoying the outdoor environment can be as simple as sitting on the patio and spending time with friends and loved ones, so come join us as we celebrate good food, living in wellness and joyous times as we host this festive BBQ, as we welcome our family members, friends, First Responders and neighbors for a tasty and healthy meal on our sunny Outdoor Patio on June 9^th at 11:30 am.

§  Father’s Day Luncheon as Michael Jordan once said, “My father used to say that it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do; you never know what you can accomplish until you try,” so please join us in our Main Dining Room as we pay tribute with family, friends and community neighbors to wise and amazing fathers everywhere on June 19^th at noon.

§  Summertime Fun BBQ as we invite friends, family and community neighbors to enjoy the outdoors, mingle with friends, and feast on grilled favorites, and a special invitation is extended to our first responders for a quick bite on the go, so meet us on the sunny Outdoor Patio for great food, great friends, and a great day on June 23^rd at 11:30 am.

We look forward to sharing our June 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as you Live In Wellness.

“Put it on a Tee for the Whole World to See!” at FBD

Theresa Flores, a Denver native, has been a nurse at Juniper Village The Spearly Center for over 23 years.  In August 2015, she and 3 additional family members (her mother Anna, sister Joni and cousin Gary) decided they wanted to make their own t-shirts to express their political opinions in a hot political climate.  They started a small business named FBD (Flores By Design), named after Theresa’s late father John Flores, who was an artist in Denver. 

Then they went a step further.  They decided to sell their t-shirts, mainly focusing on politics.  Then they went a step further.  There was a multitude of requests for personalized shirts.  They invested thousands of dollars and purchased a high-tech direct-to-garment printing machine and traveled to California for a special instructional session.  Quality and customer satisfaction is extremely important to them.

Today the family team of four at FBD (ages mid 50’s to early 80’s) are taking their business even further.  Since inception their customer base is in the hundreds, with many repeat customers, and continues to grow.  They can customize any job, their prices are very competitive and their products aren’t just limited to t-shirts; Aprons, baby clothing and canvases are popular items as well.  Theresa has no plans to leave Spearly anytime soon, but she feels her new business is a great opportunity after she does decide to retire after being a nurse for decades. 

“Put it on a Tee for the Whole World to See!” at FBD!  For more info, call 720-598-5727, 720-980-3066 or visit them at the web a twww.customshirtprintingbyfbd.com

May 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Grow Strong Daily

Continuing our Spring Alive In All Seasons focus on healthy again, we continue to let wellbeing thrive with a May focus on Fitness. Staying fit throughout all seasons of life is possible and at Juniper we promote fitness every day of the week! We recently shared on our Facebook page a New York Times story, authored by Gretchen Reynolds, providing results from the Mayo Clinic who recently conducted an experiment on the cells of 72 healthy but sedentary men and women who were 30 or younger or older than 64. The volunteers were randomly assigned to a particular exercise regimen. There were some unsurprising differences: The gains in muscle mass and strength were greater for those who exercised only with weights, while interval training had the strongest influence on endurance. But more unexpected results were found in the biopsied muscle cells. It seems as if the decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging was “corrected” with exercise, especially if it was intense, says Dr. Sreekumaran Nair, a professor of medicine and an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and the study’s senior author. In fact, older people’s cells responded in some ways more robustly to intense exercise than the cells of the young did. So pick up those weights, get on that bike and remember it’s never too late to benefit from exercise. And if you’re not doing so already, follow us on social media so you don’t miss a thing.

We invite you to Grow Strong Daily along with us with programs such as Fitness Five and our Route 66 Walking Program. Learn more about fitness and keeping your heart healthy at our Heart Healthy Luncheon and educational presentation. Staying fit throughout all seasons of life is possible.

Our fabulous May 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Mother’s Day Tea & Talk because Stevie Wonder once said, “Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness; if love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love,” so please join us in our Country Store as we pay tribute with family, friends and community neighbors to wonderful and inspiring mothers everywhere, while tea and pastries are served on May 14^th at 10:00 am.

§  NAMI Walk Colorado Team Spearly as the National Alliance on Mental Illness holds this fundraising walk annually offering a wonderful opportunity to show your support for mental illness while enjoying a nice leisurely walk, and the Spearly team will have a booth to showcase their wonderful community and the residents they serve, so join us on the walk and take this opportunity to network with our Partners in Caring, and light refreshments will be served after the walk which will be held at Centennial Center Park on May 20^th at 8:00 am.

§  Grow Strong Daily Memorial Day BBQ as we remember our men and women who have served in the Armed forces and kick off the BBQ season as live musical entertainment will be provided on our sunny Juniper patio, and a variety of grilled favorites will be served, and there will be something for everyone, so we hope you can join us to mix and mingle with friends on May 29^th at 11:30 am.

We look forward to sharing our May 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as you Grow Strong Daily.

Easter Celebrations at Spearly

Easter is a great time to spend quality time with friends and family. Over the Easter holiday, plenty of fun was had at The Spearly Center. The day started with Easter Egg Creations. Many residents enjoyed socializing, reminiscing and letting their creativity flow as they dyed Easter eggs. At noon we held our traditional Spearly Easter Luncheon. Residents and family members enjoyed delicious roast beef, spiral ham, candied yams, green bean casserole, fresh rolls and pie for desert. Later in the afternoon was the Great Easter Egg Hunt out on our newly renovated outdoor patio space, and the weather couldn’t have been any nicer. We hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter as we did at The Spearly Center.

April 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Believe in Yourself

Each April we begin our Healthy Aging Series with a focus on brain health, and encourage you to Believe in Yourself. We know that believing in yourself has a positive effect on your mental health, but did you know that self-confidence influences your physical health as well? Recent studies show people who exhibit self-confidence are generally healthier and tend to live longer. That's because confidence is a positive emotion and positive emotions have countless health benefits for your mind, body and spirit. In nurturing wellbeing by encouraging an active body, an engaged mind and a fulfilled spirit, Juniper is also building self-confidence. The link between health and confidence also may be related to the ability of positive emotions to boost our brain's power to hold attention, be aware and remember things. We are better able to learn, build new skills and relate with others when we are feeling optimistic. Also confident people are better able to handle chaotic situations in a positive manner. This helps to reduce or avoid excessive stress, high blood pressure, anger, confusion – all the negative side effects of feeling powerless, overwhelmed and out of control.

If you need to kick start your confidence, here are a few things to try: smile; count your blessings; surround yourself with confident people; learn how others have found their confidence and follow their lead; challenge negative or inaccurate thinking and replace with accurate, constructive thoughts; and encourage yourself. You can also plan to join us this month for uplifting discussions and a focus on brain health with offerings such as Daily Brain Builders, Wii games, and a Brain Healthy Luncheon.

Our fabulous April 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Brain Healthy Luncheon because keeping your brain healthy and fit is just as important as keeping your body healthy and fit, and along with cognitive activities, eating certain foods like berries, fish and nuts can aid in nourishing the brain, so family, friends and Partners in Caring are cordially invited to dine with us for a brain healthy meal in our Main Dining Room on April 10^th at Noon.

§  Spearly Easter Luncheon as Easter is a traditional holiday important to us all, for some, it holds a significant spiritual meaning, and for others, it’s a perfect time to relax and visit with family and friends, so will feature family, friends and community neighbors who are cordially invited to join us for this year’s Easter Celebration Luncheon splendid meal in our Main Dining Room on April 16^th at Noon.

§  Spearly Sidekicks Teddy Bear Swap so give a bear, get a bear during this fun, interactive craft event, we will decorate and personalize teddy bears to give and receive as designs can be very simple or quite intricate, it’s your choice, so meet us in the Country Store, design a bear, enjoy some hot cocoa and spend some time with us on April 24^th at 2:30 pm.

We look forward to sharing our April 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as you Believe in Yourself.

Stepping Up with the Heritage Irish Stepdancers

St. Patrick’s Day is always a festive tradition at The Spearly Center.  Once again the residents were thrilled to have the Heritage Irish Stepdancers perform on March 17th.  The Heritage Irish Stepdancers is an organization that offers youth dance classes, participates in local and national competitions, and performs in the Denver metro area more than 50 times a year.  Their performances are very entertaining, as well as educational.  We look forward to seeing them year after year.  For more information about the Heritage Irish Stepdancers, give them a call at 720-747-9377 or look them on the web at http://www.heritageirish.com

Connect4Life Leads to Better Outcomes for Residents

Integrated Care in Seniors Housing that Meets the Triple Aim from Cindy Longfellow

Data shows Connect4Life’s high-tech/high-touch integrated services lead to higher quality care and better outcomes for residents

Executive Summary: Integrated Care in Seniors Housing that Meets
the Triple Aim

By Anne Tumlinson, MMHS and Lynne Katzmann, PhD

According to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, more than 190 million Americans, or about 59 percent of the population, are affected by one or more chronic illnesses. Over the next 15 years (between 2016 and 2030,) 80 percent of the United States population will experience one or more chronic conditions, costing more than $42 trillion in medical care spending and losses in employment productivity.

To address these challenges and enhance the resident experience, Juniper Communities, a Bloomfield, NJ-based national owner-operator of seniors housing, developed the Connect4Life model, which provides on-site comprehensive therapy, primary care, pharmacy and lab services, integrated with other services using a “high-tech/high-touch” communications protocol that transfers information through an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and coordinates care through a human navigator.

Juniper Communities retained Anne Tumlinson Innovations (ATI) to compare Connect4Life outcomes and utilization data with data on the broader Medicare population from the 2012 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). The findings suggest that the Connect4Life model contributes to lower hospital readmissions and the utilization of inpatient services among a high-need resident population. The results affirm the potential of integrating select clinical care and services in a seniors housing environment that provides supportive services to those who have chronic conditions, functional limitations, and complex social needs.

The results suggest an integrated program of services in seniors housing—like Juniper’s Connect4Life —can contribute to reducing the cost of care and services to Medicare beneficiaries residing in seniors housing. More importantly, the data points to the value of the Connect4Life model for managing population health because of its ability to efficiently target integrated care interventions in the high cost, high-need Medicare population.

Juniper Communities has been a thought leader in senior living care, developing nearly a dozen innovative service and delivery programs to enhance aging, lifestyle and resident health. Recognizing opportunities in to meet the triple aim of recent health policy changes in the United States – improved customer satisfaction, evidence-base quality and lower healthcare utilization, Juniper is pioneering Connect 4 Life – one of senior living’s first truly integrated care models of assisted living care and service.

Read more in the FREE White Paper!

Stars Shine at Spearly Red Carpet Awards

The Spearly Center is full of stars!  On March 2^nd the Spearly Red Carpet Awards were held.  Over 70 residents were nominated in various categories.  Everyone enjoyed the awards ceremony as recipients went down the red carpet to accept their awards with pride.  An impromptu vocal performance by one of the winners followed.  And the winners are…..

Creativity Excellence Award: Jon J. and Jada V.

Best Smile Award: Darwin F. and Theresa G.

Comedic Excellence Award: Skip F. and Jackie G.

Best Sense of Style Award: Gregory J. and Grace L.

Physical Fitness Excellence Award: Bob W. and Monica B.

Positive Attitude Excellence Award: Charlie T. and Kumiko F.

Congratulations to all our winners!  The Spearly Center is honored to have you as our residents.

March 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Your Treasure is Within

Theatrical readings, colorful costumed dancers and spectacular vocal performances bring to a close our creative expression quarterly theme with a focus on performance and honoring our inner treasure – our self-worth. With so many demands on our time these days, it’s easy to always put others first and forget to care of ourselves. Also as we get older, retire from work and in some cases caretaking, we may forget our sense of value – our self-worth. A large part of nurturing the spirit of life is providing opportunities for purpose.

This month we will put an even greater focus on identifying our continued purpose and self-worth by performing purposeful activities, reminiscing and creating opportunities to treasure ourselves. Motivational speaker Anne Naylor offers these tips to help you treasure yourself: Treasure your thoughts with kindness – nurture your thoughts of gratitude and appreciation. Treasure your feelings and emotions – observe and use them as your guide. Treasure your body – treat it well with exercise, nourishment, rest, joy and laughter. Treasure your spirit – breathe, meditate and enjoy the goodness in your life. We hope you all enjoy the treasure of your wonderful self.

Please join us as we dramatically embrace performance throughout March with our weekly drama club, outings to live theatrical performances and our Oscar-themed party. Celebrate the Irish culture in grand style with our Saint Patrick’s Day event filled with food, fun and, of course, dancing! Honor yourself and recognize Your Treasure is Within this month at Juniper Village!

Our fabulous March 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Spearly Red Carpet Awards Ceremony because it’s Oscars season, and The Spearly Center would like to celebrate our residents, so we would like to invite friends and family to our Spearly Red Carpet Awards Ceremony in our Main Dining Room as awards will be presented in various categories from Best Dressed, Most Humble, Best Connections Participant, and many more; this event will be exciting and will bring out the best in anyone, and we would love to see you there on March 2^nd at 11:00 am.

§  St. Patrick’s Day Social as Celtic Pride and the Luck of the Irish is in the air, friends, family and our Greater Denver community are invited to partake in this festive celebration as we dine on tasty green treats and mix and mingle with our dear Spearly residents, and traditional Celtic music will provided and door prizes will be awarded, and don’t forget to wear green on March 17^th at 2:30 pm.

§  Spearly Sidekicks Spring Fling because spring is a magical time of year as flowers and trees are awakening from winter, the weather is becoming warmer, and people become more active, so what better way to celebrate the spring equinox than to celebrate with The Spearly Center as friends, family, and community members are invited to celebrate this festive and meaningful day with games, prizes and refreshments available in our Country Store on March 20^th at 2:30 pm.

We look forward to sharing our March 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as Your Treasure is Within.

Awaken Your Passion with Art

Visual Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions and intellect.  Creating art can improve well-being by decreasing negative emotions and increasing positive ones.  Viewing art can have the same effect.  The Spearly Center is home to many dedicated, creative and impressive artists.  The Awaken Your Passion 7^th Annual Spearly Art Show held on February 23^rd was a great success.  Over 50 residents, staff and visitors attended.  A wide variety of individual and group art pieces on display included drawings and paintings.  Many were proud to show their creative work, as many others were viewing colorful works in admiration and awe.  Visual Arts can truly nurture the spirit of life!    

What’s Your Favorite Girl Scout Cookie?

February 6^th was National Girl Scout Cookie Day and The Spearly Center residents sampled these delicious famous treats.  Members of Colorado Girl Scout Troop 632 was our neighborhood seller.  What’s your favorite? Do-Si-Do’s? Thin Mints? Samoas?  Here are some Girl Scout Cookie fun facts:

• In the 1920s and 1930s, Girl Scouts in different parts of the country baked their own simple sugar cookies and sold them to raise money for their activities.

• The first national Girl Scout Cookie sale was held in 1936.

• Thin Mints is the top-selling Girl Scout Cookie in America.

• Each season, Girl Scouts sell almost 200 million packages of Girl Scout Cookies.

• For every box of Girl Scout Cookies you buy, more than two-thirds of your purchase price is put to use by Girl Scout councils in your community.

Girl Scout Cookie season is here!  Be sure to get a box or two!

February 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Awaken Your Passion

This month, our focus on creative expression continues with a focus on art. Art, as with beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It is understandable that some have great artistic ability and others do not. But, at Juniper we know that everyone has a passion for creative expression, regardless of ability or age. Pablo Picasso once said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” He is speaking about becoming inhibited as adults. With our various art programs we encourage uninhibited creativity as a form of therapy. Creating art affords the opportunity of self-exploration and self-expression leading to both physical and mental benefits. Creating art in any of its various forms, is also about sharing a bit of ourselves with each other. Art is one way to express ourselves, and the creations are honest and true representations of our experiences. In sharing our stories through art with others we invite communication and create lasting bonds.

Art typically encompasses painting, sculpting, and drawing. But, the act of creating art can be as simple as doodling. Art is simply the creation of something outside one’s self that often mirrors what is going on within their mind, soul, and body. We use creative arts as a way to nurture the spirit of life. Join us throughout February as we focus on great varieties of art such as photography, needlework, handicrafts, painting, sculpture and more. Please join us as we share a bit of ourselves with our weekly craft classes, experience art on an outing to an art museum, and embrace our celebratory spirit with Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day parties. We look forward to helping you Awaken Your Passion this month!

Our fabulous February 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Cupid’s Arrow Valentine’s Day Celebration because our Spearly family continues to foster great friendship while spreading joy and love, so please join us as we celebrate this heart-warming holiday with great music and tasty treats, and our dear family members and friendly neighbors are cordially invited to this affair hosted in our quaint Country Store as light refreshments will be served on February 14^th at 2:30 pm.

§  Awaken Your Passion 7^th Annual Spearly Art Show as we are proud of the talented residents who call Spearly their home, it is our pleasure to extend a hearty invitation to our Partners in Health Care, friends, family and dear neighbors to showcase the creative and artistic styles of our residents with various mediums including water color paintings, acrylic paintings, sculptures, sketches, and photography, so please join us as we welcome our guest judges from the community to help celebrate this wonderful event on February 23^rd from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

§  Spearly Sidekicks Mardi Gras Soiree with King Cake and traditional New Orleans music as the recipe for this year’s exciting Mardi Gras celebration, we would like to invite our family, friends and our first responders to stop in and mingle with our dear Spearly family, so don your favorite mask and pile on the beads as we celebrate the best of the Bayou deep in the heart of Spearly, and Come Live It Up with us in our Country store on February 28^th at 2:30 pm.

We look forward to sharing our February 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as you Awaken Your Passion.

January 2017 Spearly Hero Of The Month: Angelina Villanueva

Angie has been a dedicated and loyal Spearly associate for almost 20 years! Angie demonstrates truly nurturing the spirit of life in caring for all of our residents.  She offers a warm smile, an encouraging word and is always willing to provide assistance.  Angie is quick to look on the positive side of life and encourages others to do the same.  She consistently displays a strong work ethic and is always willing to help out where needed.  Her quiet and friendly demeanor are a pleasure to be around.  We appreciate Angie’s hard work, dedication, compassion and devotion to our residents and staff.  The Spearly Center community is grateful for your continued commitment Angie!

2016 Gift Giving Parade A Huge Success

This past holiday season was filled with gratitude, joy and compassion at The Spearly Center.  The annual Gift Giving Parade on December 23^rd was a huge success, as residents received a record number of 788 gifts from many dedicated employees from various organizations in our Denver metro area community.  We would like to thank the following organizations for their generous donations and hard work which made this holiday season at Spearly truly special.

·         D.R.C.O.G.- Denver Regional Council of Governments    https://www.drcog.org

·         Linger Restaurant     lingerdenver.com

·         Ophelia’s Restaurant     www.opheliasdenver.com

·         Root Down Restaurant     www.rootdowndenver.com

·         Empire Marketing Strategies     www.empirefoods.com

·         Western Area Power Administration    https://www.wapa.gov

Community in action… nurturing the spirit of life.

January 2017 Events in Denver, CO: Welcome New Beginnings

Welcome to 2017! What a wonderful time for us to reflect on the past year and forge ahead with new beginnings. January is a time to begin again; a time when we make (and sometimes break) our New Year’s resolutions and focus on how we want to improve in the coming year.

January is also the month that Juniper Village begins our Winter Alive In All Seasons theme of Creative Expressions: “Explore Your Creativity” where in January we will focus on music! Do you know that research shows that music can help us physically by easing pain, helping us sleep better, eat less and enhance our blood vessel function? It is also suggested that music can help us mentally by reducing stress, relieving symptoms of depression, elevating mood, decreasing anxiety and improving cognitive performance. Because of this, Juniper Communities has adopted the Music & Memory program.

Through the use of MP3 players and headphones our teams download personalized music for each resident. These musical favorites tap deep memories and can bring participants back to life, enabling them to feel like themselves again, to converse, socialize and stay present. Learn more about our Music & Memory program by talking with our Connections Director and consider making a donation to this worthwhile program. We accept donations of new or used iPods, new over the ear headphones and iTunes gift cards.

Join us this month as we explore our creativity through music with outings to local musical performances, Elvis’ birthday celebrations and concerts by our Joyful Noise Choirs. We invite you to Welcome New Beginnings at Juniper Village and make a resolution to join us for activities and events throughout the year!

Our fabulous January 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

§  Spearly Sidekick Super Star Karaoke: Elvis Presley because the “King of Rock and Roll” still reigns, our annual birthday bash to honor this musical icon will be filled with energy, enthusiasm and Spearly’s own Karaoke Super Stars, so we would like to invite friends, family and our neighbors to this event, to come mix and mingle with our Spearly family, enjoy some peanut butter and ‘nana bites, and sing one of your own Elvis favorites on January 8^th from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm.

§  2nd Annual Disco Fever Dance OFF as we are reminiscing to the 70’s in this disco inferno dance party, and this invitation is extended once again to our friends, family and neighboring communities, to feel free to wear your favorite ensemble that showcases your personality, while our local disc jockey will play tunes from Donna Summer, The Bee Gees, Blondie and other popular artists of that era on January 21^st from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm.

§  Joyful Noise Choir Concert because music is comforting, inspiring and beneficial for just about everyone, our Spearly residents would like to share their musical talents with you, so please join us as we host our first vocal performance event, the Joyful Noise Choir Concert, at this hearty invitation that is extended to our friends, family and Partners in Caring, and light refreshments will be served on January 30^th at 11:00 am.

We look forward to sharing our January 2017 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center with you as you Welcome New Beginnings.