JCC Senior Dance Night, Aug. 19
By popular demand, the JCC, in partnership with The Temple Emanu-El Couples Club is repeating a Senior Dance Night on Wednesday, Aug. 19, from 6 to 9 p.m., in the Zale Auditorium at the Aaron Family JCC. This event is open to the public. Cost is $5 per person and includes a free ballroom dance lesson, live music and light refreshments.
Celebrate summer and meet new friends at the JCC! For more information, contact Anna or Heather at 214-239-7119 or visit the JCC Web site, www.jccdallas.org. Temple Emanu-El members may also contact Temple Emanu-El Couples Club Presidents Buddy and Renee Gilbert, 972-239-0022.
Tiny Treasures at CSI
On Sunday, July 26, at Congregation Shearith Israel, 40 adults, toddlers and babies had brunch together. The babies are part of CSI’s new class of Tiny Treasures. The Tiny Treasures ceremony honors and celebrates families whose babies were born from August of the preceding year to the end of July of the current year. Each year the families are asked to come to a special service on a Saturday morning in the sanctuary. This fall the program will occur on Oct. 31, Parashat Lech Lecha. Family and friends are encouraged to join in as the youngest members of the synagogue are invited to the bimah.
At the brunch, CSI Rabbis David Glickman and Joseph Menashe welcomed the families; Young Families Program Director Esther Wolf explained to them a little about the service. Young families enjoyed good food and the companionship of others who are going through the same joys and stresses of a new baby.
Five-star Legacy at Willow Bend receives OK from Texas Dept. of State Health Services
The Legacy at Willow Bend has received a deficiency-free inspection rating in assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The community opened in April 2008, and is the only new health services facility in Collin County to be deficiency- and complaint-free in the first year of operation. In addition, the community is a five-star rated Medicare facility.
“With over 340 admissions to date, our community has successfully operated without a single complaint to the Texas Department of State Health Services,” said Michael Ellentuck, president of The Legacy Senior Communities, Inc. “This feat is remarkable, and we will continue to provide the highest level of care available in Collin County.”
The inspection process lasted three full days and included a four-person survey team from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The survey team observed care practices by The Legacy at Willow Bend staff; met with residents and their families; reviewed medical charts; tested staff members on emergency evacuation plans; reviewed operational and admissions policies; evaluated staff requirements and training; and more. In every category inspected, The Legacy at Willow Bend was found to be in complete compliance with state and federal requirements.
While receiving deficiency-free inspections in assisted living and memory support is not unusual in an ongoing operating community, this was the first survey of The Legacy at Willow Bend.
“The community opened with an entirely new set of staff members, policies, procedures and practices, so to accomplish deficiency-free results across all levels of care is outstanding,” said Lisa Samuels, health services administrator of The Legacy at Willow Bend.
The mission of the Texas Department of State Health Services is to ensure the health and well-being of Texans by monitoring health services and practices, and providing comprehensive health-related information and resources. For more information, please visit www.dshs.state.tx.us.
The Legacy at Willow Bend, Plano’s first and only life care retirement community, is situated on a 28-acre site at Spring Creek Parkway between Preston Road and Ohio Drive. It offers resort-style services and amenities for active, independent seniors, as well as all levels of health care services on-site. The community features 103 independent living apartment homes, 12 custom independent living villas, 40 assisted living apartment homes, 18 memory support suites, and 60 private skilled health care suites. For information, call 972-468-6208, or visit www.thelegacywb.org.

New interfaith program at Congregation Beth Torah
A free, interfaith effort called “Connecting Our Faiths” has set Sunday, Aug. 16, 3 to 5 p.m., for the first of a new program series in North Dallas, to be held at Congregation Beth Torah, 720 Lookout Drive, Richardson.
Topic will be “How Abraham Is Viewed in Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.” Speakers include Rabbi Adam Raskin of the host congregation, Rev. Doug Skinner of Northway Christian Church and Imam Muhammad Shakoor of Masjid (mosque) Warith D. Mohammed. The day’s “added attraction”: Rabbi Raskin will show everyone the Torah scrolls after the program.
“Connecting Our Faiths” also offers a South Dallas program series, which began on the evening of July 26 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Duncanville. The topic was the same as the north program, with Christian emphasis on the Mormon faith, since this marked the first Mormon participation in ongoing COF programming. Presenters included Rabbi Murray Berger, now serving Temple Mizpah in Abilene; President Barry Smith of the host church; and Imam Shakoor. The “added attraction”: Individuals from the host church’s Family History Center gave tours and told attendees how they can trace their own family histories.
Further information on the “Connecting Our Faiths” series is available from Alexis Yancey, 214-335-4744, or ayproductn@yahoo.com.
Dallas program wins grant to fight childhood obesity
Food + Fun = Fit, a multicultural, bilingual program, for Dallas preschoolers that teaches healthy food choices and promotes fitness, has been awarded a $10,000 grant by General Mills Inc. The program is a project of the Greater Dallas Section of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW, www.ncjwdallas.org), a progressive women’s organization that advocates for women and families. It is part of the HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youth, www.hippyusa.org) curriculum at six schools in the Dallas and Richardson school districts.
“More than 20 percent of Dallas children between 2 and 5 have a body mass index that is nearly double what it should be,” said NCJW President Cheryl Pollman. “Statistics tell us that this may very well be the first generation of children who are likely to have shorter life spans than their parents. This should be unacceptable to our community.”
The grant will allow NCJW to continue the program. The first round, which began midway through the school year, included a variety of lifestyle education initiatives designed to be put into practice at home. Participants received pedometers and were taught how to keep track of daily steps to ensure a more active lifestyle. Other tools included music and encouragement for families to dance; notebooks with colorful, bilingual handouts; and cooking demonstrations with healthy recipes. The program culminated in a grocery tour, where each participant received $15 to purchase food from each of the four food groups. At a final get-together, students in the program were asked to bring a dish unique to their culture, prepared in a new, healthy way.
By summertime, parents were already beginning to see weight loss and a greater sense of well-being through increased physical activity. “Food + Fit = Fun provides a road map for the path to a healthier lifestyle for families,” Pollman said.
The General Mills Champions for Healthy Kids Program this year awarded a total of $500,000 in grants to 50 community-based organizations across the U.S. with programs that support young people in living healthy, active lifestyles. The Champions for Healthy Kids initiative is a partnership of the General Mills Foundation, the American Dietetic Association Foundation (ADAF) and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. Since 2002, General Mills has invested more than $18 million in overall youth nutrition and fitness programs that have served more than 3.5 million children nationwide.
Weinstein home chosen for Yard of the Month
Dr. Howard and Debbie Weinstein were ecstatic when their North Dallas home was chosen as July Yard of the Month. There is no doubt that Dr. Weinstein has a green thumb; gardening has been a labor of love for many years. The Weinsteins have lived in Dallas for 25 years and are members at Congregation Shearith Israel.