An event held last Saturday raised more than $25,000, plus in-kind gifts, for a garden space at Tabor Home.
The second annual Tabor Home Family Council Fundraising Dinner was held at Central Heights Church to raise money for a therapeutic garden designed to inspire the hearts and souls of seniors.
Bill Dyck, chair of theTabor Home Family Council, emceed the event.
“The dream of an outdoor garden space specifically planned to meet the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of the seniors using the garden as well as their caregivers, family members and friends, will now become a reality,” he said.
The new garden is scheduled to open June 15, 2014 – Father's Day.
The annual dinner was planned and organized by a group of employees and volunteers that devote themselves all year long to enhancing the lives of seniors.
Guests were treated to a three-course dinner featuring beef and salmon wellington and an assortment of desserts prepared by the food services staff at Tabor Village.
Entertainment included the Golden Strings quartet, Heritage Singers, soloist Myrna deFehr and Tabor Village’s own music therapist Sheila Harry.
Marilyn Keibel and Norma Ewing, family members of residents, gave moving personal testimonies of their experiences witnessing care from the heart being received by their loved ones at Tabor Home.
Keynote speaker Brian Minter, owner of Minter Country Garden store, shared his expertise and passion for plants.
An architectural drawing of the therapeutic garden was made available to each guest by Rusty Reimer, president of Rusty Design Service and the landscape architect designing the therapeutic garden plans.
“Most of the work will be done by volunteers and most of the materials will be donated by those who have a heart and deep investment in the well-being and greater enjoyment of the seniors living at Tabor Village during the final stages of their life,” said Hildegard Bandsmer, chair of Tabor Home Society.
The therapeutic garden will create an outdoor space for people with cognitive impairments to engage them more fully through the therapeutic activity of gardening.
“The new garden will open up new opportunities for horticultural therapy, enabling new ways for seniors to enjoy meaningful activities," said Dan Levitt, executive director of Tabor Village. “The therapeutic garden will be a great space for residents and their families as well as for their caregivers.”
For more information, visit taborvillage.org.