Pilgrim Place - What's New

Read brief sketches of the students and the social justice-oriented projects they propose to explore if are are selected as one of the two who will each receive a $10,000 fellowship. (1/30/12)

Click here to review public transportation options accessible to Pilgrim Place and community residents living in Claremont.

Click here to review the full range of wellness activities presented - all designed to enhance the mental and physical well-being of residents. (1/30/12)

Click here to read article in Claremont Courier (1/4/12)

"Living with Dementia in a Continuing Care Retirement Community"

Sue Fairley, VP of Health Services, and Sharon Berry, Director of Wellness/Clinical Services addressed this important topic in a Resident Forum on January 14. Click here for a copy of their PowerPoint presentation.

In an effort to protect the environment and take advantage of new technologies, our annual report is digital and on our web site. This online report combines our usual set of facts, figures and donor lists with features that showcase some of the bold initiatives undertaken in 2010 to ensure the future of Pilgrim Place. Check it out.

Daily Pleasures, a quarterly update that has been developed to describe the progress being made to change the way we care for elders in our Health Services Center. Our mission is to replace the traditional medical model of care that currently defines most skilled nursing facilities with a person-centered model of care that encourages resident choices in an environment that feels like a true home. Click here to read the January 2012 edition. (December 2011)

Click here for an update on Campus Services' activities. (January 2012)

Pilgrim Place resident Ron Evans gave a dramatic reading of the holiday classic, "A Christmas Carol" - all 28 voices! Read Claremont Courier article on his performance. (December 2011)

An exhibit, "Ceramic Inspirations: the work, life and influences of Richard Petterson," has been installed at the Petterson Museum, featuring over 150 ceramic pieces made by Mr. Petterson, his contemporaries, his teachers, and his students as well as works by American ceramicists he collected and historic and contemporary Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Latin American pieces that influenced his work.

Click here for details.

Pilgrim Place was one of four senior communities across the U.S. cited in the October issue of Leading Age Magazine for its efforts in bring Culture Change to the Health Services Center, the organization's 69-bed skilled nursing facility. Read more ...

Based on the Five-Star Quality Rating System, Pilgrim Place has been upgraded to four stars (from three). This rating system is designed to help consumers, their families and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily. Improvement in our rating is due primarily to an increase in nursing hours this past year, along with an additional Registered Nurse on day shift, seven days a week. With greater licensed nursing supervision, the quality of care for Health Center residents has been enhanced. (July 2011)

CEO Bill Cunitz congratulates (l to r) Diana Owings, President of the Pilgrim Place Board of Directors, and Janet Vandevender, Past-Moderator of Town Meeting, for being selected as 2011 Lay Women of the Year by the UCC Southern California-Nevada Conference, representing the Conference at the denomination's meeting in Tampa, FL. (July 2011)

The Pilgrim Place Pickers (musical group) and members of the Peace Committee marched in Claremont's 4th of July parade, taking 2nd place in the "Marching Unit: Musical" category. Another favorite Independence Day tradition is the Speaker's Corner - named after the late Pilgrim Place resident T. Willard Hunter who founded it more than 30 years ago, fashioning it after London's Hyde Park Corner.

To keep friends of Pilgrim Place abreast of our journey to a person-centered, "household" model of care - and what it means to Pilgrim Place and the wider community - "Daily Pleasures," a quarterly newsletter, has been developed. You are invited to read most current issue, July 2011, along with earlier issues for January 2011 and April 2011.

Please contact us if you'd like to hear more about our plans. Sue Fairley, Vice President for Health Services, at (909) 399-5536 or sfairley@pilgirmplace.org. (July 2011)

People choose Pilgrim Place for a variety of reasons, but they all share a common commitment to social justice, peaceful living, and prophetic environmentalism in this active intentional community. Click here to meet the newest residents. [June 2011]

Senior Correspondent is a first in participatory, citizen journalism; an Internet- and community-based platform where people over the age of 60 report on their lives. Older adults have an opportunity to remember, reflect and reach out across the generations. "This seasoned view of the world is essential for the health of our world, "says Daniel Pryfogle, founder and publisher. Click here to read the current issue. [May 2011)

   Available from 4:00 to 6:30 pm Monday through Friday for

   residents, staff and residents of Claremont. Menu consists

   of prepared sandwiches, salads, or snacks. Click here for complete      menu, including prices. Extended hours are scheduled for sometime

   in June. Call 909.603.7079 for more information.

At a celebratory banquet on February 12, Paul Rice, CEO of Fair Trade USA, received the first Napier Medal for his work in fair trade movement and 12 students from the Claremont Colleges were named as First Napier Fellows. To read more about the evening, click here.

As Pilgrim Place comes close to completing the Campus Development Project - a major renovation of the campus including two new buildings and extensive remodeling of several existing buildings - the community recognized a number of new "public spaces" that were ideal for displaying art work. In response, an Art Team was constituted to develop an Art in Public Spaces Policy and Art Release Form to facilitate the selection and hanging of art. This Team, consisting of residents and staff, will assist in providing opportunities for art to be displayed within these beautiful campus facilities. (January 2011)

At our Health Services Center, Pilgrim Place is moving toward a person-centered, household model of care that returns choices to the elder in an environment that creates a true home. This decision has less to do with changing the culture of Pilgrim Place and everything to do with replacing the traditional medical model of care that currently defines most skilled nursing facilities, including our Health Center.

To keep friends of Pilgrim Place abreast of the culture change process - and what it means to Pilgrim Place and the wider community - we have developed a quarterly newsletter, titled "Daily Pleasures." You are invited to read our January 2011 inaugural issue - and contact us if you'd like to hear more about our plans. (December 30, 2010)

Recognizing that institutional life is not a replacement for home, Pilgrim Place is embarking on a journey to change the way we care for elders in our Health Services Center where "every day is a good day"! Click here for details.

Encouragingly, our efforts to create a model of person-centered care at our Health Services Center was recently featured in the December issue of Inland Living Magazine.

See the beautiful Pilgrim Place campus and fascinating residents in this brand new video!

Pacific School of Religion will honor George Aki as a 2011 Distinguished Alumni at a reception/banquet in January. On May 6, 1940, two days before his graduation from the seminary , George was interned at the Tanforan Detention Center in San Bruno, along with more than 6,000 other Japanese Americans. He was ordained in the camp and then volunteered to serve as the chaplain of the Asian-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team - the most decorated unit in US military history. George has considered it his lifelong personal mission to do what he could to honor the men who died in World War II

Janet Vandevender has been selected by the United Church of Christ, Southern California-Nevada Conference, to receive the 2011 Distinguished Lay Woman Award, along with Diana Owings, Chair of the Pilgrim Place Board of Directors. Both will represent the conference and be honored at the 2011 Synod in Tampa, FL scheduled in June.

Along with four other Inland Valley residents, Rizek & Alice Abusharr shared holiday memories of their life in Jerusalem in an article in the December issue of Inland Living Magazine. Read article.

At ceremonies held in Washington DC in June, Richard Harris received the 2010 Arnold Goodman Award - named for an individual who set a standard of excellence and commitment to the work of UNA-USA that each year recognizes outstanding leadership among its chapters and divisions.

Ward McAfee was inducted in the "Hall of Fame" for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at California State University, San Bernardino. Ward was a member of founding faculty for the university - and the first dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

The Institute of Antiquity and Christianity, located in Claremont, has installed an annual lecture in honor of its founder and long-time director, James Robinson. Under his direction, IAC grew to international stature and became an vibrant center of scholarly activity.

Jane Douglass and her work are to be featured in an exhibition at the International Museum of Reformation in Geneva, Switzerland - and will become part of the permanent collection at the Museum.

Leo Marmol became a Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, the highest level of clinical psychologists in the U.S.

Donna Ambrogi and Linda Vogel led a session entitled, "Everybody Needs a Patient Advocate," at the 2010 Aging Services of California Annual Conference in Long Beach.

Gesine robinson has been invited to present a paper at the international convention of the Society for New Testament Studies in Berlin. The paper, "An Update on the Gospel of Judas," will be part of the SNTS Apocryphal Literature Seminar.

As founding member and officer of the United Methodist Commission on Status and Role of Women, Jeanne Audrey Powers was featured in a Methodist publication on women to celebrate Women's History Month in March.

Ruth Harris was one of three women featured in the Boston University School of Theology, Focus for Winter, 2009/10 - for her role in building the World Student Christian Federation, the Frontier of the Mission Program, and the Mission Intern Program has strengthened ecumenical witness and action.

Beryl Moore was recipient of the Inland Valley Hope Partners' 2010 Founder's Award during an annual meeting to honor work of volunteers.

Beginning August 16, Sue Fairley becomes Pilgrim Place’s Vice President for Health Services with an office at the Health Services Center, announced Bill Cunitz this week.

Read Sue's background.

In the latest edition of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging's (AAHSA) publication, Future Age, the first article about Generative Thinking features Pilgrim Place.

Click here to read the article.

At a ceremony held to celebrate the completion of campus-wide energy use assessments, a new initiative was announced that calls for Pilgrim Place to reduce energy usage by 25% over the next five years. For details of the event, read article in Claremont Courier by reporter Landus Rigsby.

Children from the second grade at Oakmont Elementary School in Claremont recently created a colorful patchwork quilt of a poster that was titled: “Making Change in Claremont Through the Pilgrim Place Community Experience." In 24 illustrated vignettes, the students drew pictures that describe the scope

and breadth of Pilgrim Place's effort to bring hopeful change to our world.

A Program of Educational Outreach
The Pilgrim Place Petterson Museum of Intercultural Art contains revolving exhibits of international fine art, folk art and material culture covering many centuries of human history. Now teachers and other groups can check out boxes of these beautiful treasures from various geographic regions of the world for the purpose of providing a hands-on educational experience for students and group members. Learn more...