Discover how community support brings joy and makes a difference.
Florence Steiger celebrated her 100th birthday at Sholom Her family shares about the community she found. Story page 14.
CARE | COMPASSION | COMMUNITY
GENERATIONS OF CARE
SUMMER 2026
DEAR FRIENDS, On behalf of Sholom Community Alliance and the Sholom Foundation, welcome to the Sholom family. It is hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since our last Family Fun Day, and we are already looking forward to gathering again on August 23, 2026 to celebrate community, connection, and this year’s honorees, the Shaller Family. Last year, more than 350 residents, families, staff, volunteers, donors, corporate partners, and friends joined us for a memorable day at Sholom. Family Fun Day is Sholom’s annual fundraising event, bringing our community together to relax, reconnect, and celebrate Sholom in support of the people we serve and the mission we share. Sholom is more than a care provider or a campus. It is a community made stronger by residents, families, staff, volunteers, donors, and friends who believe older adults deserve dignity, compassion, connection, and joy. Every person who becomes part of Sholom adds something meaningful. Residents bring their stories, wisdom, traditions, and spirit. Families bring love, trust, and partnership. Staff bring skill and compassion. Volunteers bring friendship, music, and the gift of presence. Donors bring generosity that helps turn care into community. In this issue of Generations of Care, you will find stories that reflect the heart of Sholom: meaningful relationships, outstanding care, family connection, volunteer commitment, and
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generosity in action. We are also pleased to feature a story about this year’s Family Fun Day honorees, the Shaller Family, on pages 6 and 7. We hope you will join us on August 23, to support Family Fun Day, make a gift, or consider how your legacy can help sustain Sholom for future generations. Thank you for being part of the Sholom family and for helping us care for today while building for tomorrow. With gratitude,
Joel Mandel Executive Director
Etta Barry Sholom Foundation Board President
Renee Lampert Sholom Board President
Jim Newbrough Sholom CEO
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YOU’RE NOT FORGOTTEN HERE How Sholom’s Spiritual Care Team Creates Connection and Belonging At Sholom, growing older never means becoming invisible. Through worship, music, learning, conversation and quiet moments of presence, Sholom’s Spiritual Care Team helps residents remain connected—to their faith, to one another and to the community surrounding them. The team includes Rabbi Shalom Reznik-Bell, Cantor Wendi Fried, and Amy Luukkonen, Pastor and Christian Chaplain. Together, they support residents and families through celebrations, transitions, illness, uncertainty, grief and loss. For Pastor Amy, who has served Sholom for six years, the work begins with relationships. “As a relationship person, my favorite part is sitting one-on-one with residents,” she said. “Those conversations are a gift. No matter our faith or life experiences, we have so much in common.” Cantor Wendi feels equally enriched by the people she serves. “Our residents have lived extraordinary lives,” she said. “They’re full of wisdom, stories, humor, resilience and perspective. I learn from them every single day.” “Spiritual care begins with compassionate presence, active listening and empathy,” Rabbi Reznik-Bell said. “We explore what has given residents’ lives meaning and support them through prayer, music and personal connection. We also walk with residents and families through grief and loss—and are deeply inspired by the beautiful ways our elders have lived.” Rabbi Bell and Libby celebrating Purim
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Spiritual care takes many forms at Sholom. Residents gather for Torah study, Rosh Chodesh celebrations, choir rehearsals, sing-alongs, Jewish learning, holiday observances, Spirit Lifters and worship services. The team also meets privately with residents and families who need conversation, prayer or simply someone willing to listen.
Pastor Amy and Cantor Wendi
Cantor Wendi also introduced the Monthly Middah Program, which focuses on a different Jewish character trait or value each month. The selected middah is displayed at both campuses and embraced across departments. Values such as kindness, gratitude, respect, compassion and joy become reminders that everyone helps shape the culture of Sholom. “Every act of kindness, moment of patience and gesture of respect strengthens the entire community,” Cantor Wendi said. “We want Sholom to be more than a place to live. We want it to be a community where every person truly belongs.” That belonging matters especially during times of changing health, personal loss or uncertainty. “Faith helps ground us,” Pastor Amy said. “It reminds us that even during uncertain times, we’re not alone.” Support for Sholom helps strengthen the meaningful experiences and relationships that turn care into community. It helps residents remain connected to tradition, surrounded by friendship and supported through every season of life. Because no one should grow older feeling forgotten. At Sholom, every person is honored, every story matters and every generation has something to teach the next.
L’dor v’dor—from generation to generation. 5
HONORING THE
SHALLER FAMILY AT FAMILY FUN DAY
For the Shaller Family, supporting Sholom has always been about more than a building. It is about caring for older adults with dignity, providing comfort to families, and ensuring that the Jewish community has a place where seniors can feel respected, supported, and at home. Rossy Shaller remembers her late husband, Dick, as “very outgoing, very charismatic, very giving, very caring.” He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, businessman, and community member who believed deeply in giving back. When the opportunity came to help build a new Sholom campus in St. Paul, Dick understood the importance of the moment. “He just felt the community needed it,” Rossy shared. “People are living longer. They need a decent place to be in.” Dick’s sons, Steve and Scott, saw how much Sholom meant to their father. Steve recalls that Dick took great pride in the new campus and loved showing it to others. Scott shared that his father modeled a simple but powerful lesson: when you have success, you should give back. That lesson continues through the next generation of the Shaller Family. Their connection to Sholom reflects a legacy of philanthropy, family, and Jewish communal responsibility. It also reflects the belief that caring for our elders is not only an obligation, but a privilege. This year’s Family Fun Day is an opportunity to celebrate that legacy while supporting Sholom’s continued commitment to compassionate, dignified care. As residents, families, volunteers, donors, and friends come together, we honor the Shaller Family not only for what they helped make possible, but for the example they continue to set.
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Become a Sponsor
Three generations of the Shaller Family
Please join us on August 23, 2026, at the Shaller Family East Campus, 740 Kay Street, Saint Paul where the Sholom Foundation will gather for our 4th Annual Family Fun Day. We will proudly honor the Shaller Family, whose generosity helped shape Sholom’s St. Paul campus. Their acts of philanthropy continue to inspire our community and help ensure Sholom remains a place of care, comfort, and community for generations to come.
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SHOLOM HIGHLIGHTS 1
1 Bingo!!!
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2 Celebrating Mother’s Day 3 Crocheting at Sholom 4 Chanukah at Sholom 5 Everyone’s a winner at Sholom Casino Day
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6 Showing off their hats at hat day 7 Residents enjoying Sholom’s gardens 10
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Keeping Sholom’s gardens beautiful
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Sholom’s 2025 Family Fun Day
Some of Sholom’s 10 Dedicated Volunteers 7
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Visiting with a feathered friend
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SUNSHINE CLUB BRINGS JOY ACROSS GENERATIONS Some visits brighten a room the moment they begin. On June 14, Sholom residents welcomed the Sunshine Club, a group of children from Kenesseth Israel Congregation who visit each month to share music, art and joy with seniors. Ranging in age from 3 to 12, the children arrived with energy, creativity and a simple purpose: to help every resident feel seen, valued and loved. Together, the children and residents drew Jewish-themed pictures, sitting side by side at the tables as conversations, laughter and smiles naturally filled the room. For many residents, the joy was not only in the activity itself, but in the presence of children eager to spend time with them. After the art project, the children performed a variety of Jewish songs. Residents clapped along as the music filled the room, especially as Tuli, together with his friends Gavriel and Eliyahu, helped conduct the choir, and Shabsi played his guitar. The moment was sweet, lively and deeply meaningful.
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Before the visit, Tzipporah Leah, the Rebbetzin who organizes the Sunshine Club, reminded the children of their goal: “By the time we leave, let’s try to put a smile on every resident’s face.” That is exactly what happened. The Sunshine Club is a beautiful expression of Kibud Zekaynim, the Jewish value of honoring the elderly. Through song, art and simple acts of kindness, these children are learning that caring for older adults is part of who we are as a community. Sholom is grateful to Tuli, Eliyahu, Gavriel, Chana, Shabsi, Benyamin, Menachem, Ita and Esther for bringing sunshine, sweetness and smiles to our residents.
❝By the time we leave, let’s try to put a smile on every resident’s face.❞ 11
BILL LIPSCHULTZ: A LEGACY OF QUIET GENEROSITY Bill Lipschultz believed that a strong community is built by people who give thoughtfully, generously, and without fanfare. Throughout his life, Bill understood philanthropy not simply as an act of charity, but as an expression of gratitude, responsibility, and commitment to the generations that follow. That spirit was reflected in his long and meaningful relationship with Sholom. Bill cared deeply about ensuring that older adults could live with dignity, compassion, comfort, and connection. He recognized that Sholom is more than a place where people receive care; it is a community where residents, tenants, clients, and families are supported during some of life’s most important and vulnerable moments. Throughout his lifetime, Bill’s generosity represented a lasting commitment to Sholom and to the people it serves. As a member of Sholom Foundation’s Heritage Society, he also chose to extend that commitment through a legacy gift, helping ensure that Sholom can continue providing exceptional care, meaningful programs, and compassionate support for older adults and their families well into the future. For Bill, philanthropy was not about recognition. It was about strengthening the institutions that strengthen people. His generosity reflected a belief that when we are fortunate enough to help, we have a responsibility to do so in ways that are practical, meaningful, and enduring.
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As his children shared:
❝Our dad believed that success carried with it an obligation to give back. He didn’t think generosity was something extraordinary; it was simply what you did if you were fortunate enough to help. Sholom represented values that were important to both our parents: caring for people with dignity, strengthening our community, and making sure others would be cared for long after we were gone.❞ — Brian Lipschultz, Marc Lipschultz, and Debbie Goldenberg Bill’s legacy is reflected not only in his lifetime of support, but in what his generosity will continue to make possible. Every resident who experiences comfort, every family that finds reassurance, and every act of care strengthened by his giving reflects the values he lived by. His life reminds us that the most enduring legacy is not what we keep, but what we give.
For information about Sholom’s Heritage Society or leaving a legacy, contact Ted Flaum at tflaum@Sholom.com or (952) 939-1594. 13
A CENTURY WELL LIVED, SURROUNDED BY COMPASSION When Florence Steiger z”l, moved into the Roitenberg Family Assisted Living Residence, her family hoped she would receive excellent care. What they found was much more—a community where she was welcomed warmly, treated with dignity, and embraced as family. “From the very beginning, they made Mom feel at home,” recalled her daughter, Jill. “I had started hanging family photos in her apartment but ran out of time. A staff member finished decorating for us. That simple act said everything about the kind of people they are.” Florence, a lifelong teacher, spent the final five years of her remarkable life at Roitenberg, where she celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by people who genuinely cared about her. After a serious fall at age 98, rehabilitation at Sholom helped her regain enough strength to walk again with her walker—a testament to her determination and the encouragement of her care team. As Florence’s needs changed, staff worked closely with Jill and her siblings to personalize her routines, meals, and support. “Communication was outstanding,” Jill said. “We always knew what was happening, and everyone truly wanted what was best for Mom.” Staff nurtured Florence’s love of learning, honored her Jewish traditions, and helped her remain connected through discussions with Rabbi Bell, music, bingo, and moments of shared laughter. During Florence’s final year, hospice staff and a devoted volunteer brought comfort to her and reassurance to her family. The volunteer visited every Friday, kept Jill informed while she traveled, and later spoke at Florence’s shiva. “Mom wasn’t just cared for,” Jill reflected. “She was known, respected, and loved.” Florence surrounded by her family
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Florence’s story reflects what makes Sholom so special: compassionate caregivers, meaningful relationships, and a community where residents are truly at home.
A TAX-SMART WAY TO GIVE THROUGH YOUR IRA It is never too early to think about tax-smart ways to support organizations that matter most to you. For many donors age 70½ or older, making a gift directly from an IRA can be a simple and meaningful way to support Sholom Foundation while also planning thoughtfully for the year ahead. This type of gift is known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD. When made directly from your IRA custodian to Sholom Foundation, a QCD is generally excluded from taxable income and may count toward your required minimum distribution (RMD). For 2026, eligible donors may make QCD gifts up to the annual IRS limit of $111,000. This approach can be especially helpful for donors who do not need all of their IRA distribution for personal expenses. By directing funds straight from an IRA to charity, donors may be able to support the care, comfort, dignity, and community Sholom provides in a tax-smart way. “A Qualified Charitable Distribution can be a very effective planning tool. For those taking RMDs, a reduction in taxable income can allow for additional tax saving opportunities. Too many people focus on the minimum distribution from the IRA as opposed to considering the maximum potential tax. For the right donor, it can be one of the most tax-smart ways to give.” Seth Meisler, Founder & CEO Shefa Wealth Advisors
To explore whether this giving option is right for you, please contact Sholom Foundation at (952) 939-1592 or Foundation@Sholom.com. We would be happy to work with you and your professional advisor to help ensure your gift is directed in the way most meaningful to you.
Professional Review Note This article is for general educational purposes and should not be considered tax, legal, or financial advice. Donors should consult their tax, legal, or financial advisor to determine whether a Qualified Charitable Distribution is appropriate for their personal situation. Financial Planning and Advisory Services are offered through Prosperity Capital Advisors (“Prosperity”), an SEC registered investment adviser. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Shefa Wealth Advisors and Prosperity are separate entities. Prosperity does not provide tax or legal advice
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NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 3533 TWIN CITIES, MN
3610 Phillips Parkway St. Louis Park, MN 55426 www.sholomfoundation.com
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Pictured above: Ashley and Adina get ready to celebrate the New Year at Sholom. Pictured on front cover: The Kennedys at Family Fun Day.