Rudolf Steiner Fellowship Foundation

conniela

This is a wonderful community offering as much involvement in Community life as you are interested in. I moved here 3 months ago and am very happy living in this serene little rustic village. The activities are culturally enriching. Thelfood is biodynamicalky grown on the farm. The co-workers are very warm and caring.

littlelola

The Fellowship is distinctive in what it has to offer. It is a community in which one can live independently or with assisted living at many levels, moving into final care when needed. It is situated in the midst of woodland and a small farm, even though it exists in the suburban town of Chestnut Ridge. I came here with my husband 7 years ago, when he needed a great deal of care. After his death, 6 years ago, I have happily remained as one who is truly sold on what is offered here. The style of life at the Fellowship is unlike that at any other facility. It is more like living in a tiny village, with lovely grounds to walk in, with chickens, cows, and sheep to visit. Much of our food is organically grown here, so we live with the seasons of planting, tending, and harvesting. We are allowed to help, if we so desire, with shucking the corn or stripping the beans from the stalk. We can offer meaningful services to the life of the community, if that is what we want, and many of us do because we realize that we still have much of value to offer to our small world around us. Activities are not the traditional, organized ones found in other such facilities. Rather, there are many and varied possibilities to be active in a useful, productive way, or in a way that offers a choice of artistic opportunities. We are supported in a desire for independence as long as possible, so that the choice of activities is multiple, providing for individual initiative and participation ( if one chooses to be active; each one determines how much or how little ). We are adjacent to a larger community which encompasses an independent school as well as other special educational offerings out of which we are enriched by programs from the various performing arts, by lectures, by book study groups, and the like. Many of the co-workers who care for us and for the community as a whole live on the premises. Some are families with children of various ages - a great joy to have around. Having all ages here is a prescription for staying young, and most of us feel that life here, with all it has to offer, does keep us young and active and continuing to contribute in a meaningful way. Friendships are formed here that are very special, both with other paying members and with co-workers. With our doctor in residence, one can feel safe about daily or occasional care, knowing that over the years you are known to the physician who also participates in the larger life of the community. I recently turned 90: I expect to add a few more years because of the life I live here. I live independently but know that in an emergency, no matter what kind, or that when aging finally does overtake me, I shall move into some appropriate level of care, with the caretakers being people whom I already know well. It is comforting. Having given such a glowing picture, I must say that, of course, there are small things that could be better, and that the type of housing and activities that we have are not for everybody, especially those wanting the latest, up-to-date housing and a daily schedule of games and "fun" activities provided by a recreation director. But for me, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.