Perry Lutheran Homes hosts first annual celebration dinner and reveals new logo

A new and unique effort was launched on May 31 as one hundred people from the Perry area gathered for the first Celebration Dinner focused on Music, Memories and a Generation of Greatness at Hotel Pattee.  Sponsored by Perry Lutheran Homes’ Board of Directors, the dinner was designed to call attention to the blessings and needs of our growing elder population.

Two awards were presented during this evening to remember. The first, Exemplar Award, to honor an elder citizen who demonstrated to others a “life well lived” through community impact serving as a positive model for others to follow. This award was presented to Mr. Julius Little who now calls Perry Lutheran Homes’ Spring Valley campus, home. The second StepUp Award, was established to honor any citizen in the Perry community that demonstrates, without hesitation, commitment to serving and improving the lives of elder citizens. This award was presented to Mrs. Karen Menz.

“StepUp is a movement that’s gaining traction in the Perry, Iowa community. It’s about stepping out of our day-to-day routines to take notice of elder citizens around us, stepping forward to tap this tremendous resource of experience, ability, and time, and stepping up to help take care of or reaching out to the elderly who are lonely or who need our help,” states Rev. Max Phillips, Chief Executive Officer at Perry Lutheran Homes.

Other highlights from the evening included a mixed musical playlist of favorite songs submitted by the dinner guests, a powerful video demonstrating the impact of Perry Lutheran Homes’ certified ‘Music & Memory’ program, and a taste for the bold future that Perry Lutheran Homes’ is looking to create reflected in the revealing of a new logo in addition to raising awareness for the needs of elders as near as Dallas and surrounding counties and as far away as Haiti.

“Because Perry Lutheran Home has made so many significant, positive changes in the last five years, and we fully intend to continue to do so, it’s time to make that change evident in a new way. A redesigned logo makes an impactful statement of change both internally as we focus on Serving Christ by Serving Others and externally as we focus on offering innovative, personalized, Christ-centered care,” explains Melissa Gannon, Administrator for Perry Lutheran Homes Main campus.

In addition to impacting the elderly in Perry, Iowa, Perry Lutheran Homes is changing the way elders are cared for in Jacmel, Haiti. Together with Ministry in Mission and Lutheran Family Service, Perry Lutheran Homes is helping to provide expertise, training, and mission teams to an Eldercare home currently being constructed nearby an established Orphanage. Thanks to grants for this work, a pre-planning trip occurred in May 2018 with a larger mission team trip planned for January 2019.  Work will continue on this partnership in what is one of the first elder care ministries in the country.

Perry Lutheran Homes next event in the year-round StepUp campaign is the first annual Run Through Time 5K fun run/walk set for Saturday, July 14 at 9AM in Perry, IA. Register soon to take advantage of early bird pricing at www.RunThroughTime.run. Learn more about Perry Lutheran Homes at www.PerryLutheranHome.org.

About Perry Lutheran Home

Perry Lutheran Homes, founded in 1956, is a 70 bed, 9 apartment (Main Campus), and 39 apartment (Spring Valley Campus) Christian Caring Community in Perry, Iowa specializing in care for seniors and others needing full, part, or skilled assistance, including early, mid, and advanced stages of memory care. Perry Lutheran Homes is the recipient of several highly regarded LeadingAge Iowa awards for innovative housing, care, and services. Perry Lutheran Homes’ continuum of care offers a wide array of services to meet changing needs from home care to assisted living to rehabilitative therapy to long-term nursing care to all stages of memory care.