New Things Coming

Well here it is, 2020, already! I hope everybody had a nice Holiday Season and that your families stayed safe and healthy. I am very much looking forward to 2020, mostly because there are a number of new opportunities that I am excited about.

I am excited about the continued growth of Londonderry Village. This year we will open our two newest Green Houses. When we opened our first Green Houses in 2007, there were only about 20 or so operating Green Houses in the whole country. I am told that our two Houses, when they open, will be Green Houses #299 and #300! What an honor it is for us to help the Green House movement continue its extraordinary growth trend! I am also excited about the possibilities of the Flourish Capital Campaign, which looks to raise funds for both the Green Houses and for our continuing need for Benevolent Care. Londonderry Village has such a rich history of generosity and philanthropy, and I always feel proud just to be associated with this Community.

It looks like 2020 will actually be the year that we “put a shovel in the ground” for the start of the south campus. The planning for the south campus has been a long time in coming, and our concepts and designs have changed over the years. We were actually ready to go forward with the south campus back in 2007, but there was a development moratorium in North Londonderry Township at that time because of a lack of sewer capacity. That moratorium was actually a blessing in disguise as the “Great Recession” was just around the corner and would have definitely impacted our project in a negative way. We hope our timing is much better this time around!

In the five years prior to 2019, I approved an average of 63 applications (for independent living) each year, with a low of 56 and a high of 74. In the year 2019, I responded to over 103 applications for independent living residency. The interest and demand for our services has never been greater. I believe that is a direct result of the improvements in our services over the last few years. I am looking forward to seeing our campus grow and mature both this year, and in the years to come!

Jeff Shireman, President