Resident Relations Meeting Winners!!

Loryn Robinson, Bard Complex The Pride of our Country Family & Friends Day!! By: Richard Robicheau Bertha LaCosta, Flag House Ione Mastrangelo, Freedom House Come and join us on Saturday, July 28th at the Bard Complex for Today as before, our brave do fight Family & Friends Day! For a land they love, a flag so right Bev’s Bullentin The pride of our country, By: Beverly Sarduy, Social Services Service Coordinator The staff and committee members have planned a day full of events yes they are and fun for you, your family and friends. Tons of events will be going The strength of our nation, I would like to encourage everyone to begin using our new Resident on throughout the day including a performance by Elvis Presley, a Mag- best by far rd Just as our brave from each war Relations comment box located on the 3 floor of Flag and 3rd floor at Bard ic Show, Bounce House, and much more. A giveaway for all guests and gone by and next to the office at Freedom. It’s a wonderful way to voice your suggestions and concerns. Submit- residents will be given and a chance to win great prizes throughout the They march for us proudly, ted concerns are already being addressed, many with positive results! We had a tremendous turnout at day. Food, snacks, and beverages will be provided for all guests and res- flag held high the required presentations and were able to comply with the HUD requirements necessary to imple- idents. You do not want to miss out on a great day with your family ment the program. Our sincere thanks to all who were able to attend. For those who were not able to and friends. From all over this land they come to serve attend, one evening presentation will be offered at one of our locations in the near future. Announce- If you are interested in volunteering in anyway during the event ments will be posted prior to the date. They’re taught by the best, please contact Tiffany Lanzone at 484-933-4956. this they deserve There are many residents that I don’t get a chance to see, so I like to use this column to let you know of opportunities or “Ways to Save”. PECO Universal Services offers several ways to help manage your elec- To see some pictures of the renovated basement see page 4 in When troops give their all, tric bill and could potentially save you money. One such way is the PECO Cap program. the newsletter. the world does see PECO CAP program is a discounted residential tariff rate for low-income customers within the PECO Whether serving on land, service territory. There are seven discounted rates (up to 90 percent discount) available to residential in the air, or at sea electric and gas customers. The percentage of discount is based on the gross household income of the 4th of July Facts The pride from this country, customer. march through war If you think your household may qualify for CAP Rate please call 1-800-774-7040. To be eligible,  Independence Day was first celebrated in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. With home drawn strength, monthly household income cannot exceed:  The origin of Uncle Sam probably began in 1812, when Samuel Wilson was a held deep in their core meat packer who provided meat to the US Army. The meat shipments were  $1,362 One person household per month stamped with the initials, U.S. Someone joked that the initials stood for Our best are so awesome, their  $1,839 Two person household per month “Uncle Sam”. This joke eventually led to the idea of Uncle Sam symbolizing loved ones well know May God guide their journey the United States government where they - for us - go When you are on CAP Rate, you cannot be a customer of a competitive electric generation or natural  The first public Fourth of July event at the White House occurred in 1804. gas supplier. PECO also has the PECO CARES program for customers who are experiencing temporary  The word ‘patriotism’ comes from the Latin patria, which means ‘homeland’ What these brave must have is support from their own hardships. Contact the Universal Services number listed above to find out more. or ‘fatherland.’ Another suggestion of “Ways to Save” was offered by one of your neighbors, for those of you who have The love from their people, firm begun to use the Peapod.com grocery delivery system. He suggested that Peapod users consider combin-  In 1941, Congress declared 4th of July a federal legal holiday. It thankfulness shown ing their grocery orders. This would make it easier to attain the minimum order and save on the delivery is one of the few federal holidays that have not been moved to the nearest Friday or Monday. Our greatest achievement is that charges. we’re still free  Betsy Ross, according to legend, sewed the first American flag As always feel free to give me a call with any questions or concerns. Who knows, your question may Please take time and ponder who create a topic for future newsletter bulletins. Hope to see you all on July 28th for Family & Friends Day! in May or June 1776, as commissioned by the Congressional caused this to be Committee. Page 6 Kambic’s Korner Important Information from your Occupancy Coordinator By Donna Beard, Occupancy Coordinator By: Steve Kambic, Executive Director Calling All Volunteers! EMERGENCIES Work is progressing on schedule for the new Resident Activities Center. The mar- The regular office hours for Petra Community Housing are 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday unless keting efforts are occurring on schedule for the Center’s grand opening to occur July 28, otherwise noted. Our resident support staff is Morine Madden at the Flag House, Ken Keim at the Freedom 2012. The planning committees are meeting as scheduled and providing a wealth of House & Doris Bauman at Gruber Mills and they are on call 4:30pm to 8:30am Monday through Friday and Sat- great ideas. The funders are coming through with donations as hoped for. Now all we th urday & Sunday 24 hours each day. Please note that when resident support aides are on call they are permitted need is enough volunteers to cover the event on July 28 that might see up to 400 per- to travel within an 11 mile radius and are not restricted to staying on the property 24/7. They must always carry sons! their cell phone with them in case of an emergency call. If you have not already volunteered to help during the July celebration, please consider contacting Tiffany The emergency pull-cords or emergency call pad is located in the bathroom & bedroom of each resident’s Lanzone or Mary Chenco. You may call the main office at 610-948-1797, and press one during the recorded an- apartment. At Gruber Mills when the emergency pull cord or call pad is activated the alarm goes directly to the nouncement to speak to Tiffany or Mary. You may also visit us at the Bard Complex to talk to us. Many have th office and to Doris Bauman’s apartment. When an alarm is activated at Flag House and Freedom House the already volunteered and more will still be greatly appreciated due to the size and complexity of the July 28 alarm will sound in Morine Madden & Ken Keim’s apartment. The staff person will proceed to the panel located event. in the office to see what apartment alarm has been activated. Volunteering can be good for the soul. My parents volunteered to drive cancer patients for treatments. They During regular business hours office staff will handle the emergency call. When handling the call that person did this for years and often spoke of how gratifying it was to provide this service. To make it easy for all the vol- will go to your apartment to access the situation and take whatever means necessary to handle the situation. unteers, each event will have a board director or staff person in charge so the volunteers do not feel the extra pressure of being responsible for coordination or the outcome of the activity. We anticipate that volunteering After normal business hours when the emergency cord or keypad is activated the alarm will go to our answer- will be fun and rewarding. We are also building in shifts so that volunteers will not have to miss any activity ing service, who in turn will call the resident support aides who will handle the situation. When the call is re- they wish to attend during the celebration. ceived by the Resident Support Staff they will go to your apartment, access the situation and if necessary call the proper person to handle the emergency, (for example: an ambulance, maintenance etc.) Many hands make for light work and this gives us the joy of knowing that my contribution helped make it all possible! I hope to see you during the Saturday celebration. If you have a medical situation and are able PLEASE CALL 911 directly. By going through the answering service you are wasting valuable time to receive help. The staff is always thankful when it is a false alarm as we do not want to see anyone Summer Recipe-Bacon & Gorgonzola Potato Salad of our residents injured. Ingredients -1-3/4 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed WORK ORDERS -1/2 teaspoon salt The main office phone number is 610-948-1797. Work orders are to be called in at 610-948-1797, follow the -3/4 cup mayonnaise prompting by hitting #2 (work orders) on your phones key pad. -1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper -3/4 cup sour cream When placing a work order please leave the following information; name, apartment # & building, along with a -1/4 teaspoon sugar description of the problem. Your work order will be retrieved from the messages and handled in a timely man- -4 green onions, thinly sliced ner. You may also leave a note with the office or in the rent box of each building. -1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese Please note that after hours if you have an emergency work order (for example: pipe break, electricity problem, -1 celery rib, finely chopped locked out of your apartment) a resident can go to their Resident Support Aide (Morine, Ken, or Doris). If you -1 cup bacon bits, divided cannot locate the Resident Support Staff please dial 610-948-1797 and press #9 on your -2 tablespoons minced chives, divided phone’s keypad to get the answering service. The answering service will in turn reach the -2 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped Resident Support Staff who is on call for your building. The staff will assess the situation and Directions make the appropriate call to resolve the situation if it is an emergency. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook Please remember that leaving a message for a non-emergency work order after regular work for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool. hours on any phone prompting other than #2 (for work orders) will not be retrieved until Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, onions, celery, 1 tablespoon chives, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir in cheese and 1/2 cup bacon bits. Fold in tomatoes and potatoes. Cover the next time that staff person is in the office. and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, sprinkle with remaining chives and bacon. Blue Water at Bard by John Piechota, Facilities Coordinator Yield: 6 servings. The blue water at Bard is currently being addressed. Our plan of action is to first rebuild the water softener, and Recipe from http://www.tasteofhome.com then re-test the water. Should the problem continue after testing, we will continue on to phase two which hope- fully solves the problem. Be assured that we have been working on this problem for some time and have finally secured the funding to Page 3 perform the project. By Monday, this phase should be completed and we hope to get your feedback. Thank you.