Pastor Stevens Lynn of Grace Lutheran Church has seen hundreds of assisted living homes as part of his clergy work, but he’s never seen anywhere quite like The Village at Penn State.
A retirement home nestled in the woods behind Beaver Stadium, the Village is one of the area’s smallest and tightest-knit communities – but it’s going to be getting a little bigger.
Standing in front of an excited crowd of residents, board member Lynn announced the start of an $11.6 million fundraising campaign to provide new care opportunities that are available to the hundreds of seniors who’ve retired to Happy Valley.
“I like the idea that we’re able to offer a continuum of care,” Lynn said. “We have care for people who just walked in the door, and for people who can’t do that anymore.”
The ambitious project seeks to a new personal care household, community living center, entryway and walkway and outdoor activity center.
Lynn said these new additions will “elevate the lifestyle” offered at the Village – but it’s not just amenities that make the community such a special place. So what is it?
Veteran resident and “Pride of Our Lives” campaign co-chair Chick King knows what it is.
“The people who live here are really what makes The Village special – they’re warm, welcoming and outgoing,” King says. “When my wife died, they gave me the support I needed to get out and enjoy life.”
Fellow resident Nancy Gamble echoes that sentiment.
A resident since 2004, Gamble has been at the Village from the beginning. She says the planned expansions will go a long way to making the lives of Village residents happier and easier – but she also says they have everything they need in each other.
When her husband died about two years ago, Gamble says the Village staff and her friends and fellow residents showered her with love and support. A Penn State alumna herself, she says she couldn’t be happier she came back to Happy Valley in retirement.
“It just made sense to come back to State College,” Gamble says. “This place offers so much.”
Over $1.6 million have already been raised for the campaign, and ground has already been broken on the personal care center.
Looking at the foundations poking out of the ground, King excitedly calls it “a real project with real momentum.” King, who’s fond of “wishful thinking,” hopes to have the whole project wrapped up within the next four years.
But Chick, Gamble, staff and residents know they have a lot of hard work ahead of them. The $11.6 million won’t just appear out of nowhere, so they have plenty of outreach and campaigning work ahead of them.
Even Lynn – who’s a bit younger than the Village residents and not ready to retire yet – has something to look forward to.
“This project needs to get done. You know why?” Lynn said with a smile. “It’s a selfish reason, but it needs to get done because I’m going to come here.”
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