At Deupree, we believe the Ivory Tower mentality is best left to academia, so you won’t find our residents keeping themselves cloistered behind the walls of our retirement community.
No, you’re just as likely to find one of our residents shopping at a local boutique or attending the Opera as you are to find them in their apartments. But our ties to the community go beyond the entertainment they can provide us.
The Drive to Make a Difference
Deupree House and its residents have always harbored the desire to give back to the surrounding community.
The Cincinnati Meals on Wheels program has been operating out of the Deupree House kitchen since it began back in 1989, and our residents are regular participants in the Council for Lifelong Engagement (CLLE) work with local area schools.
But in 2011, a group of Deupree House decided that it was time that our resident-driven ministries to Greater Cincinnati should be organized. And in September of that year, the Deupree House Outreach Committee was founded.
Reaching out to the Community
With the mission to coordinate, communicate, and facilitate resident involvement in a variety of outreach activities that meet the needs of persons outside of our retirement community, our residents have been able to serve the less fortunate in the Cincinnati community and even across the world.
Home Comforts Project
Our committee worked with Redeemer Church to collect and disseminate much needed comforts for everyday life—like furniture, space heaters, pots, pans, and other kitchenware—to those in need throughout Cincinnati.
Friends of the Groom Project
Our committee members joined others at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Terrace Park to work as amateur public relations managers for the Christian theater group—preparing promotional material for mail campaigns.
Matthew 25 Ministries
We worked with the international humanitarian organization to collect much needed items for charities and organizations in the United States and across the globe.
We collected our empty prescription bottles to send overseas to hospitals and aid stations to use in the Pill Bottle Program which improves the quality of healthcare services in countries throughout Africa by decreasing the chances of contamination. And we saved our aluminum can pull tops for the Ronald McDonald House.
Christmas Gift Drive
All of our residents got involved in this unique Christmastime opportunity sponsored by the Caring Place in Pleasant Ridge and a number local churches.
We set up a Christmas tree here at Deupree House where residents could choose from a number of gift tags to provide a little cheer for needy children during the holiday season.
When our gift tree was bare, we assembled all of the gifts for the drive at the Caring Place where, unlike the prepacked boxes used in international programs like Operation Christmas Child, parents from the Cincinnati were able to select specific gifts for their children.
Blanketed With Love
The program that started it all.
In 2011, residents partnered with the Detroit-based charity “Blanketed with Love” to provide the homeless and disadvantaged residents of the Greater Cincinnati with blankets to keep them warm in our cold winter months here in southern Ohio.
Last year the Committee created 261 handmade fleece blankets, and as of March 22of this year, our Committee has been able to provide 483 blankets to 15 needy groups in the Greater Cincinnati area.
And a Number of Other Opportunities:
- Madisonville Education and Assistance Center
- Open Door project at the Church of the Advent Episcopal Church in Walnut Hills
- Hurricane Sandy Clothing Drive
In the 2 years that our outreach has officially been in operation, the Committee’s work has enriched the lives of so many people outside of the walls of our retirement community. And, at a personal level, our residents have found that participating in the different charitable projects has offered meaningful experiences to enrich their lives.
