New pavilion celebrates ‘G-d’s miracles’ at Brookwood Community
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JHV: MICHAEL C. DUKE
Brookwood Community citizens geared up for their daily bike ride before participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new bike pavilion. |
A community of adults with disabilities is able to travel to work and to home and lead healthier lives, thanks to a gift from members of Congregation Beth Yeshurun and other supporters of The Brookwood Community.
Bruce Stein serves on the Brookwood Advisory Board and led a fundraising campaign to complete construction on Brookwood’s new Andrea and Greg Glauser Bike Pavilion, which the community dedicated on June 14 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“My life has been a very big blessing,” Bruce Stein told the JHV, as he and other visitors greeted Brookwood “citizens” as they rode bikes around the new pavilion.
“For me to be able to do for those who cannot do for themselves is the greatest blessing in my life,” Stein said. “Seeing them on their bikes and seeing them so happy is the greatest feeling.”
Beth Yeshurun’s Senior Rabbi Brian Strauss and board president Jerrad Bloome affixed a bicycle-themed mezuzah to the bike pavilion’s entrance during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“The goal of the mezuzah is to remind us of G-d’s miracles – that G-d dwells here,” Rabbi Strauss explained to the gathering. “At Brookwood, they [miracles] are happening every single day.”
Located just west of Houston, The Brookwood Community is a G-d-centered educational, residential and entrepreneurial community for adults with disabilities. The campus contains eight group homes, two staff homes, residential inn, health and dental clinic, worship center, enterprise building, activities building, 47 greenhouses, Gift & Garden Center and the Café at Brookwood, a restaurant staffed by Brookwood citizens.
Brookwood’s programs currently serve more than 225 citizens, including 110 residents who live and work on the campus in a variety of enterprises that provide up to 40 percent of the community’s revenue.
With a nearly 500-acre campus, citizens rely heavily on bicycles to get from home to work and back, and to participate in daily activities and exercise.
“I love riding my bike,” said Kurt, 58, who has lived at Brookwood for 30 years and currently works in the greenhouse operation and serves as a host and waiter at the café.
“I ride with friends every day,” he told the JHV.
Brookwood’s COO, Elizabeth Carlyle, said many Brookwood citizens ride 300 miles per year, as part of the community’s physical fitness program. She said the new bike pavilion is a much-needed addition to the growing campus.
“We used to have all of our bikes sprawled out along sidewalks, by awnings, just any place we could fit them,” Carlyle told the JHV. “They were out in the elements and were getting damaged, plus it was hard for citizens to access them.
“This new bike pavilion enables them to have a primary mode of transportation protected from the elements, plus it keeps the bikes organized, which is much safer for our citizens,” she said.
“At Brookwood, we’re all about purpose-filled work,” Carlyle added. “We want everyone to wake up and have a purpose. And, we want them all to have a safe way to get around the community. Biking is a great way for them to get exercise and to get to where they need to go.”
On Sept. 28, members of The Brookwood Community are participating in a Bike to the Beach event, to raise money for autism research and other disability services. For information about the ride, visit brookwoodb2b.org.
Brookwood’s new bike pavilion is named in honor of Greg Glauser, Brookwood’s Community Life director, and his wife, of blessed memory.
Bruce Stein serves on the Brookwood Advisory Board and led a fundraising campaign to complete construction on Brookwood’s new Andrea and Greg Glauser Bike Pavilion, which the community dedicated on June 14 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“My life has been a very big blessing,” Bruce Stein told the JHV, as he and other visitors greeted Brookwood “citizens” as they rode bikes around the new pavilion.
“For me to be able to do for those who cannot do for themselves is the greatest blessing in my life,” Stein said. “Seeing them on their bikes and seeing them so happy is the greatest feeling.”
Beth Yeshurun’s Senior Rabbi Brian Strauss and board president Jerrad Bloome affixed a bicycle-themed mezuzah to the bike pavilion’s entrance during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“The goal of the mezuzah is to remind us of G-d’s miracles – that G-d dwells here,” Rabbi Strauss explained to the gathering. “At Brookwood, they [miracles] are happening every single day.”
Located just west of Houston, The Brookwood Community is a G-d-centered educational, residential and entrepreneurial community for adults with disabilities. The campus contains eight group homes, two staff homes, residential inn, health and dental clinic, worship center, enterprise building, activities building, 47 greenhouses, Gift & Garden Center and the Café at Brookwood, a restaurant staffed by Brookwood citizens.
Brookwood’s programs currently serve more than 225 citizens, including 110 residents who live and work on the campus in a variety of enterprises that provide up to 40 percent of the community’s revenue.
With a nearly 500-acre campus, citizens rely heavily on bicycles to get from home to work and back, and to participate in daily activities and exercise.
“I love riding my bike,” said Kurt, 58, who has lived at Brookwood for 30 years and currently works in the greenhouse operation and serves as a host and waiter at the café.
“I ride with friends every day,” he told the JHV.
Brookwood’s COO, Elizabeth Carlyle, said many Brookwood citizens ride 300 miles per year, as part of the community’s physical fitness program. She said the new bike pavilion is a much-needed addition to the growing campus.
“We used to have all of our bikes sprawled out along sidewalks, by awnings, just any place we could fit them,” Carlyle told the JHV. “They were out in the elements and were getting damaged, plus it was hard for citizens to access them.
“This new bike pavilion enables them to have a primary mode of transportation protected from the elements, plus it keeps the bikes organized, which is much safer for our citizens,” she said.
“At Brookwood, we’re all about purpose-filled work,” Carlyle added. “We want everyone to wake up and have a purpose. And, we want them all to have a safe way to get around the community. Biking is a great way for them to get exercise and to get to where they need to go.”
On Sept. 28, members of The Brookwood Community are participating in a Bike to the Beach event, to raise money for autism research and other disability services. For information about the ride, visit brookwoodb2b.org.
Brookwood’s new bike pavilion is named in honor of Greg Glauser, Brookwood’s Community Life director, and his wife, of blessed memory.