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The Hortulus gift will make possible a new outdoor deck connecting the Witherell’s indoor café with the facility’s Friendship Garden, as well as garden furniture – tables, chairs, and benches – for the deck and Friendship Garden.
Funds raised by Project Renew are used to modernize and refurbish Witherell, the highly-regarded, short-term rehabilitation and long-term nursing care center owned by the Town of Greenwich.
"We are deeply appreciative of the generous donation to Project Renew from Hortulus that will enrich the lives of our residents,” said David Ormsby, chairman of the Friends of Nathaniel Witherell, Inc. “The gift is a fine example of the high-level of support for the campaign that we continue to receive from the Greenwich community.” Situated at the center of the facility, Witherell's Friendship Garden was specifically designed to enhance the residents' sensory perception by providing plantings that change with the seasons and stimulate the senses, which is important for those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
There are also paths for walking and residents and guests will be able to access the new outdoor deck from Café Witherell and the Friendship Garden. Witherell’s Friendship Garden has been designed by Peter Cummin, principal of Cummin Associates of Stonington, a renowned landscape architect who has generously contributed his firm’s services to Project Renew. "The donation met a number of our civic objectives. We had been looking for a project for which a substantial contribution would make a big difference, and be consistent with our mission to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening through action in the field of civic improvement,'' said Rinda Bishop,, public relations chair and past president of Hortulus. "Witherell’s new deck and garden furniture will allow visitors and residents to truly enjoy and appreciate the Friendship Garden. We just love this project!" Photo: David Ormsby, Chairman of the Friends of Nathaniel Witherell, receives a check from Jane Ghazarossian, Hortulus President, to fund a new outdoor deck and garden furniture for the Witherell (front row, center). Also attending the check presentation were: Witherell resident Frances Newman (front row, left) and (standing left to right) resident Joseph Freda; Allen Brown, Witherell's executive director, Karen Sadik-Khan, Friends of Nathaniel Witherell president; Hortulus members Ginny Gray, Rinda Bishop and Laura Cunningham (also a Friends board member); and Scott Neff, development director for the Friends.
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