Crafty Artists Use Talents to Give Back

The Heritage of Green Hills in Shillington, Pa., is home to many talented and interesting seniors, including several accomplished sewers, artists, and craftspeople.  Residents Henrietta Lucus and Sigi Schmidt use their considerable skills to help their neighbors, creating lovely items to sell at fundraising events. Together, they’ve raised thousands of dollars for the Heritage Resident Benefit Fund, which helps defray costs for residents who have exhausted their resources.

Lifelong Vocational Wellness
“We offer all sorts of volunteering opportunities for our residents, in addition to a full schedule of classes, clubs, games, events, and parties,” explains Well by Design Director Cheryl Anderson. “We know that vocational wellness — using our skills and knowledge to serve and help the greater community — is an incredibly important part of overall wellness. Henrietta and Sigi are two great examples of people who thrive by continuing to learn, create, and help out generously.”

The mother of three daughters and three grandsons, Henrietta “Hen” Lucus honed her needle skills by making handmade clothing and accessories for her family. “I made each of my daughters a poncho when they were in school,” she recalls. “They were so proud to wear them, and soon enough, I had their friends asking for ponchos too. I must have made at least 15!”


A beautiful, full-length green wool coat she created for herself has become a family heirloom — her daughter now wears the well-made garment proudly.


Lucus continues to use her trusty sewing machine for mending and alterations for her neighbors and to make pretty and practical wine bottle bags and tote bags for the craft sale fundraisers.


Meanwhile, Sigi Schmidt is contributing hundreds of throw pillows she personally sewed, stuffed, and decorated. Each unique pillow features an inspirational, sweet, or funny saying, and intricate hand-painted images.


A lifelong artist, Schmidt is always on the lookout for new projects and materials to use and has found plenty of inspiration on The Heritage’s campus. Recently, she started making beautiful pottery bowls based on the shapes of interesting leaves she found while walking around the senior living community’s campus.


“I’ve also recently started painting oyster shells,” Schmidt explains. “They were serving Oysters Rockefeller at an event here and I went from table to table, asking friends to give me their leftover shells. I clean them out with a knife, run them through the dishwasher twice, and then paint scenes inside the pearlescent inside of the shell.”


In addition to art, Schmidt also loves riding motorcycles, and can be seen zooming along on the campus’s roads. “I always wanted to learn how, but I was very busy raising kids,” she explains. “When I turned 62, I decided to take that dream off the backburner and go for it.”

Great Minds Think Alike

Both Lucus and Schmidt are glad that they chose The Heritage when they decided to move into a senior living community.


“My husband and I went to an Open House, and we thought it was very nice, but we agreed that we weren’t quite ready yet to make the move,” Lucus explains. “Two years after he passed away, I knew it was time. I told my daughters that I wanted to talk to them, and they said, ‘Yeah, Mom, we want to talk to you too.’ Turns out we all had the same idea! They thought I should look at The Heritage, and I told them that’s exactly what I wanted to tell them — that I was planning to move here. And it was the right choice.”


Schmidt, who lives in Villa with her husband, Wolfgang, looked at several communities in the area. “I chose The Heritage because the people here were very welcoming,” she explains. “It wasn’t too large — we wouldn’t get lost among the residents, and most importantly, it wasn’t stuffy. It’s been a good home for us.”

To learn more about The Heritage of Green Hills, visit www.HeritageOfGreenHills.com and schedule a tour.

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