The Fellowship Community, in Chestnut Ridge, serves the needs of elder members through the various phases of aging, from living independently in apartments to needing direct, one-on-one care. Members are able to age in place all the way through end of life in a loving, homey environment.

The Pine Lodge Senior Residence, destroyed in a fire in 2020, is now set to be rebuilt by July 2023, and the new building will have 10 apartments for seniors, ranging from studios to one and two bedrooms, a large common living room, laundry services and an elevator.

It’s been a year since construction began on the new Pine Lodge, and nearly three years since the tragic fire that destroyed the original building and displaced 13 residents of the Fellowship Community. Development Manager Peter Heatley shares, “After a long journey, full of delays related to the insurance company and supply-chain slowdowns, the good news is that we finally have a move-in date for the new building.”

A multi-year fundraising campaign has been underway to make the restoration possible. “On behalf of the Fellowship, and hundreds of generous gifts from supporters of the community, we have raised over 90 percent of the fundraising goal. The kindness of so many donors has been a huge blessing to the Fellowship, and we are so grateful for everyone who has contributed,” says Heatley. With only a few months remaining until the new building is complete, the Fellowship is buckling down for one final push to meet their fundraising goal by July 2023.

One resident from the original Pine Lodge will return to the new one, with the other original Pine Lodge residents deciding to remain where they have since moved within the community. Heatley adds, “The restored residence will welcome new residents to the Fellowship, no doubt bringing a host of new personalities to this wonderful mix of people who make up our community.”

With a target date in sight, there is shared excitement about a new phase of life about to begin at the Fellowship which stands out as a more human, less institutional approach to care for the elderly in a beautiful, natural setting on 80 acres of farm and forest 60 minutes north of New York City.