At Village on the Green, Fayge Cohen is part of a community. Not in the standard sense of communities, like the bricks and mortars of the senior living community.
No, she’s part of a greater community, a group of residents who eat together, play together and pray together. It’s something she helped create when she moved into Village on the Green in 2009. It’s something the Jewish Pavilion has been a part of for more than a decade.
For years, The Jewish Pavilion has offered Friday Shabbat services to the residents. They deliver bags at Hanakkah and provide other support for the community. It’s essential because residents like Fayge rarely leave the community due to mobility issues.
“As soon as I moved in here, there were several people that I knew already and if I didn’t, we got to know them,” Cohen says. “We had a community. We had Rosh Hashana breakfast and we started Friday services. Harry does the singing and I bring the stuff.”
Fayge has been part of the greater Orlando community for years. After living in India, Germany and across the United States, Fayge settled in Central Florida in 1967. Shortly thereafter, her family opened three Al’s Army Stores that were mainstays in the Orlando area. Fayge was the CEO of the company, running it with her sons until the stores were sold in 2017.
“It was different every day, you just never knew what to expect,” Cohen says. “We were around for a long time and we maintained a good reputation because we were good to customers, we were fair and they appreciated that.”
She is a former president of the local Hadassah chapter. She was even named the national woman of the year of the organization. After all, service has always been a part of her life. It’s something she continues today and will continue as long as she can.