When Kendal On Hudson celebrates its fifth anniversary this month as a continuing care retirement community in Sleepy Hollow, its residents will receive an award for a program that is characteristic of the practices and values that guide Kendal’s activities.

“The Co-Pilot Program that we started here consists of resident volunteers who are regularly scheduled to be alerted by cell phone so they can accompany other residents, who seek company, if they need to go to our local hospital’s emergency room,” explained Penny Broome, chairperson of the Residents Association. The support system derives its name from those residents who may not have a spouse or good friend that would ordinarily escort them, and so without the program, they would have to “fly solo.”

Kendal’s residents officially receive the honor, the “2010 Innovation of the Year Award,” at their May 19 fifth anniversary festivities from the New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging. The award is given for “innovative programs that improve the quality of service in long term care and that utilize creative problem solving,” according to the association.

“I’m a night person so I’m a co-pilot on standby from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.,” said Dr. Bert Pepper, who is a psychiatrist. “My wife, Peggy McLaughlin, a retired professor, is a daytime co-pilot because she is a morning person,” the doctor said.

Doctor Pepper, his wife and Penny Broome, a retired librarian, have been residents at Kendal since it opened its doors in 2005. The three are among the 25 or so Quakers who make up a small percentage of the 325 seniors who reside at Kendal.

“While the majority of the residents are not Quaker members, the kind of people who want to come here, are the kind of people we would want to meet, “ Dr. Pepper stressed.

“It turned out perfectly for us,” said his wife, Peggy. “I can’t believe how many good friends I have made since coming here.”

Dr. Pepper, an accomplished violinist, described life at Kendal as “a lot of fun,” with a myriad of activities, and clubs ranging from music and horticulture groups to art and craft committees and cultural interests, under the auspices of the Resident Association and Resident Council.

The doctor said he came from a Jewish background, while McLaughlin’s family was Catholic. They met in the 1960s while Peggy was assisting families in Harlem as part of a Quaker program, and Dr. Pepper was regional commissioner for the NY State Mental Health Department. Broome described herself as “a birthright” Quaker, born into the faith. She emphasized that there were all types of religious services at Kendal, and many residents, “don’t know which of us are Quakers.”

As an affiliate of the non-profit Kendal Corporation, the local facility describes itself as focusing on “serving older people in accordance with the principles of the Religious Society of Friends, (Quakers), including respect for the individual, social responsibility, fiscal conservatism and excellence in management and governance.”

Pat Doyle, Kendal On Hudson’s executive director, explained the organization has always reflected Quaker values.

“Quakers have a strong commitment to social responsibilities, and the belief that every person is to be equally valued and equally treated, “ she said. She described the activities at Kendal as a “collaborative effort, with residents, the board and staff really working together, with the aim of redesigning aging as a time of continued living and learning.

“That has been our vision from the very beginning,” Doyle said. “One of the things that is central to our values is to take responsibility in the larger community and to take an active role in the aging issues. We are really more than just a provider of services to the people who live at Kendal.”

“We have a number of our staff involved in public service,” Doyle noted. “Gemma Maver, our marketing director is involved with the county program, Livable Communities Initiative,” she offered as an example. “Outreach to the community is a hallmark of Kendal values,” Doyle said.

“The Residents Association is committed to be very much a part of the rivertown community in a variety of ways,” Broome said. “We are getting more and more involved in the villages. We have a small book group that meets with the high school kids, and we have some people tutoring,” Broome explained, adding that “we have library volunteers.”

She said that Philanthropy also plays an important role in the Kendal Community. “We gave $4,000 in each of the last two years to the Sleepy Hollow Fire and ambulance corps, and we have given to Open Door and Even Start, this past year,” Broome said. Residents also contribute funds to help support staff members for such matters as scholarships.

A voluntary board of directors helps to oversee Kendal’s activities and operation. Doyle summed up Kendal’s aims: “We are here to enhance the quality of life, to help people be as independent as long as possible.”