Connections June 2014

ConnectionsInterfaith CarePartners Volume 27, June 2014

W26 Years of Sweet Charity

ednesday, February 26, was a cold and rainy evening in Houston. But inside the Westin Memorial City ballroom, Interfaith CarePartners 26th annual Sweet

Charity event was a mix of warmth, energy, and fun as we celebrated the work of other community contributors and the spirit of volunteer caregiving in Houston. The evening featured presentations of the Sustaining Presence Award to BMC Software and National Oilwell Varco for their important community contributions in Houston and beyond. Tom Koch of Channel 13 Eyewitness News served as an excellent Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Robert Bob Beauchamp of BMC Software and Merrill A. (Pete) Miller, Jr. of National Oilwell Varco served as honorary chairs for the event.

A warm welcome was extended to guests by Tom Koch and Tim Vanduivendyk of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System offered the invocation for the evening. Dinner was served following remarks by Chairman of the Board, Steve Hinchman, and a video highlighting the services offered by Interfaith CarePartners. Dr. John Burk, president of Interfaith CarePartners, then paid tribute to BMC Software and National Oilwell Varco for their individual contributions to the Houston community and beyond. Bob Beauchamp accepted the award on behalf of BMC Software, and Pete Miller accepted the award for National Oilwell Varco. Both spoke glowingly of the work Interfaith CarePartners does to alleviate the burden of family caregivers in our community. After closing remarks by Dr. Burk and Tom Koch, Houston-based band, The Grateful Geezers, took the stage and welcomed guests onto the dance floor for some of that old time rock and roll.

Silent auction items this year featured acoustic guitars signed by country legends Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, two fly-fishing lessons from Orvis, two copies of the book Lone

Survivor autographed by author Marcus Luttrell, a weekend getaway package

at the Westin, four tickets to see the Houston Astros play the Boston Red Sox, a fruit basket donated by River City Produce of San Antonio, Tx, a hotel getaway package donated by the Austin Hyatt Regency Hotel, a cooking class for six

Dr. John Burk presenting awards to Bob Beauchamp, left, and Pete Merrill, right.

people with Carmelo Mauro of Carmelos Ristorante Italiano, a six-month membership to the YMCA, and a Comcast SportsNet Package which included four tickets to the Houston Rockets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game, a parking pass, and a VIP Tour for four people of the Comcast SportsNet studio during SportsTalk Live, including a meet-and-greet with the CSN talent.

Major underwriters for the evening included DTE Energy Foundation of Detroit, Michigan, BMC Software, National Oilwell Varco, and Southwestern Energy. Additionally, Baker Hughes, Peggy and Steve Hinchman, Marathon Oil, the John P. McGovern Foundation, and Anita and Steve Mueller, and 18other individuals and companies all joined in making the evening a success by helping to support the caregiving programs of Interfaith CarePartners with their generous gifts.

In addition to being a source of support for Interfaith CarePartners caregiving programs, Sweet Charity has long been a way for the organization to recognize the many contributions made to our community by other worthy organizations, individuals, and volunteers. We recognize that we are all in this together and want our Sweet Charity events to be a reflection of that belief. Every year we are grateful for the opportunity to come together in celebration with others who hold the same vision that we do to create caring communities and to highlight the important roles that so many around us assume to make that vision a reality. We will continue to look forward to these times of celebration!

Tom Koch of Channel 13

2 The recipient of the 2014 Dr. Ronald H. Sunderland Care Team Member Award is Virginia Ginny Studdert of St. Cecelias Catholic Community. This annual award is presented to a Care Team member whose consummate service and sacrificial spirit reflect the caring spirit of Dr. Ronald H. Sunderland, co-founder of Interfaith CarePartners. Every year we accept nominations from volunteers in our Care Team program who wish to recognize the exemplary service of another volunteer.

2014 Sunderland Award WinnerThis year, Ginnys service and leadership on the Alzheimers Care Team Gathering Place at St. Cecelias was recognized by countless of the volunteers in that program who nominated her for this prestigious award. Volunteers stated that they were inspired by Ginnys leadership and eager to help her because

of the spirit of care she gives to those suffering the ravages of dementia. As a Care Team leader, Ginny helps coordinate each of the Gathering Place activity times for people with Alzheimers or other forms of dementia,

while she works with volunteer team members and family caregivers. Ginnys passion for, and work on behalf of those with dementia and their family caregivers is an inspiration for us at Interfaith CarePartners, and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with her and the other volunteers at St. Cecelia as we work for weak and vulnerable people. Ginny and her husband were special guests at this years Sweet Charity, where the award was announced. The formal presentation of the award was made by Dr. Burk during a worship service at St. Cecelias on March 2. Family, friends, and Care Team volunteers were present to celebrate with Jean as she received the award.

A new tradition has begun at Interfaith CarePartners! This year we held our inaugural Kentucky Derby Party on Saturday, May 3, at Cottonwood Club in the Heights. We welcomed approximately 100 guests who wore their finest derby hats and seersucker suits as they came out to enjoy the festivities. The day consisted of a game in which participants could create a horse, name it, and then race it against other participants, prizes for the best dressed man and woman, a live viewing of the actual Kentucky Derby race, good food, and lots of other fun activities for the guests. Thanks to the generosity of individual and corporate underwriters and our host committee, this event was a wildly successful fundraiser for Interfaith CarePartners, and we look forward to hosting it again next year. For information on how to get involved as an underwriter or on the host committee, please contact Emily Smart, Development Associate, at (713) 682-5995.

Kentucky Derby Party

3These are exciting times at Interfaith CarePartners. In addition to successful events like Sweet Charity and the Kentucky Derby Party, three new members on the Board of Directors in 2014, and the growth of CarePartners Together, we continue to offer the programs that are the centerpiece of our excellence in service to the Greater Houston community.

The Care Team program is the signature piece of all that we do. We continue to offer support and education to our 2,000+ congregation based volunteers who serve on an Alzheimers Care Team, Second Family Care Team, AIDS Care Team, or Kids Pals Care Team. In addition to these, though, we are always looking for ways to continue to provide free educational opportunities to family caregivers. Below is an update on the various types of supplemental educational offerings we are excited to continue to provide.

Preparing and Sharing. Since 2011 we have been hosting monthly brown bag lunches at Southwestern Energy called Preparing and Sharing, which are designed to help prepare employed family caregivers for their roles and to further strengthen the efforts of those family caregivers who are already serving in those roles. At a monthly lunch meeting, representatives from Interfaith CarePartners, or an area expert will offer a free presentation. This offering provides an opportunity for education and it also serves as a time when family caregivers can come together and compare notes about their challenges or joys that are part of their caregiving duties in a safe environment.

The need family caregiver education is increasing and we are beginning to get interest in this program elsewhere. If your are an employee of a company that you think could benefit from this service, please call us at (713) 682-5995 to learn more.

Expert Panel. Our Expert Panel was established in 2012 as a supplementary service to some of the other educational offerings we provide. Congregations throughout the Houston area may contact Interfaith CarePartners to arrange a workshop or a series of workshops on topics relevant to caregivers in their communities. Interfaith CarePartners will either provide the presentation or arrange

Program Development at Interfaith CarePartners

for a subject matter expert to offer the presentation, depending on the requested topic. Multiple presentations have been made already this year, with others still to come. If you know of a congregation who could benefit from this service, please feel free to call us at (713) 682-5995 to discuss possible topics and dates. All presentations are free-of-charge. Sample topics include, The Journey of Caregiving, How to Manage the Difficult Behaviors of Dementia, Understanding Medicare (or Medicaid), etc. This is a program offering that is proving successful as we continue to look for ways to bridge the gap of available resources for caregivers who are currently serving in their role, or those who are preparing for it.

We are eager to be good stewards of all that we have learned about caregiving over the years, and are excited to provide these program initiatives to the community. If you, or anyone you know, is interested in any of the above program offerings, please contact the office at (713) 682-5995, or send an email to John Burk at [email protected].

Caregiver Conferences and Intensive Workshops. In 2013, we presented six caregiver conferences for over 1,400 people in various locations around Greater Houston. These conferences are free to registrants and provide opportunities for family caregivers to come and learn about topics for their caregiving roles. Area experts from different companies or organizations donate their time to present between 21-24 workshops at each conference in three, one-hour time slots. All conferences begin with an open assembly and remarks by Interfaith CarePartners president, Dr. John K. Burk. Lunch is provided free by an area restaurant, and several of our conferences provide free respite care for those who need to utilize that particular service for their loved ones. We have presented three conferences so far in 2014 and have three more scheduled for the fall. Fall dates will go up on our website shortly.

The conferences are hosted by partner congregations, and area businesses are given the opportunity to exhibit in a place designed for family caregivers to browse. Underwriters

make significant financial contributions to the conferences and help enable us to offer them for free.

In addition to the conferences, we also provide intensive workshops for family caregivers. These workshops, presented by an expert in caregiving, offer a 2.5 hour time devoted to a particular topic of interest that can be covered in-depth for a group of approximately 50 people. In 2014, we are presenting eight intensive workshops for family caregivers. For more information on either the conferences or the workshop intensives please visit the website at www.interfaithcarepartners.org or call us at (713) 682-5995.

As was announced in the De-cember 2013 issue of Connections, CarePartners Together, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Interfaith CarePartners, recently began of-fering in-home service to individu-als in the Greater Houston area. CarePartners Together is a Personal Assistance Service (PAS) licensed by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services to provide non-medical, practical-support care to individuals who require an extra nur-turing touch to help them remain in their homes. CarePartners Together is a fee-based service with competi-tive hourly rates, and all revenue is used to support the free volunteer caregiving services of Interfaith CarePartners.

Our caregivers, many of whom are Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), go through a rigorous back-ground check and orientation before beginning service. We are currently offering a summer discount and we are accepting new clients. For more information or for a quote on service, please call Veronica Seivwright at (713) 263-7277. We are excited about this new venture and the ways it will broaden our continuum of care.

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Connections is the newsletter ofInterfaith CarePartners

Email: [email protected] Page: www.interfaithcarepartners.org

John K. Burk, Ph.D. President Janie Alderman Design Layout and Design

Creating Caring Communities

Our Mission: To care for weak and vulnerable people. Our Vision: To create, equip, and sustain caring communities.

A Personal Thank You August will mark the one-year anniversary since my appointment to the role of president for Interfaith CarePartners. The founders of this organization, Drs. Earl Shelp and Ron Sunderland, did a marvelous job of creating a model of caregiving that has touched the lives of thousands of people in our community over the years. Many lessons have been learned during my time here, but the one I find to be the most constant is that our program and caregiving offerings are excellent because of the people who invest time, energy, financial resources, and love into this live-giving work. I want only to say thank you to all in Houston who believe so strongly in what we do. It is joy-filled work and I am excited about what the future holds for us as we look at ways that we can continue to provide the quality of care that we currently do, and to dream of expanding that care to reach those who are among the most weak and vulnerable in our communities. Im looking forward to what is in store for all of us.

John K. Burk, Ph.D.