Friends for Life

Charity begins with Grandma

2010-04-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl I spent a lot of time with my grandma and she took me to visit people in hospitals and nursing homes. She took me to visit 'shut-ins'. We cooked for them and ran errands. We read the Bible to them and hugged them. Whatever they needed, we did. I grew up believing that everyone had someone. If not a big family like mine, then at least someone like my grandma. But, I discovered there are lots of people who are alone --- people who need help ---- people who need to know that someone cares. When I couldn't find another agency to help them, I strated Friends for Life.

Yeppies

2010-03-08T06:45:00.000-08:00

I learned a new word today. Yeppies. You probably know this means young, engaged problem solvers. I didn't know that for a few years now young people who rely on social media and socializing as a way to change the world had this name. They believe people can make a difference and they volunteer and support a variety of causes. What a wonderful word!

Vote for Friends for Life

2009-11-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

Chase is giving away $5,000,000 to charities through Facebook. Please consider voting for Friends for Life. This should take you to the Chase Community Giving website - http://bit.ly/5vK9eA , but if that doesn't work, the site is on the front page of our website, www.friensforlife.org. Thanks for considering voting for us.

One More Day

2009-07-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Our matching gift drive ends at midnight tomorrow night. We have received 307 gifts totaling $97,636.39 toward our $100,000.00 matching gift. That only leaves $2,363.61. We're almost there! Thanks so much to everyone who is helping us continue to reach out to the elderly and people with disabilities. God bless you and Happy 4th of July!

Economy

2009-06-27T07:56:00.001-07:00

I keep wondering why our little charity was hit so hard this year by the economy. Our contributions are down $247 thousand dollars from this time last year. And, our part of the country wasn't hit nearly as hard as some. On the up side we received three contributions today and that means we have raised $83,660.51 toward the $100,000 matching gift from our friends and we still have 8 more days. That is helping a lot.

9 days left

2009-06-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

We have 9 days left to raise the rest of the money for our $100,000.00 matching gift. So far we have received 262 gifts totalling $82,460.51. We have $17,438.99 to go!

Matching Gift

2009-06-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our wonderful friends, we have received 247 gifts totaling $81,460.51 toward our $100,000 matching gift. We just have $18,539.49 to go. Thanks, everyone.

Surviving the Economy

2009-05-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

I know of at least one charity whose contributions are increasing. I am sad to say that it isn't us. We're down 56% from this time last year. Just to give that some perspective, it means we have gotten $219,303 less in contributions this year. We've reduced our staff, cut expenses and we're even eliminating one of our programs. All these changes are taking us to a good place. I just wish I had seen this coming a year ago. If I had made the reductions then, we wouldn't be hurting now.

Flooding

2009-04-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

I know we needed rain but my office is flooding.

Payless Shoes

2009-04-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

My first introduction to Huntington's Disease came when we were called to help an elderly who had it. It is an awful, degenerative disease that causes increasing problems with coordination (that results in a complete loss of physical ability), decline in mental abilities, psychiatric problems, and dimentia. She could talk but almost no one could understand her. She could walk but lost her balance and fell. Her dining room table was a piece of wood balanced on a sawhorse which was a recipe for disaster. She often fell against her 'table' which would fly apart and often injure her in the process. She needed so many things, but the thing I am remembering today is shoes. She didn't have any. We told her we'd pick her up and take her to Payless Shoe Store and get her some shoes. She was so excited that she would be gettng new shows that she tried to shave her legs and cut them to pieces. Nevertheless, she was estatic to get two pairs of new shoes. She had never had two new pairs of shoes in her life! We got her a used dining room table and chairs and made her house a safe place for her to live for as long as that was possible.

Twenty Years

2009-04-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

This year Friends for Life is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and I am remembering people we've served and things they've said. I thought I would share some of them with you. Today it has been pouring rain so I have been thinking about the people who struggled with leaking roofs. And, right now I am remembering Edna. Her roof leaked so badly she had buckets all over her house. When the buckets filled up she wasn't strong enough to take them out and empty them. She had no money so when she called us we had to find someone who would voluntarily fix her roof. She was such a proud and independent person. I heard her say once, "It seems like overnight I became disabled and have to depend on others. Don't think for one minute that you can't get in this shape, because you can. I don't know what I would have done without Friends for Life."

Mother Teresa

2009-04-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am reading a book that has the essential wisdom of Mother Teresa. I loved it when she said, "we can do no great things, only small things with great love." This one is really great. "When you look at the inner workings of electrical things you often see small and big wires, new and old, cheap and expensive, all lined up. Until the current passes through them there will be no light. That wire is you and me. The current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, produce the light of the world. Or we can refuse to be used and allow darkness to spread." Wow.

Where's my Secretary

2009-04-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

We get to meet some great people in this work and I am remembering today an elderly woman who was referred to us because her telephone had been disconnected. She owed over $1,200, but I was able to convince the phone company to turn it back. I explained she was frail and needed to be able to call for help. I told them we'd help make sure her bills got paid. And, when I learned she had run up this high bill by making alll 'operator assisted' calls, I told them to only give her the most basic service. She called me right away to let me know she was back in touch with the world and then asked, "where's my secretary?" It wasn't easy, but I finally made her understand that this 'secretary' was really expensive and we needed to make calls without her help.

Caring

2009-03-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

This doesn't have anything to do with anything really. It's just that I work with the elderly and when I see things like this, they really touch my heart. Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old whose elderly next door neighbor had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentlemen's yard, climbed into his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked him later what he said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

Following Your Heart

2009-03-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

The hardest part of my job is asking people to help us do this work. I take every chance I can to learn about it and I want to share one of the things I learned about why people give. Bernard Rapoport had built a huge insurance company from nothing, won dozens of awards and been recognized as one of the most influential men in the country when I first heard him speak. His topic was philanthropy and he was sharing why a giver gives. He said people give to things that touch their hearts and what touched his heart most was his granddaughter. Before she was six years old, she had her own desk at his corporate offices. A businessman asked her what her job was and she said, “I run the company”. He said, “I thought your grandpa ran the company.” She said, “Well, he does, but I run him.”

Growing Old

2009-03-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

I know people are afraid of growing old and I think it is mostly a fear of losing control of their lives. Funny thing about growing old is we never really get there. 'Old' is always at least ten years older than we are. I have volunteers in their 90s who tell me, "I'd love to help out, honey, as long as you don't make me work with any old people."

Sad

2009-02-14T08:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my beautiful 30 year old daughter in law, Kristi, passed away and I am so sad for my son, for her three little boys, and her mom and dad and her brother and sister and grandparents and all of her family and friends who will miss her so much. She is spending her first days with the Lord and it doesn't get any better than that, but for those who are left behind, there is such a huge empty space. Her oldest son is four and he said it best, "nothing will ever be the same again without Mommy." When you work with frail elderly you end up going to a lot of funerals ---- sadly, many times the people we serve are so very alone that we are the only ones at their funerals --- just us and the funeral director. That always breaks my heart. I don't have to worry about that for Kristi's service. There will be a lot of people there and I know God will comfort us all as we celebrate her life.

Valentines

2009-02-12T08:31:00.001-08:00

We have a heart in the middle of our name so we are a little inclined to think hearts and valentines anyway. We know that volunteers are the heart of our work. And, for lot of years we've had little children hand make valentines for our seniors. But, the thing I always think about this time of year is a little lady who lived in a nursing home. She had cared for someone her whole life and for the last few years it was her sister. When her sister died she gave up on life believing there was nothing to live for. The nursing home called and I sent a volunteer over with balloons. She said, "I don't like balloon. Go away." The next day I sent the volunteer back with a stuffed animal. She said, "I don't like animals. Just leave." The third day, I sent the volunteer empty handed, but that didn't work either. The next day, a florist called with flowers left over from Valentines Day. This time the volunteer took a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The little lady cried when she saw the flowers and said, "Do you know how long it has been since someone brought me flowers?" They became friends. I have wondered whether it was the flowers, or the persistence of the volunteer. Sometimes the lonely elderly want to know we're coming back --- it isn't just one visit--- we really care. That's what Valentines means to me now.

Sidetracked

2009-02-11T12:03:00.000-08:00

I meant to write something on this yesterday, but my job got in the way. My oldest son, Kenny, would argue that this is a very important part of my job. And, he would say that it takes so little time that I don't have any excuse. And, I suppose he's right, but yesterday, each time things slowed to the point that I had a chance to breath, I was focused on something else. If you know me, you know that my precious daughter-in-law, Kristi, has 4th stage cancer and is in ICU fighting for her life. She and my youngest son, Chuck, have 3 little boys (Cade - 4, Mason -2, and Zane who is almost 4 months old). So, while this job that I truly love has me dealing with one thing after another all day every day, in between, when I could be writing on this --- sometimes, like yesterday, my heart and my mind are in North Carolina.

Rain

2009-02-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

This morning when I was coming into work in the rain and juggling the mail, my briefcase, my purse and my umbrella and trying not to get too wet and wondering if the curls I had put in my hair were all gone, I remembered the elderly widow who called to tell us that it was raining in her bed! I have to tell you I felt really silly. When I think about the people we serve, it puts everything in perspective. By the way, we helped this lady get her roof fixed and it is not raining in her bed today.

Contributions

2009-02-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

Wow! Friends for Life got three online contributions today! That is the most online gifts we ever received in one day. This is such a blessing.

Matching Gifts

2009-02-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

I know I am not off to a good start with this blogging thing. I haven't gotten the hang of it and I have been REALLY busy trying to raise some money. Our contributions have been down so much (71% less than last year) and I cut our costs as much as I could without cutting our services, but I have been afraid that we might have to cut back on helping. If you don't know already, Friends for Life helps the elderly and people with disabilities. If we can't help, there isn't any place we can send them for help. So, we try to never have to say 'no'. To help us through this, a local foundation said they would match all our contributions until February 20th --- up to $50,000. People have been so wonderful. Some sent in checks, others made contributions through our website, one called in a credit card donation and we had a few people come by the charity to bring gifts. Between the individuals and churches and businesses and civic groups that have helped we raised over $30,000 and some have promised to help. Thanks.

We're having fun with our new website.

2009-01-14T12:42:00.000-08:00

Whew! Well, this is certainly different. We have a website that we can do ourselves and we are having a big time. We clearly have more ideas than we will have time to implement, but do keeping watching our website as it grows and morphs into something --- well, into something -- not sure what --- but, hopefully something special.

Finally - New Website In Process

2009-01-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

We're creating a new website with lots of new stuff. If you have suggestions, just let us know. If not, please be patient as we complete the process. It should be finished soon.

Friends for Life's First Blog

2009-01-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

Hello World!

This is our first shot at blogging. People have been telling me to do this for a long time, but we have been busy taking care of folks. I am hoping this will be a way for people to feel more connected with this work.

I look forward to updating this soon and reading your comments! Have a blessed New Year!