A SPECIAL GIFT

Last Easter week and Easter Sunday, Betty Brewer’s Angels delivered Easter presents to the residents of long-term care facilities who they have been visiting this year.  There were Easter baskets with lots of candy, door hangings, pretty decorations for their rooms, cards, etc. For some it was the first Easter basket a resident had ever received, for others it was a time for remembering with their special Betty Brewer’s Angel of past Easter celebrations. But the most important Easter gift was the gift of time each volunteer spent with the resident they visit, letting them know that they were remembered.  Like all of us, every resident has a different life story. but what is different from us is that they all are living this stage of their life in a long-term care facility with no one to visit with them or to remember them on special holidays if it were not for Betty Brewer’s Angel volunteers. So what could have been a sad day for them as they watched other residents spending time with their families was turned around into something to anticipate and to enjoy with their own special Betty Brewer Angel.  

When we train volunteers in long-term care facilities, we are given a LIST, not just one name, but an actual list of people’s names who have no one visiting with them. We meet so many special residents and want to befriend them all, but that is impossible as there is only one of each of us. This is the reason I am so grateful for the people who made the decision to become an Angel and befriend one special residentl. As I write this the faces of people I have met who are awaiting there own special Angel flash before my eyes.  If you have one hour a week that you can spare, would you consider being a Betty Brewer Angel? There are many residents in long-term care facilities who are waiting for you this very day.  If you have not read last week’s blog, The Butterfly Effect, please do now and know you make a difference!

Betty Brewer’s Angel volunteers choose a facility that is nearby their home or work and an hour that is convenient for them to visit.  I personally visit with my special resident after church on Sunday afternoons but the schedule is flexible and completely the volunteer’s choice. Do you have an extra hour a week to brighten the day of someone who has no one?  If you are interested in becoming a Betty Brewer’s Angel or just want to know more about us, please contact me at bettybrewersangels@wowway.com or 614-309-4677.   

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT & BETTY BREWER'S ANGELS

 In 1963 The Bbutterfly Effect was presented as a hypothesis by Edward Lorenz to the New York Academy of Science. Basically it describes the phenomenon whereby a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere, e.g., a butterfly flapping its wings in one place might, by moving molecules of air in motion thereby moving more molecules of air, might change the weather in a place far away from where the butterfly first flapped its wings. 


Edward Lorenz was pretty much laughed out of that conference! However, approximately thirty years later physics professors from colleges and universities worldwide came to the conclusion that the Butterfly effect was “authentic, accurate, and viable.”  The Butterfly Effect soon was elevated to the status of scientific “law” and is known at “The Law of Sensitive Dependence Upon Initial Conditions.” 

 

Now what does this have to do with you? Simply this: Everything you do matters. What you chose to do, good or bad, has an effect on people and events that you are not even aware you are affecting.  People and events in the future can be affected by your present actions.  

The Butterfly Effect in relation to Betty Brewer’s Angels: In 2004 Betty Brewer volunteered in Faith Lutheran Church’s office.  I was the Office Manager in the office and met Betty. Impressed with her love of the Lord coupled with her remarkable common sense and love of life, I set out to become friends with Betty, and our friendship grew.

Fast forward to 2008 to when Betty was awaiting heart surgery. Betty was temporarily residing in what was then named Lutheran Village (now Summit Trace).  While there she noticed that there were long-term residents who had no visitors. Betty noted she was blessed to have family and friends visiting her and that she was shocked to find out there were so many people who did not. Betty declared to others and to me that when she recovered from her heart surgery she was coming back to Lutheran Village to befriend those people who had no visitors.  Betty died two days after she told me of her plan.

In my grief I kept asking God “Why? Why take Betty when she had a plan to do good work here on earth?”  The answer came in loud and clear “You can take her place.” And then louder “Think Bigger!” WOW! That was the beginning of Betty Brewer’s Angels.

We are a totally volunteer organization that does just what Betty planned to do but on a larger scale. We do not limit our visits to one facility, but to all long-term care facilities in Central Ohio, with the purpose of establishing a one-on-one relationship with the very people Betty wanted to reach. People who, for whatever reason, i.e. outliving their friends/.family or simply that their family living in another state, have no visitors.   Each volunteer chooses one resident in one facility and becomes their friend.

If Betty had chosen not to volunteer in the church office we would never have met. If she had not expressed compassion for people around her, Betty Brewer’s Angels may never have been.

Betty was the Butterfly that flapped her wings and now people she never knew are volunteering bringing joy to the lives of long-term care residents she never met. The Butterfly Effect!!!!

 If you know of anyone that would be interested in making a difference (and flapping their butterfly wings) by spending one hour per week visiting with someone in a long term care facility, please contact me. 614-309-4677 or bettybrewersangels@wowway.com