Partnering with Macy's Shop for a Cause!

Betty Brewer's Angels is proud to annouce they are partnering with Macy's Shop for a Cause. You still have time to purchase a Shopping Pass for $5.00 which gives you a 25% discount on many, including sale items, at Macy's on Saturday, August 27th.   I will be at Eastland Shopping Center today (August 26) at the entrance of Macy's to the mall, between 11 am and 2 pm. Stop by and see me and purchase your Shopping Pass.
    

 Betty Brewer’s Angels Partners with Macy’s for Sixth Annual

   Shop For A Cause Day - Saturday August 27th

           Macy’s helps local charity raise funds and awareness for important causes

Macy’s will partner with Betty Brewer’s Angels to invite customers to participate in Macy’s sixth annual “Shop for a Cause” charity shopping event. Macy’s 2011 Shop for a Cause will take place on August 27, 2011; customers can purchase tickets now from a Betty Brewer’s Angels volunteer.  Macy’s Shop for a Cause is a unique one-day-only shopping event created to support local charities’ fundraising efforts, which has helped raised more than $38 million for charities across the country since 2006. 

By purchasing a shopping pass to the event from Betty Brewer’s Angels volunteers, customers support Betty Brewer’s Angels while enjoying a day of spectacular discounts, entertainment, special events. Pass holders will enjoy special discounts on most regular, sale and clearance purchases all day.   Some exclusions apply.

“Macy’s is committed to giving back to our local communities.  Their annual Shop for a Cause Program, which has raised more than $38 million for local and national charities in the past five years.

About Betty Brewer’s Angels

 Often the most outgoing, well-adjusted residents who live in long term care facilities have a support system made up of family and friends. But there are many residents who seldom, if ever, have visitors. These lonely residents are the people with whom Betty Brewer’s Angels volunteers establish a personal one-on-one relationship, by consistent weekly visits. 

By focusing on one resident the volunteer is able to improve the resident’s quality of life, because that resident comes to realize that someone cares just about him or her as an individual. This type of attention makes anyone feel special, but the feeling is even more profound for people who are in unfamiliar surroundings.  “The volunteers often hear from the facilities’ personnel that the residents talk about the visits long after the Betty Brewer’s Angels have left for that week”, said Cheryl Newman, President of Betty Brewer’s Angels.

How to Become A Betty Brewer's Angels Volunteer!

Are you interested in becoming a Betty Brewer's Angels volunteer?  There are four easy steps!

1.  Decide which facility you would like to visit. We recommend you pick one close to your home or work.

2.  Call me at 614-309-4677 or email me at bettybrewersangels@wowway.com to ask any questions you may have and to tell me which facility you are interested in.

3.  You and I decide on the most convenient date for you to have your fingerprints electronically taken.     Sometimes a facility also wants a test for TB. (It is easy and not painful.)  A Betty Brewer's Angels    Representative accompanies you to these tests. We also will give you a copy of the clearances for your    records.

4.  Once you have passed the Security and TB (if needed) tests, we schedule a date for you and a Betty     Brewer's Angels Representative to meet at the facility to introduce you to the staff,  to give you  your Betty Brewer's smock, and your welcome packet.  Your training is also done at that time. And guess what?!  You and the Betty Brewer's Angels Representative together actually visit with residents that very day so you can see how easy and rewarding being a Betty Brewer's Angel is.

That's it!!!! So easy and you will notice you are NEVER alone in the process. A Betty Brewer's Angels Representative is WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. 

Come grow with us! We have found that not only the lives of residents are changed but the volunteers have reported their own lives also have changed for the better.

Why Have A Volunteer Organization?

We have been asked why an association is needed as any individual can go into long-term care facilities to volunteer by himself/herself.

It is a simple fact that volunteers who are not part of an organization tend to quit more often when they encounter a problem than volunteers who are a part of an organization.

Betty Brewer’s Angels provides emotional and educational support to its volunteers and acts as a go-between them and the facilities where they volunteer.

 If you have a question or a concern, as a Betty Brewer's Angel Volunteer you just have to ask one person, the Betty Brewer Angel Volunteer Coordinator, and he/she will take care of it for you. No running around trying to find an employee who may or may not be there that day. No wondering if this is something you should be talking with the facility about at all.  Just one phone call about any concern and your Betty Brewer's Angel Volunteer Coordinator will handle it for you and report back to you. 

You receive ongoing emotional and educational support in the form of Open Letters to Volunteers which tackle difficult subjects of dementia, your role as a volunteer, etc.  Also if you have questions about where to find more information on a particular subject we are there to get the information for you or to provide you references.

If you need advice or just want to talk about your volunteer experience we are there for you.

So while you are volunteering by yourself,  at the day and hour you want, you have a whole organization supporting you.

And, hey, you receive a nifty blue Betty Brewer's Angel smock to wear! Not to mention an invite to a  lovely Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon!    

And from the founders of Betty Brewer's Angels perspective, we want the organization and the good work our volunteers do to continue long after we are gone from this earth.  

If you have any questions, please email me or post a comment.  Next blog will be about what it takes to become a Betty Brewer's Angel volunteer. I love this question because I have the answer to it! : - )

The Story of How Betty Brewer's Angels Came To Be

　

Betty Brewer

With all of Betty Brewer’s gifts her greatest gift was that of being a true friend. She would know when to offer advice, know when to listen, and know when it was time to take action. While Betty was awaiting news of heart surgery she temporarily resided at Lutheran Village. While there Betty had many visitors but she noticed that there were residents that had no one. In true “Betty fashion” she decided that after she recovered from her surgery she would return to Lutheran Village, or another facility, to volunteer as a friend to these residents.

Betty died unexpectedly on April 22, 2008 while waiting for her heart surgery. In wondering why God would take Betty home at a time when she still had a plan to do more good here on earth, one of Betty’s friends had the revelation that Betty’s plan could still be fulfilled, and fulfilled on even a larger scale. From that revelation Betty Brewer’s Angels was formed to fulfill Betty’s last wish of reaching out to the friendless who are residing in long term living facilities.

Tomorrow's Blog will be the reasons it is better to be part of the Betty Brewer's Angels organization rather than volunteering on your own.

About Us

Hi Everyone! Thought I would keep this simple to begin with and tell you about the purpose of Betty Brewer’s Angels. 

We are a charity created to reduce the sense of social isolation and depression among residents of long-term care facilities by recruiting and training volunteers to enter into and engage in sustained, individual, Interpersonal relationships with identified residents.

We are a 501 (c)(3)charity consisting of volunteers dedicated to the sole purpose of developing genuine, lasting, personal connections with these individuals.

Tomorrow I will post how it all began!