Connections

Interfaith CarePartners

Volume 22, December 2011

Annual Report

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. (Psalm 71:9)
Gathering Places have increased, he now can complete more songs and his song list has grown. Old favorites like In the Mood, Moon River, Pomp and Circumstance, and themes from the movies The Godfather and Love Story are enjoyed by all. Bob is a polite man. He waits to be asked to play by Care Team members or visiting performers; but they only have to ask once. He is not reluctant to be in the spotlight! Ruth, his daughter-in-law, says that Bob loves these outings. When he hears that the day has come to go, he is eager to get ready. When Bob was on his own, he was always alone. Now his days are secure in the embrace of family and happier amidst a growing circle of fans. A Gathering Place is a special place for Bob and others affected by dementia. These are places where they laugh and sing. These are places where they stay connected to others. These are places where weakness and vulnerability bring people together, rather than causes for separation and abandonment. Bringing people together is what our caregiving programs do. People from all walks of life and levels of strength demonstrate our need for one another in good times and bad. Connecting with others is an important element of personal fulfillment and happiness for most people throughout life and, perhaps, especially important during periods of weakness and less self-sufficiency. Our programs are a means for people to cling to one another, just as Bob clings to a trumpet that gives additional purpose and pleasure to his days. Care Team Program Our integrating centerpiece Care Team program passed two milestones in 2011 that we shall celebrate throughout 2012 with the theme, Shining On!. The program began in 1986 as the founders of Interfaith CarePartners personally led the faith communities in Houston and called the nation through publications to organize and provide a compassionate response to people with HIV/AIDS who, like the Psalmist feared, were ostracized and abandoned as they lived and quickly died with this devastating disease. The Care Team model was an innovative and effective response to this crisis that answered the call of Israels prophets and Jesus to befriend, defend, and care for people marginalized and disadvantaged by adversities of many descriptions. A quarter century later, the Care Team model has been
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his prayer is as relevant today for most of the people served by Interfaith CarePartners caregiving programs as it was for the Psalmist millennia ago. The Psalmist was beset by enemies who intended to harm him. The people served by Interfaith CarePartners are toiling against their own enemies of physical weakness, social isolation, memory loss, or other challenge that can strike at any time in life. The pleas of the Psalmist and the people we serve are essentially the same not to be forgotten or abandoned when weak and vulnerable. The Psalmist trusted God to vindicate his faith and relieve his distress. The people we serve rely on Care Team members, our professional staff, and our programs to embrace and sustain them during their season of woe. Bob, age 79, moved to Houston in June to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren. Even though his Alzheimers disease had progressed to where it was better for him not to be alone, he was quite able to enjoy being with and interacting with others. Within weeks, he attended his first Alzheimers Care Team Gathering Place activity program where he spent time with others like him and a team of loving, nurturing volunteers dedicated to brightening their days. The presence and care of family now is supplemented by Alzheimers Care Team members at 8 congregations. His circle of friends has grown as he attends a Gathering Place, on average, twice weekly. These friends also have become his fans. Let me explain. Bob has played trumpet since he was 17 years old. Playing is more challenging for him now as his memory fades and his ability to read music seems lost. Nevertheless, he clings to his instrument and carries it with him to the Gathering Place programs. When first invited to play, he did his best, but he could not finish the song. The notes in his memory were beyond reach. Nevertheless, his performance was rewarded with appreciative applause. Bob Verlarde As his performances at the

adapted several times to embrace people facing many different healthrelated challenges that separate them from the community in which there is life. The Care Team program is responding to their needs for the companionship and support of caring people who will share their journeys into a darkening future. For persons with dementia and their families, physically frail elders, persons coping with disabling conditions or impairments, and families with an impaired child, the members of each Care Team are a safety net that comforts, sustains, and affirms that weakness and threat are reasons to be together, not apart. This has been a record year of service in the Care Team program, even though a difficult economy has restricted our capacity to expand this vital caregiving program. This milestone anniversary year is one of records team members, persons of diverse demographic description served, and total partner congregations. These records are testimony to the utility of the Care Team model, dedication of team members, and compassion of the faith community in greater Houston. This defining program is a beacon of hope to people in a Cleo shadow time of life. Cleo has enjoyed the companionship and simple acts of kindness by the Care Team at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church (Baytown) that met her in 2003. Bernie, a team member, spends between 20 40 hours each month with her sharing stories, enjoying company, running errands, and being Cleos eyes and ears, both of which are failing badly. These hours are highlights of her days which surely are nearing an end. Cleo is now 100 years old, a milestone the team observed with a special birthday party. These brief stories of Bobs and Cleos relationships with Care Team members personalize the numerical summary of activities. And, speaking of numbers and what they reveal, the second milestone in 2011 is 2 million total hours of volunteer service in the Care Team program since 1986. This marker is no small
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achievement. Measured in other ways, 2 million hours equals more than 228 years of caregiving 24 hours each day, 365 days each year, or 50,000 weeks of 40 hours service per week. The market value of all of the hours of service since 1986 - 2011, according to Independent Sector, exceeds $34.5 million. As impressive as this simple valuation of donated time is, the countless stories of relationships, of people coming together in strength and weakness, of comfort and hope displacing despair and fear, of discovering meaning and purpose in life are what truly counts as Interfaith CarePartners gives structure and support to people motivated to answer the plea of Gods children weakened by age, disease, or impairment to be remembered and embraced. Caregiver Conferences Our educational and skill-building conferences for caregivers increased in number and total attendance this year. These programs for caregivers began in 2002 as neighborhood projects that could be easily accessed by caregivers for whom distance is a barrier for accessing a service. In 2005, we joined with Interfaith of the Woodlands to conduct semi-annual regional conferences in the Woodlands. In 2008, we began a similar partnership with St. Lukes United Methodist Church in central Houston. The number of conferences grew this year to 5 as we added Christ the King Church in Kingwood as a partner in this program. These conferences feature workshops on a range of topics

Second Family Care Team members

of interest to caregivers presented by capable professionals who volunteer their knowledge and expertise. Registration and lunch are free for caregivers due to the generosity of underwriters and exhibitors, thus overcoming the barrier that cost can be for caregivers to access a service. A record total of 1,140 caregivers had access to 98 workshops on topics such as long term care planning, memory and aging, fall prevention, housing options, Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans benefits, caregiver stress, spiritual and emotional needs, palliative and hospice care, in-home care, home modification, and many more. The caregivers rate highly the quality of presentations and express deep gratitude for these opportunities to learn and to share their stories with others on a similar path. These conferences are another means by which Interfaith CarePartners brings people together. Common Ground: Caregiver Conversations The opportunity to learn from and draw strength from others in a caregiving role is a means by which caregivers meet

Letter from Steve Hinchman Chairman, Board of Directors

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to report that the programs and fiscal affairs of Interfaith CarePartners are strong and conducted with integrity. It is a unique privilege for the Board, management, staff, volunteers, and donors to each do our part to comfort and assist people coping with illness and disabilities that lessen their self-sufficiency and threaten their dignity. We are deeply grateful to each Jewish and Christian congregation that allows us to equip their members to embrace and sustain people with special needs for home-based care and support for an extended time. Our deepest gratitude, however, is reserved for each volunteer and donor whose contribution gives life to our values and transforms our passions into extensive caregiving programs of excellence that bring joy and hope to people in despair. While we celebrate the milestones and accomplishments in 2011, we look forward to meeting new opportunities in 2012. We hope you share our pride in what has been achieved and will continue to be our partner in caregiving. We are sincerely grateful for your support. Together, we are making a gift of care that is a blessing to all!

their own needs. Common Ground is Interfaith CarePartners support group service for caregivers. Monthly Common Ground meetings occur in 18 congregations in greater Houston. These conversations are facilitated by a volunteer mental health professional and a caregiver whose time in that role has ended. Common Ground reaches a small number of people when compared to the Care Team and conference programs, but this service is a lifeline for caregivers who are emotionally overwhelmed by their care of a family member or friend. Having a safe forum of understanding people in which to honestly express ones frustrations and fears can be one way in which caregiver burden, a term used by researchers to describe the negative effects of caregiving, can be eased and the day-to-day activities of caregiving transformed into special moments that are meaningful now and consoling in the future.

effectively respond to them. The pilot phase of Preparing and Sharing will continue until we have sufficient experience to make an informed judgment about its future. However, we hope that it will be another means by which Interfaith CarePartners is a sustaining presence to people facing lifes trials. Stewardship Sharing our knowledge, expertise, and experience with others has been a hallmark of our program since the beginning. As noted above, our founders wrote the first article in a respected and widely read, national religious journal in 1985 that discussed HIV/AIDS as an opportunity to serve, rather than a reason to flee. Through books, articles, and lectures throughout our history, the founders and staff have told our story and summoned a national audience to create comparable services in their communities or individual congregations. The needs are there. The resources are there. The structure and practices that we continue to perfect, and the wisdom that we continue to gain, are available for review and adaptation by anyone anywhere. The most recent example of our stewardship of knowledge and expertise is our redesigned Internet webpage underwritten by the David Weekley Foundation. The page now features guidance on Organizing Caregiving and a Resource Exchange. The content of these sections includes guidance on creating a caregiving team in a congregation or a caregiving program in a community, a toolkit for use by teams, and 36 continuing education modules for use by teams. Phone and on-site consultation also are available. One goal for including these materials on the webpage is to create an on-line conversation of faith-based caregiving programs utilizing our methods so that

by coming together in cyberspace and sharing we shall learn from each other for the benefit of all who serve and are served in our respective programs. Requests to access these resources are being received from across the nation. Dr. Earl Shelp discussed our programs and these

Alzheimers Care Team Gathering Place

Preparing and Sharing: Tips and Tools for Caregiving Continuing our tradition of innovation and filling gaps in caregiving, a pilot project for employed caregivers was launched in 2011. Employed men and women often feel most alone and Our Friends uncertain in their roles. They struggle Another goal for the new webpage is to preserve careers while a family to spread the news about the programs members needs for time and attention of Interfaith CarePartners so that we increase. Their efforts to do their best may serve more people in partnership at work and at home often fall short with congregations and companies. because the combined demands are Increased visibility is a two-edged sword. just too great. Moreover, identifying On the one hand, we are being called and serving working caregivers is a upon by more people seeking support. challenge because they typically keep On the other hand, our capacity to serve their family situation secret. is constrained by funding shortfalls Several companies have accepted related to the current economy. Our our invitation to participate in the resources of personnel and partnerships pilot project. Four monthly brown are exceeded by the requests for care. bag lunch meetings have been held This is a gap that we hope will be filled as at Southwestern Energy Company faithful friends and donors are joined by and one at Fiesta Mart from September through December. Interest in 2011 Program Services* the project has been expressed by Reliant Care Team Program Teams Members Persons Served Volunteer Hours Alzheimers Care Team 59 1,226 1,085 85,450 Energy and GDF Suez Second Family Care Team 51 774 792 31,717 Energy North America. Kids Pals Care Team 1 16 20 396 More companies with a AIDS Care Team 3 35 11 544 concern for employee caregivers are invited to be Value of Donated Time: $2.6 million part of the pilot project. As Annual Budget: $864,970 with our other programs, Return on Investment: 300% we are learning by doing. Common Ground Caregiver Support Groups: 117 The people we serve are Caregiver Conferences: 1,140 caregivers at 5 conferences featuring 98 workshops teaching us what their *Annual estimates as of 11-18-11 needs are and how we can
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instructive materials in a Webinar sponsored by the National Alliance for Caregiving on November 29, 2011. The Webinar on Innovations in Caregiving had 115 participants and featured five programs awarded for innovation by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the MetLife Foundation. We are delighted to assist any congregation or organization as they seek to develop effective volunteer service programs in their communities.

others who share our values and support our mission. Sweet Charity, our annual major special event in February, met budget expectations due to the generosity of donors, enthusiastic leadership of the cochairmen, Juanita Elizondo and Stan Marek, a hard working Underwriter Committee, and the star power of our distinguished honorees. Nearly 500 guests enjoyed heartwarming tributes to Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, Fiesta Mart, Inc, Paul Rusesabagina whose heroic story is told in the movie Hotel Rwanda, and actor and philanthropist, John Ratzenberger, well known as Cliff in the television comedy, Cheers. A Lotta Love, A Little Lunch, A Lovely Story was an October luncheon in which our mission and programs were introduced to 140 people. Nelwyn Jackson and Brucie Moore were chairmen of this new event through which we made new friends. Viva Voce!, a talented vocal trio from Corpus Christi, performed, and Bill Stubbs, star of the PBS series Moment of Luxury, was Master of Ceremonies. These public events attracted attention to and funds for our programs on two days. However, the generosity and faithfulness of friends and donors on the other 363 days were similarly important to our capacity to serve. Gifts from individuals, congregations, companies, and foundations are received throughout the year. Some of these donors are acknowledged in this newsletter. All others are honored anonymously. Each gift, no matter the amount, is equally appreciated and needed as we strive to provide quality services to our partner congregations, volunteer team members, and all who are served by our programs. Enough cannot be said in appreciation and admiration about each and every member of a Care Team or other person who volunteers in some way to give life to our mission to care for weak and vulnerable people. Each one generously gives talent and time without which we could do little. It is a privilege for us to be a catalyst in which so many caring people come together to meet creatively and effectively the basic needs of us all to be
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loved, to love, and to feel worthy of love. Why We Come to Work Jorge is in hospice care dying of cancer at age 72. He is from South America where he worked for an oil company. He is a United States citizen who now lives here with his wife on a Social Security income. His finances have been exhausted as his disease has consumed his life. Money for food and rent is reallocated for medical care. A hospice worker asked the church to help this couple. The Second Family Care Team and St. Vincent DePaul Society at St. Marthas Catholic Church in Kingwood answered the call. Food was delivered and rent was paid on an emergency basis. During a newly scheduled regular visit by a team member to offer emotional support and other assistance, it was learned that they had secured a $400 payday loan at a cost of $88 interest every two weeks being withdrawn by the loan company from their account! Homelessness became a real possibility. Again, the team and church came to their rescue and the team is now on guard to protect them from further harm. People who are weak and isolated

by disease not only need companionship and consolation, they may need advocates. The support of a Care Team can take many forms. Sometimes the request to a team is quite novel. Jan, the Peanut Boullian leader of a Second Family Care Team at Trinity Episcopal Church in Baytown, was at her work at Randalls when an 88 year old man smartly dressed and adorned with diamond rings and stick pin in his tie asked if she was the Jan about whom he read in the Baytown Sun. She said yes. He said, I want you to find me a woman. After a brief conversation, he asked, with a twinkle in his eyes, Are you available? Thus began a three year journey with Clarence Peanut Boullian. Peanuts humorous approach masked a deeply felt need for companionship and the simple of acts of kindness that friends do for friends when everyday tasks

Preview of 2012
Some aspects of our 25 year history of caring for people have been planned and carefully executed. Other events have been surprises that we were able to transform into opportunities for growth and excellence. And, yes, there have been setbacks and disappointments from which we have learned and grown. It is impossible to detail our life in 2012, but we know that our attention will be focused like a laser on continuing our history of creating caring communities that embrace and sustain people who are weak and vulnerable. We expect these highlights in 2012. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Care Team program and 2 million hours of volunteer service with the theme Shining On! A conference for caregivers will be co-sponsored with Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Clear Lake City, bringing the total conferences to 6 in 4 locations in greater Houston. Sweet Charity will be Wednesday, February 29. Sustaining Presence Awards will be presented to Lynn Wyatt and Reliant Energy. Pat Breen, Cynthia Petrello, and Karen Jones are providing leadership as chairmen. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan, who received this award in 2003, is honorary chairman. Increase the network of Care Team congregations to serve more people as funding permits. Recruit additional companies to participate in the pilot project for working caregivers, Preparing and Sharing: Tips and Tools for Caregiving. Respond to unexpected opportunities to serve, innovate, and increase our circle of friends. Maintain the high standards of excellence and national leadership in faith-based caregiving that distinguish all that we do.

become more challenging with passing years. He had been uprooted by his distant family who were concerned about his safety as his neighborhood became more crime ridden. He had a new home now in a safer neighborhood, but the new house did not come with new friends. He was lonely. He wanted and needed new friends to fill his final years with joy. He, also, was planning ahead. He did not want those who might help him when he needed it most to be strangers. The team began a weekly ritual of having dinner at Peanuts. He was a good cook and had a taste for all things Cajun. While the team waited for dinner, they did laundry, changed bed linens, picked up the house, or the men fixed something that had broken. Over the course of time, team members learned how to prepare Cajun dishes and to play table games that Peanut enjoyed. He also told them his version of the history of Baytown where he had lived all of his life. One year, he provided a Cajun band for the Christmas party attended by the full team and all of the people they were serving. It was a fun-filled evening during which he managed to get everyone to play an instrument at some time, even if playing

is an exaggerated description. You see, Peanut just didnt take from the team. He gave them what he had to give. Peanut got his woman and others too. He shared three years of life with a team of people who understood that being old, displaced, alone, and increasingly less able to do for oneself is a reason to draw close, rather than to pull away. I suspect that Peanuts last three years were among the best in his life. His story and their story became one story; a story of mutual care and shared blessings. His caregivers in the end at age 91 were not strangers. He planned ahead. He chose his new friends wisely. His version of the Psalmists prayer was answered by a Second Family Care Team. It Takes Us All It should be clear that Interfaith CarePartners touches a lot of lives each year. Some we can name and describe; others whom we touch by extension are unknown. Some we touch spiritually, physically, emotionally, and socially as we respond to their needs for care and support. We touch some in equipping ways, helping them to discover their gifts for caregiving and enhancing their skills

through education and training. We touch hearts, too, in ways that prompt people and organizations to underwrite the necessary costs of maintaining and expanding a caregiving program of excellence. And, of course, we are touched by all who we touch. They teach us, bless us, and enrich our lives beyond description. It is a joy to be part of this caregiving movement in which people learn to celebrate our interdependence and need for one another throughout all of the seasons of life. Our quarter century of innovative caregiving and bringing people from all walks of life together is a prelude for what is to come as the population ages and the social and health care safety nets evolve. The future can be faced in fear or in confidence. We choose to interpret these challenges as opportunities to craft new mechanisms to bring people together in weakness and strength for mutual care and shared blessing. We choose to do our best to answer the pleas of contemporary Psalmists weakened and alone with a nurturing and hopeful response, we are with you. We pray that you will continue to be part of our story as we touch and are touched by the stories of others we are privileged to know as we all care for each other.

Special Thanks!
We are grateful for the generosity of all donors for their investment in caregiving and confidence placed in Interfaith CarePartners. Our donors have been faithful, generous, and sacrificial with their gifts in a difficult economy. These organizations and individuals, along with many others, helped us to bring people together for mutual care and blessing in 2011. Advantage Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation Alvarez & Marsal Business Consulting Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Baker Hughes Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP Borden Dairy CenterPoint Energy Champion Technologies, Inc. Chapelwood United Methodist Church Complete Production Services Continental Airlines Mr. Joseph DAmico Davis-Lynch, Inc. Deloitte Services Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. Dignity Memorial Funeral Homes and Cemeteries El Paso Corporation ExxonMobil Foundation Fiesta Mart Inc. Flamingo Seismic Solutions, Inc. Friends/Neighbors FM1960 Womens Group Gensler Mr. and Mrs. James Hackett Mr. and Mrs. John Hagale George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Steven Hinchman Houston Endowment Inc. The Isla Carroll Turner Friendship Trust James E. Bashaw and Co. Mr. and Mrs. Rod Keyworth Mr. Earl Lester Mr. and Mrs. Randy Limbacher Locke, Lord Bissell & Liddell Lockton Companies of Houston Marathon Oil Company Mr. and Mrs. Stan Marek John P. McGovern Foundation Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church Memorial Hermann Healthcare System Mr. and Mrs. Charles Moore Mr. and Mrs. Steve Mueller Noble Energy, Inc. Oak Farms Dairy Oracle America, Inc. P2 Energy Solutions, Inc. Patrinely Group and Crimson Services Plaza at the Buckingham Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Ralls Ms. Beth Robertson Earl E. Shelp, Ph.D. Shepherds for the Savior Silver Eagle Distributors The Simmons Foundation Smith Services Southwestern Energy St. John The Divine Episcopal Church St. Martins Episcopal Church Schlumberger Mrs. TerraLynn Swift Swift Energy Company Veristic Manufacturing Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. Ms. Glen Waltrip Mr. and Mrs. David Weekley Wells Fargo Western Airways Mrs. Raye White
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Board of Directors
Keith A. Crane Director, Business Development GDF SUEZ Energy North America, Inc. Joe DAmico President, South Coast Resources Steve Hinchman President & Chief Executive Officer HighMount Exploration & Petroleum Kevin P. Lewis Partner Vinson & Elkins, LLP Randy L. Limbacher Chairman, President, and CEO Rosetta Resources Steve Mueller Chief Executive Officer Southwestern Energy Earl E. Shelp, Ph.D. President Interfaith CarePartners Ronald H. Sunderland, Ed.D. Co-founder (retired) Interfaith CarePartners Glen Waltrip Charitable Activities Bill Yost Vice President Executive Sales Baker Hughes Officers Chairman, Steve Hinchman Secretary, Glen Waltrip Treasurer, Joseph DAmico The audited financial statements will be part of the Annual Report for 2011 on completion by independent auditors and then will be available for public inspection.

Welcome John Burk, Ph.D.

John Burk, Ph.D. was appointed Senior Vice President as of October 1, 2011. Dr. Burk will share leadership for the programs alongside Interfaith CarePartners co-founder and president, Earl Shelp, Ph.D.

Dr. Burk holds Bachelors and Master of Divinity degrees from Baylor University, Master of Theology degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, and Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). He was Assistant Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Seton Hall University (New Jersey) teaching in the Department of Religion prior to joining Interfaith CarePartners. His first assignments are to be immersed in the Care Team program. He is visiting with Care Team members in many congregations, assisting in planning educational conferences for caregivers, and developing relationships with our program constituents of

families being served, team members, congregational clergy, and program staff. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Burk and look forward to the contributions he will make to fulfilling our mission to care for weak and vulnerable people.

Connections is the newsletter of Interfaith CarePartners Email:

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Earl. E Shelp, Ph.D. President Ronald H. Sunderland, Ed.D Co-Founder Janie Alderman Design Layout and Design

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