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Second Wind Dreams News
Information and Inspiration for our DREAMWEAVERS! |
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Dear Dreamweavers & Supporters,
After talking with many of you about communication and what you need to keep you motivated, we have decided to send out weekly e-blasts to keep you informed about upcoming events, report great dream stories that have taken place and share ideas to help you make the most of your Second Wind Dreams membership.
Each week we will highlight some of the dreams that have been submitted with their dream outcome forms. We want to share as many dream stories as possible so be sure and submit your stories for our weekly e-blasts , blog and facebook page. Don't miss out - help spread the word by submitting your stories today!
If you haven't already done so, please become a fan of our Facebook page by clicking here! You can also follow us on Twitter by following this link!
Please feel free to comment on stories on all of our social networking sites! We love to hear your feedback!
Submissions for weekly e-blast should be received by noon on Thursday to be considered for insertion. All dream stories must include the dream outcome form to be considered. Submissions can be made by email, laurie@secondwind.org, fax, 740-738-0644, or snail mail to SWD, 4343 Shallowford Road E-6, Marietta, GA 30062.
Hope to hear from you all soon!
Warmly,
Laurie Labishak
Director of Membership & Chapter Development |
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Time is on our side
By P.K. Beville M.S., Founder
Our society is going crazy with its Anti aging movement. Frankly, I don't understand how you can anti age. I can see how you can be anti war or anti drugs but anti age? Aging is nothing that you can be against. It is inevitable no matter how much you suck, tuck or botox.
As the baby boomers grow in ranks, they're in for a shock!! No matter how hard they try, they are absolutely, positively going to get old. They watched their parents do it and they will do it too. Since they will comprise the largest segment of our population we could be in for a huge societal depression. The truth will have to eventually sink in. When it does, Second Wind Dreams is there bringing the positives into aging and even helping to make their parents lives better by educating them about the great things about caregiving and the best ways to care for Dementia.
THE SUCCESS OF ANY SOCIAL EPIDEMIC IS HEAVILY DEPENDENT ON THE INVOLVEMENT OF PEOPLE WITH A PARTICULAR RARE SET OF SOCIAL GIFTS.
MALCOLM GLADWELL
SWD, its affiliate volunteers and elder care communities have that rare set of social gifts.
Time is NOT our enemy...ignorance is.
Change is a difficult thing to do especially for a whole society but it's not impossible. There are times it seems it is too overwhelming. Sometimes we even feel a bit of our faith shaken by negative people but we have to be stronger because we know the truth about how positive aging is. Even the most frail of our elders teach us this lesson every day.
Claire Nuer is quoted as saying, "Are you going to be the rock that redirects the course of the river?
Oh yes......we are because time is on our side.
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 OH THE JOY OF MAKING MUSIC!
"Every month I interview one of our patients and find out if they have any unresolved wishes or dreams," says Linda Tatum, social worker with Regency Hospice. "I compile the interviews and our Second Wind Dreams board determines how we can make the dream come true."
Gene's dream as a boy was to be a train conductor and now in physical decline he expresses only a wish to be a part of 2 things; a cure for cancer and to hear good gospel music.
Gene's dream of being a conductor was fulfilled as Suzanne Repp, bereavement coordinator with Regency Hospice placed a new conductor's hat, courtesy of Blue Ridge Scenic Railway out of Blue Ridge, GA on Gene's head and announced the offer from the BSR to let him ride free of charge on the train when trips begin in mid-March. Another gift was a book of train lore and songs. The audience stood and saluted the smiling conductor.
The church band played a medley of I'll Fly Away and I Saw the Light to an upbeat tempo that had the whole church tapping toes and clapping hands and finally exploding into a full stance of celebration of the life of the guest of honor. Gene was smiling and nodding to his wife, Shirley, displaying his contentment with the magical moment
Lori Burks represented the American Cancer Society in accepting a donation made by the Second Wind Dreams Board in Gene's honor as his contribution to researching a cure for cancer.
To cheers and tears of onlookers a man who currently endures physical weakness, showed the crowd his spiritual strength as he took his place on stage to once again play the guitar with his church band family.
The music flowed from the guitar Gene played as the crowd marveled at his talent. While waiting for him to come down from the stage, Gene was heard to say, "I think I have one more in me". And the band played on.
Julia Vereb, Executive Director at Regency brought the Second Wind Dreams program to Regency Hospice in 2009. The mission of the program is to grant a dream to those living in eldercare communities or in hospice care. Currently, Regency is the only hospice in Northeast Georgia participating in the SWD program
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 CocaCola Dream Come True Here is Al's story . . .
Albert "Al" Zastoupil began his career with Coca Cola around 1970, working at the San Diego plant. His first duties were on the lines that checked the soda bottles for debris. After his promotion to Line Leader, he moved to oversee the laboratory, where he gained valuable knowledge of another area of the Coca Cola plant. Al continued growing with the company, earning the position of Supervisor.
While Al proved to be a highly successful plant manager, working at both the Los Angeles and San Francisco locations, he was not able to keep his position when Coca Cola cut back on management in 1992. However, Coca Cola called Al in 1993 to recruit him as leader of the start-up team for their new plant in Moscow, Russia. Al played a crucial role, designing the plant's layout and directing the placement of all machinery in the building. They stayed a total of 5 years in Russia.
While working at the Moscow location, Al had to overcome several local difficulties. With patience and understanding, he transcended cultural differences between himself and the Russian employees, teaching them different ways to approach sanitation habits at the plant. He also had to endure the tumultuous social/political climate, which he experienced first-hand when a small rocket was sent flying in through his office window.
Undaunted, Al continued his dedication with the company, later moving to the St. Petersburg location to train employees and get the plant off the ground. He spent his last six months with the Coca Cola company in Jamaica, where he passed on his expansive knowledge to other employees before retiring at age 55.
During his career, Coca Cola recognized Al's devotion to the company and honored him not just with an Employee of the Year award, but with a trip to Hawaii for Al to share with his wife, Nancy.
On Monday, March 29th, the anniversary of Coca-Cola, Al was honored with a Coke themed cook out. A representative from CocaCola presented Al with a commemorative watch in honor of her service to the industry. The event was attended by family and friends of the residents at Sommerford. The day was made complete with lots of Coca-Cola for everyone and special give aways for attendees.
Congratulations Al and Sommerford for an incredible dream come true!
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SWD and the Harrah's Foundation are at it Again! In May, Second Wind Dreams will award five Elder Care Communities in the San Diego, California area LIFETIME scholarships thanks to the generosity of the Harrah's Foundation. Together, SWD and Harrah's are spreading the mission across the nation in a big way!
So far, the Harrah's Foundation has provided scholarships to 16 Elder Care Communities in Las Vegas, Chicago, and New Orleans. With the leadership of the Harrah's HERO volunteers, they have fulfilled over 125 dreams!
Watch for another new location for Harrah's and SWD in July! Thank you Harrah's Foundation for helping us spread the mission of Second Wind Dreams! |
| Second Wind Dreams Home Team Adds Two!
We would like to welcome two new employees to the Second Wind Dreams Home Team.
We are very excited to announce that Angela Colville of Chicago, Illinois, has joined us as the Community Relations Coordinator for the Chicago area. Angela brings many years of experience to our team and is excited about spreading the mission of Second Wind Dreams.
We are equally excited to welcome Donna Streeter aws our Las Vegas Community Relations Coordinator. Donna has an extensive background in the field and has worked with Second Wind Dreams at the ECC level.
Please join us in welcoming our new team members. Please feel free to email Angela or Donna by clicking on their names! |
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 Membership with Second Wind Dreams - What does it mean?
by: Laurie Labishak As membership director, I often get asked "What does being a member of Second Wind Dreams mean?" This week, I think I finally came up with an answer to help sum it up. Many people join a health club. You pay a monthly or annual fee to belong to the health club. You join in an effort to become more healthy. By joining and paying your fee, you have access to everything the club has - exercise classes, weights, machines, a pool - etc. The list could go on and on, however, if you don't USE the resources there, you will not see the benefits of the healthclub membership. Think of your Second Wind Dreams membership in the same way. This program is designed to help you "improve the health (or quality of life) of your Elder Care Community residents by giving you access to the tools you need to fulfill dreams and change the perception of aging and the eldercare industry. If you don't utilize the resources that are available with membership, you won't see results. We are here to help you! That's part of your membership. We are your "personal trainers" and we want to help you be successful with this mission. Please keep in touch and let us know what you are doing and how we can help. |
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New Address:
Second Wind Dreams home office has moved! Our new address is:
4343 Shallowford Road E-6
Marietta, GA 30062 Please make a note of this change! |
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We hope to hear from you soon! Submt those stories and dream outcome forms and watch weekly for your story to appear! Share this newsletter with family and friends. Anyone can sign up to receive these updates by clicking here and entering your information in the space provided!
DREAM BIG!
Sincerely,
The Second Wind Dreams Home Team
PK, Jean, Laurie, Angela & Donna |
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