Connections

Interfaith CarePartners Volume 27, June 2014

W
26 Years of Sweet Charity
ednesday, February 26, was
a cold and rainy evening in
Houston. But inside the Westin
Memorial City ballroom, Interfaith
CarePartners 26
th
annual Sweet
Charity event was a mix of warmth, energy, and
fun as we celebrated the work of other community
contributors and the spirit of volunteer caregiving
in Houston. The evening featured presentations of
the Sustaining Presence Award to BMC Software
and National Oilwell Varco for their important
community contributions in Houston and beyond.
Tom Koch of Channel 13 Eyewitness News
served as an excellent Master of Ceremonies for
the evening. Robert Bob Beauchamp of BMC
Software and Merrill A. (Pete) Miller, Jr. of National Oilwell
Varco served as honorary chairs for the event.
A warm welcome was extended to guests by Tom Koch
and Tim Vanduivendyk of Memorial Hermann Healthcare
System offered the invocation for the evening. Dinner was
served following remarks by Chairman of the Board, Steve
Hinchman, and a video highlighting the services offered by
Interfaith CarePartners. Dr. John Burk, president of Interfaith
CarePartners, then paid tribute to BMC Software and National
Oilwell Varco for their individual contributions to the Houston
community and beyond. Bob Beauchamp accepted the award
on behalf of BMC Software, and Pete Miller accepted the
award for National Oilwell Varco. Both spoke glowingly of the
work Interfaith CarePartners does to alleviate the burden of
family caregivers in our community. After closing remarks by
Dr. Burk and Tom Koch, Houston-based band, The Grateful
Geezers, took the stage and welcomed guests onto the
dance oor for some of that old time rock and roll.
Silent auction items this year
featured acoustic guitars signed by
country legends Dolly Parton and Willie
Nelson, two y-shing lessons from
Orvis, two copies of the book Lone
Survivor autographed by author Marcus
Luttrell, a weekend getaway package
at the Westin, four tickets to see
the Houston Astros play the
Boston Red Sox, a fruit basket
donated by River City Produce
of San Antonio, Tx, a hotel
getaway package donated by
the Austin Hyatt Regency
Hotel, a cooking class for six
Dr. John Burk presenting awards to Bob Beauchamp, left, and Pete Merrill, right.
people with Carmelo Mauro of Carmelos Ristorante Italiano,
a six-month membership to the YMCA, and a Comcast
SportsNet Package which included four tickets to the Houston
Rockets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game, a parking pass,
and a VIP Tour for four people of the Comcast SportsNet
studio during SportsTalk Live, including a meet-and-greet with
the CSN talent.
Major underwriters for the evening included DTE Energy
Foundation of Detroit, Michigan, BMC Software, National
Oilwell Varco, and Southwestern Energy. Additionally, Baker
Hughes, Peggy and Steve Hinchman, Marathon Oil, the
John P. McGovern Foundation, and Anita and Steve Mueller,
and 18other individuals and companies all joined in making
the evening a success by helping to support the caregiving
programs of Interfaith CarePartners with their generous gifts.
In addition to being a source of support for Interfaith
CarePartners caregiving programs, Sweet Charity has long
been a way for the organization to recognize the many
contributions made to our community by other worthy
organizations, individuals, and volunteers.
We recognize that we are all in this
together and want our Sweet Charity
events to be a reection of that belief.
Every year we are grateful for the
opportunity to come together in
celebration with others who hold the
same vision that we do to create
caring communities and to highlight
the important roles that so many
around us assume to make that
vision a reality. We will continue
to look forward to these times of
celebration!

Tom Koch of
Channel 13
2
The recipient of
the 2014 Dr. Ronald H.
Sunderland Care Team
Member Award is Virginia
Ginny Studdert of
St. Cecelias Catholic
Community. This annual
award is presented to
a Care Team member
whose consummate
service and sacricial
spirit reect the caring
spirit of Dr. Ronald H.
Sunderland, co-founder of Interfaith
CarePartners.
Every year we accept nominations
from volunteers in our Care Team
program who wish to recognize the
exemplary service of another volunteer.
2014 Sunderland Award Winner
This year, Ginnys service
and leadership on the
Alzheimers Care Team
Gathering Place at St.
Cecelias was recognized
by countless of the
volunteers in that program
who nominated her for
this prestigious award.
Volunteers stated that
they were inspired by
Ginnys leadership and
eager to help her because
of the spirit of care she gives to those
suffering the ravages of dementia.
As a Care Team leader, Ginny helps
coordinate each of the Gathering
Place activity times for people with
Alzheimers or other forms of dementia,
while she works with volunteer team
members and family caregivers. Ginnys
passion for, and work on behalf of those
with dementia and their family caregivers
is an inspiration for us at Interfaith
CarePartners, and we are grateful for
the opportunity to partner with her and
the other volunteers at St. Cecelia as we
work for weak and vulnerable people.
Ginny and her husband were special
guests at this years Sweet Charity, where
the award was announced. The formal
presentation of the award was made by
Dr. Burk during a worship service at St.
Cecelias on March 2. Family, friends,
and Care Team volunteers were present
to celebrate with Jean as she received
the award.
A new tradition has begun at Interfaith CarePartners! This year we held our inaugural Kentucky Derby Party
on Saturday, May 3, at Cottonwood Club in the Heights. We welcomed approximately 100 guests who wore their
nest derby hats and seersucker suits as they came out to enjoy the festivities. The day consisted of a game in which
participants could create a horse, name it, and then race it against other participants, prizes for the best dressed man
and woman, a live viewing of the actual Kentucky Derby race, good food, and lots of other fun activities for the guests.
Thanks to the generosity of individual and corporate underwriters and our host committee, this event was a wildly
successful fundraiser for Interfaith CarePartners, and we look forward to hosting it again next year. For information on
how to get involved as an underwriter or on the host committee, please contact Emily Smart, Development Associate,
at (713) 682-5995.
Kentucky Derby Party
3
These are exciting times at
Interfaith CarePartners. In addition to
successful events like Sweet Charity
and the Kentucky Derby Party, three
new members on the Board of Directors
in 2014, and the growth of CarePartners
Together, we continue to offer the
programs that are the centerpiece of
our excellence in service to the Greater
Houston community.
The Care Team program is the
signature piece of all that we do. We
continue to offer support and education
to our 2,000+ congregation based
volunteers who serve on an Alzheimers
Care Team, Second Family Care
Team, AIDS Care Team, or Kids
Pals Care Team. In addition to these,
though, we are always looking for ways
to continue to provide free educational
opportunities to family caregivers.
Below is an update on the various types
of supplemental educational offerings
we are excited to continue to provide.
Preparing and Sharing. Since
2011 we have been hosting monthly
brown bag lunches at Southwestern
Energy called Preparing and Sharing,
which are designed to help prepare
employed family caregivers for their
roles and to further strengthen the
efforts of those family caregivers who
are already serving in those roles. At a
monthly lunch meeting, representatives
from Interfaith CarePartners, or an area
expert will offer a free presentation.
This offering provides an opportunity
for education and it also serves as a
time when family caregivers can come
together and compare notes about their
challenges or joys that are part of their
caregiving duties in a safe environment.
The need family caregiver
education is increasing and we are
beginning to get interest in this program
elsewhere. If your are an employee of
a company that you think could benet
from this service, please call us at (713)
682-5995 to learn more.
Expert Panel. Our Expert
Panel was established in 2012 as a
supplementary service to some of
the other educational offerings we
provide. Congregations throughout the
Houston area may contact Interfaith
CarePartners to arrange a workshop or
a series of workshops on topics relevant
to caregivers in their communities.
Interfaith CarePartners will either
provide the presentation or arrange
Program Development at Interfaith
CarePartners
for a subject matter expert to offer
the presentation, depending on the
requested topic. Multiple presentations
have been made already this year, with
others still to come. If you know of a
congregation who could benet from
this service, please feel free to call us
at (713) 682-5995 to discuss possible
topics and dates. All presentations are
free-of-charge. Sample topics include,
The Journey of Caregiving, How
to Manage the Difcult Behaviors of
Dementia, Understanding Medicare
(or Medicaid), etc. This is a program
offering that is proving successful as
we continue to look for ways to bridge
the gap of available resources for
caregivers who are currently serving in
their role, or those who are preparing
for it.
We are eager to be good stewards
of all that we have learned about
caregiving over the years, and are
excited to provide these program
initiatives to the community. If you, or
anyone you know, is interested in any
of the above program offerings, please
contact the ofce at (713) 682-5995, or
send an email to John Burk at jburk@
interfaithcarepartners.org.
Caregiver Conferences and
Intensive Workshops. In 2013, we
presented six caregiver conferences for
over 1,400 people in various locations
around Greater Houston. These
conferences are free to registrants
and provide opportunities for family
caregivers to come and learn about
topics for their caregiving roles. Area
experts from different companies
or organizations donate their time to
present between 21-24 workshops at
each conference in three, one-hour
time slots. All conferences begin with
an open assembly and remarks by
Interfaith CarePartners president, Dr.
John K. Burk. Lunch is provided free
by an area restaurant, and several of
our conferences provide free respite
care for those who need to utilize that
particular service for their loved ones.
We have presented three conferences
so far in 2014 and have three more
scheduled for the fall. Fall dates will go
up on our website shortly.
The conferences are hosted
by partner congregations, and area
businesses are given the opportunity
to exhibit in a place designed for family
caregivers to browse. Underwriters
make signicant nancial contributions
to the conferences and help enable us
to offer them for free.
In addition to the conferences, we
also provide intensive workshops for
family caregivers. These workshops,
presented by an expert in caregiving,
offer a 2.5 hour time devoted to a
particular topic of interest that can
be covered in-depth for a group of
approximately 50 people. In 2014,
we are presenting eight intensive
workshops for family caregivers.
For more information on either
the conferences or the workshop
intensives please visit the website at
www.interfaithcarepartners.org or call
us at (713) 682-5995.
As was announced in the De-
cember 2013 issue of Connections,
CarePartners Together, a wholly-
owned subsidiary of Interfaith
CarePartners, recently began of-
fering in-home service to individu-
als in the Greater Houston area.
CarePartners Together is a Personal
Assistance Service (PAS) licensed by
the Texas Department of Aging and
Disability Services to provide non-
medical, practical-support care to
individuals who require an extra nur-
turing touch to help them remain in
their homes. CarePartners Together
is a fee-based service with competi-
tive hourly rates, and all revenue is
used to support the free volunteer
caregiving services of Interfaith
CarePartners.
Our caregivers, many of whom
are Certied Nursing Assistants
(CNA), go through a rigorous back-
ground check and orientation before
beginning service. We are currently
offering a summer discount and we
are accepting new clients. For more
information or for a quote on service,
please call Veronica Seivwright at
(713) 263-7277. We are excited about
this new venture and the ways it will
broaden our continuum of care.

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H o u s t o n , T e x a s 7 7 0 2 4
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N o n P r o t O r g .
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P A I D
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A d d r e s s S e r v i c e R e q u e s t e d
Connections is the newsletter of
Interfaith CarePartners

Email: info@interfaithcarepartners.org
Web Page: www.interfaithcarepartners.org
John K. Burk, Ph.D. President
Janie Alderman Design Layout and Design
C r e a t i n g C a r i n g C o m m u n i t i e s
Our Mission: To care for
weak and vulnerable
people.
Our Vision: To create,
equip, and sustain
caring communities.
A Personal Thank You
August will mark the one-year anniversary since my appointment to the role
of president for Interfaith CarePartners. The founders of this organization, Drs. Earl
Shelp and Ron Sunderland, did a marvelous job of creating a model of caregiving
that has touched the lives of thousands of people in our community over the years.
Many lessons have been learned during my time here, but the one I nd to
be the most constant is that our program and caregiving offerings are excellent
because of the people who invest time, energy, nancial resources, and love into
this live-giving work. I want only to say thank you to all in Houston who believe so
strongly in what we do. It is joy-lled work and I am excited about what the future
holds for us as we look at ways that we can continue to provide the quality of care
that we currently do, and to dream of expanding that care to reach those who are
among the most weak and vulnerable in our communities. Im looking forward to
what is in store for all of us.
John K. Burk, Ph.D.