Volunteers at the Heart of Our Mission
Anyone who has loved someone diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease understands the challenges involved in full-time care. Leeza Gibbons has lived a successful television and media career. She has also experienced the challenges of Alzheimer’s care, which led her to create a foundation to help others who need support. As an offshoot of Leeza’s Care Connection, Silver Lining Club was created to address that specific need. Loving, dedicated, and compassionate volunteers make up the fabric of the respite care family and were asked to describe what led them to Silver Lining Club.
Leeza Describes it Best.
“At Leeza’s Care Connection, our philosophy about caring is that ‘you can hang on to yourself even while letting go of someone you love’. Our Silver Lining Club is a beautiful reflection of that because it provides caregivers some time for themselves while their diagnosed loved ones are welcomed into our community of love and support. We know that providing more care and support for caregivers translates into better outcomes for the care receivers. That’s why Silver Lining Club is such a success and is in such high demand. Our volunteers get tremendous gratification from the hours spent singing, creating, eating, and celebrating life. It’s the perfect antidote for the hopeless and helpless feelings that someone emerges from caring for someone with a chronic illness or disease. We focus on what’s left instead of what’s lost.”
Why We Volunteer
Peggy Jones
My mom was one of the first to be enrolled in the Silver Lining Program. She loved socializing, and I needed the break. After my mom passed, I knew that the Silver Lining Club (SLC) would always be a part of my volunteering because of how my mom benefited from it. When I walk through the doors at SLC, I set aside all my concerns and prepare myself for a time filled with joy and fun. My whole demeanor is uplifted. I know I make a huge difference for their loved ones, and they feel it for a long time. They smile, laugh, feel love, participate in activities, socialize, and feel accepted. My life is fuller as I let each loved one know they are special. When I leave SLC, my heart overflows with joy.
Betsy Smith
I witnessed both my father-in-law and a dear friend struggle with dementia. I also saw what life became for their spouses, as primary caregivers. My father-in-law attended a program similar to Silver Lining Club, and I saw firsthand what a blessing the day out was for both my father-in-law and mother-in-law. Seeing my father-in-law get ready for his day out brought such a smile to my heart. He spent a full battery charge of his razor, shaving for “the ladies.” He told me about the group dancing and exercising, and we did it together. As a recent retiree, I thought the Silver Lining Club was something I would like to do. Little did I know how much I would enjoy my time spent with our guests and the other volunteers. We have made connections and friendships with each other as we enjoy playing games, singing, laughing, talking, and crafting. After a day at Silver Lining Club, our guests take some joy from the day home with them, just like I know my father-in-law did.
Katherine Keckeisen
My mom had dementia for many years, starting at the age of 75. My mom was the sweetest, kindest person I have ever known, and she transferred to me the importance of being kind. When my brothers and I eventually had to place her in a memory facility, I visited her every day and looked forward to seeing her and all the patients. After my mom passed, I had an empty space in my heart. I learned about Leeza’s Silver Lining Club at my church and instantly knew this was a place where I could help others like my mom. The first day I volunteered at SLC I came home and just cried. I realized that this program may have helped me more than I helped them. I fell in love with everyone there. I cherish the time I get to spend with these special friends each week. We laugh, sing, dance, talk, and just enjoy being ourselves. Silver Lining Club day is the best day of my week.
Lil Eaves
My time at the Silver Lining Club has been very rewarding and fun. I look forward to coming every Wednesday. My sorority group started volunteering and doing service projects with Leeza’s Care Connection a long time ago. For the last ten years, since I retired as a kindergarten teacher, I have volunteered at the school where I taught, at my church, and with my sorority. l love working with people of all ages. When a call was sent out two and a half years ago looking for volunteers, I asked myself why not go to the Silver Lining Club? From the moment I started until today, I always anticipate being greeted with smiles, hellos, “Let’s dance,” “What’s next?” and “Thank you!” I feel that I make others’ lives a little happier and that I am needed. I leave happy and exhausted at the end of each Wednesday.
Debbie Smoak
My mom had dementia for about ten years. When I retired, I began to attend Wednesday Lunch ‘N Learns at Leeza’s Care to learn as much as I could. I was a long-distance caregiver for the last four years, traveling to Ohio to help every couple of months. I finally retired early to care for them. When my dad passed away in 2019, my mom came to live with us. She was the second person to sign up for the Silver Lining Club when it began. It was a blessing for us both. She attended for several months until the pandemic in 2020 had to suspend the program. When it reopened, Mom was in a memory care facility. After she passed in 2022, I became a volunteer because I knew the value for the caregiver and the participants. I have always said it is the most important day of my week. I am always telling people about Leeza’s, and I think what they offer is invaluable.
Ali Koehler
I have always been involved with the elderly. I volunteered at Oakleaf Village in middle school and completed an Alzheimer’s project in high school. I questioned how I wanted to live my life and how I wanted to treat people. I like feeling what others are feeling, even if they can’t express it. Like most volunteers, I think I’m a natural caregiver and empathic, something inherent in our core, caring and feeling deeply for others. As part of my Capstone real-world experience for a degree in public health, I started at Silver Lining Club in February 2023 and knew immediately that it was a great opportunity. It was a joyful environment; it felt good, and I loved everybody from day one. Afterward, I was accepted as a volunteer at SLC. I knew that this was something I was meant to do. Towards the end of their lives, people have so much knowledge. There is deep value in what they have to say if you stop and listen, something I might not have learned otherwise.
Mary Ann Hutcheson
Several years ago, while searching for help and information for a dear friend, I was directed to Leeza’s Care Connection in Irmo, and ultimately to Silver Lining Club. Becoming a volunteer has been an unexpected high point in my life. The people we greet each Wednesday bring with them cheerfulness, appreciation, and love–vital emotions in a complicated world. We delight in who our guests once were when they share stories about their past. But living in the moment is the most important lesson of all. We engage with patience and acceptance, and we celebrate reciprocal love. Among the volunteers are retired teachers and nurses, as well as family member caretakers. We expect nothing from our guests except that they enjoy themselves. And that, they do. Taking our guests into our hearts has lessened the fear of the disease that I thought would keep me from volunteering. Instead, it has made me stronger, humbler, and appreciative of every moment.
Susan Hawfield
I first became involved with Leeza’s Care Connection several years ago teaching art to caregivers, which I enjoyed. I was offered the opportunity to take over the Silver Lining Club as the Activity Director to plan each week’s theme, and project and oversee the flow of the day for the quests that come for a respite day, giving caregivers a little breather. This position was very different for me, and I immediately saw the need for it in the community when I fell in love with our guests, their caregivers, and the wonderful volunteers. Working with the volunteers as a real team makes such a special day. Everyone experiences smiles, laughter, singing, dancing, and active, engaging activities. I have stepped down from this position to become a volunteer now. Knowing that I have been a little part of this service to the community has brought me much joy and fulfillment.
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