March 2011 - Episcopal Place

X P Echo
A Publication for Friends and Residents of Episcopal Place
FEBRUARYFEBRUARY-MARCH, 2011
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1
Gumbo Gala Set for May 7 at Caldwell Park
Get ready for gumbo!
Planning is underway for
Episcopal Place’s sixth annual
Gumbo Gala, which will be
held Saturday, May 7 at Caldwell Park.
Forty cook-off teams are
expected to compete for
gumbo cooking awards, including “Birmingham’s Best
Gumbo.”
The team to beat this year
is from Crazy Cajun’s Boiling
Pot in Inverness, which has
won the top award for three
out of five years.
Ezell’s Catfish Cabin in
Bessemer will return this year
as the presenting sponsor for
the event. Also serving again
Robert Regard (with trophy) of
Crazy Cajun’s Boiling Pot led the
top team in 2010.
as emcees will be Rob Conrad
and Jeanine Jersey of Magic
96.5’s morning radio show.
Last year, about 1,000 people attended the event, which
raised over $30,000 to provide
supportive services for the 150
seniors and disabled adults who
live at Episcopal Place.
Sponsors and cook-off teams
are now being recruited and
more information can be found
on the event website. Tickets
are $10 per person and may be
purchased at the event, on the
website or by calling Episcopal
Place at 939-0085. For more
information, go to:
www.gumbogala.com
Medical Transport Program Starts
Episcopal Place has expanded its van transportation program to include
transport of residents to
doctors’ appointments and
for other health-related services.
The new service is available on Mondays and
Renowned harpist Linda Barton
Paul of Tulsa,
OK (seated)
shows residents
Marcia Nelson
and Margaret
Riggins how to
play the harp
Wednesdays from 7:30
am—4:30 pm. Priority is
given to residents who do
not drive or have reliable
transportation.
The Joseph S. Bruno
Foundation and the Lucille
Stewart Beeson Trust at
(see Medical, Page 4)
Nedra Holder, with van driver Elmo
Tanner, was the new program’s first
passenger
Residents Enjoy Cultural Arts Activities
The resident activities at
EP have been expanded to
include more cultural arts
activities, such as performances by guest musicians
and trips to the opera.
This change reflects
residents’ expressed interests
and grant funding received
from The Susan Mott Webb
Foundation.
In January, a nationallyknown harpist visited EP to
(See Arts Activities, Page 4)
EP UPDATE
by Tim Blanton, Executive Director
Page 2
EPISCOPAL PLACE RESIDENTS RECORD STORIES
What was one of your favorite childhood memories? Do you have any regrets? Tell me
about your siblings. These are just some of the questions that have been flying around EP recently.
After hearing that StoryCorps was making a stop in Birmingham, Shannon Atchenson got
busy and secured seven reservations for our residents to tell their story. StoryCorps is a non-profit organization dedicated to recording everyday Americans’ stories to be archived at the American Folklife Center at the
Library of Congress. These oral histories give people from all walks of life the opportunity to leave a legacy
for their friends and families and preserves stories that would otherwise be lost.
In addition to the recording, a photograph is taken of the interviewers and interviewees at the time of the recording and is added to the collection at the Library
of Congress.
Resident Kenneth Brown was interviewed and he found the experience to be
rewarding. He said, “My goal in doing this project was to be able to tell the story
and dispel the myth that people with physical disabilities also have mental disabilities.” Kenneth said he had already listened to his recording with a friend
and would be making copies of his recording to send to his relatives. Another
resident that participated was Margaret Klock. Margaret said it was a neat experience for her and that she “didn’t get to cover nearly all of it (meaning her
life)”. Margaret plans to share her recording with her friends and family memEP resident Thelma Ward
bers.
Jackson was interviewed by
Listen out for some of the local stories during “Tapestry” on Birmingham’s
her daughter, Toni, for the
StoryCorps program
National Public Radio station WBHM, 90.3 FM which airs Fridays
and Saturdays. You might hear the story of an EP resident. You
can also get more information at www.storycorps.org.
Special Tapestry Adorns EP Wall
As longtime EP
Executive Director Jill Hoogstra
approached retirement two
years ago, Board member
Shirley Steele had an idea
about how to preserve the
history of EP in Jill’s head.
Shirley and Jill wrote a
short history of EP and then
Shirley turned to her Godchild, Patty Hawkins, for
help. Patty agreed to crosstitch the history for a special tapestry that would be
made. Little did she know
the project would take an
entire summer to complete.
After several attempts,
Shirley finally found someone to turn the crosstitched
history into a finished tapestry.
This beautiful wall hanging now hangs among other
historical items in the EP
Parlor. Thank you, Shirley
and Patty, for your labor of
love for EP!
Shirley Steele (left) and Patty Hawkins (right) flank the
new tapestry in the EPI parlor.
EP ACTIVITIES
Page 3
Holiday Activities
Make EP
Merry and Bright
Members of Southside Baptist Church served up
ham, dressing, cranberry sauce and other holiday
fixin’s at the Resident Christmas Luncheon sponsored by the church. (Top left photo) Donna Wilson,
Susan Baird and Darlene Green of Southside serve
EP resident Nolena McBrayer. (Top right photo)
Libby Jones and Michael Parker of Southside with
Jean Rikard. At right is resident Beatrice Rembert.
(Left photo, in the center) Greer Bisignani from
Amedisys taught residents how to make Christmas
(Photo at left) EP Executive Director Tim
Blanton (center) received a donation of
$10,000 for EP at the
55th Place annual holiday Board meeting.
With Tim are (left) Frank
Romanowicz of the 55th
Place and EP Boards and
Jim Killebrew (right),
president of the 55th
Place Board.
The chorus at Indian Springs School was one of several
groups who entertained residents during the holidays
EP residents launched a
new project during the
holidays called “Care Casseroles”. Residents prepare
and cook casseroles that
are frozen and given to
residents when they are
sick or circumstances prevent them from cooking. In
the top photo, Donna
Hosey and Dolly Simpson
prepare meals. In the
photo at left, Debra Wilkins
also helped make casseroles.
1112 26th Street South
Birmingham, AL
35205
Telephone: 205-939-0085
Fax: 205-939-0101
Mission
Statement
The Mission
of Episcopal
Place is to
provide to
senior and
disabled
adults with
restricted
income, safe
and
affordable
housing and
access to
related
services in a
homehome-like
environment
Episcopal Place is a faith-based not-for-profit housing community. We are
federally subsidized operating under the regulations of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). We serve individuals or couples that are 62 years or
older who meet annual income guidelines set by HUD and individuals or
couples that are 19 years or older if mobility impaired, blind or deaf and that
meet annual income guidelines set by HUD. Serving Birmingham since
1980.
—Medical (Continued from Page 1)
Canterbury United Methodist
Church provided grant funds
for the new program.
With the funding, Episcopal
Place has hired a part-time van
driver, Elmo Tanner, to work
Mondays and Wednesdays.
Residents are asked to fill out
transportation requests in advance and turn them in to the
Business Office.
The goal of the medical
transportation program is to
provide residents improved
access to health care services
and to serve an increasing
number of residents who do
not drive or have reliable or
affordable transportation.
Jackie Spencer of Amedisys
(left) sponsored the New
Resident Social in January.
With Jackie is EP Resident
Helen Homesly. EP has
started monthly socials to
introduce new residents to
staff and get them oriented
to life at EP.
—— Cultural Arts Activities (Continued from Page 1)
perform and talk about
her career and how to
play the harp. Residents
also attended Opera Birmingham’s performance
of “Faust”.
Future activities being
planned include trips to
performances at the Virginia Samford Theatre
and more performances
here at EP by visiting artists.
Studies show that cultural arts activities encourage socialization
among seniors and help
them maintain and improve their physical,
mental and emotional
health.
Episcopal Place was featured at the November annual
meeting of the Birmingham Business Alliance. Flowers used in table decorations at the meeting were
donated to Episcopal Place. Information about EP
also was included in the program and in meeting announcements. Pictured are (left to right) Tellis Shoemaker from Dorothy McDaniel’s Flower Market
which created the decorations, Tim Blanton of EP,
and Dorothy McDaniel, business owner.
Op e rat e d by Epi sc op a l H ous in g F oun dat ion, Inc . & Epi sc op a l H ous ing of B ir ming ha m, In c.