Dear Donna Jean,
Since the day I found the paper article (I think it was in the Saskatoon Express?) about you and your book, I knew that you are likely a ‘kindred spirit’ – the kind of person who has similar core values of care and respect for our elders. I was taken with the key phrases that were highlighted in the article and was delighted to find many of them featured in the preface of your book. At that time, I said to Greg and others on our staff team, ‘we must meet Donna Jean!’ I also had a hunch that you might be the kind of person who would be comfortable sharing your own stories of caring for your parents. We are very excited to get to know you more and to have our caregiving team affirmed and encouraged by you this Thursday evening. Thank You so much for sharing your expertise with our team!
When Greg met you for lunch I expect he said a little about our work and our caregiver meeting. Forgive me if some of the following is repetitive, but I expect that having an idea of who you are speaking to will help you focus your words.
Home Instead’s mission is to enhance the lives of older adults and support their families. We do this through our carefully selected and trained Caregivers. Our goal is to match our caregivers to our clients for ongoing weekly visits based on availability, background and personality. The services we provide are non-medical in nature such as home help (light housekeeping, meal preparation and laundry), assistance with personal care, specialized dementia care and palliative care. We escort people on outings and to appointments and through all tasks we assist with, our aim is to become trusted friends.
We have approximately 53 Caregivers working with us – most of them are part-time and a few are full-time. We have an administrative staff of 4 in addition to Greg and I. Recruitment & Training, Client Care Coordination and Scheduling make up the bulk of our efforts in the office as families request assistance we are delighted to introduce outstanding Caregivers into their lives to make a difference through the difficult days of aging.
The evening you will be a part of is a special one. I would like to invite you to join us for the entire evening: 6:30 – 9:30pm. This is a long evening so if you have other commitments and just can’t be with us for the whole evening, please let me know. I have you scheduled to speak from 7:00pm – 7:45pm. Feel free to speak the whole time or if you feel inclined, you are welcome to involve the group by inviting questions for example. The time use is entirely up to you.
There will be about 55 staff present as some will be with clients that evening. Our caregiver meetings involve a celebration of caregiving, with stories of success and outstanding work. At the end of the evening we will be announcing the ‘Caregiver of the Year from 2017’ so we are very excited about that! In addition, there are snacks and beverages, along with a memorial of clients lost and some other office newsy items. Overall, I think you will find the evening stimulating.
About transportation, we have a staff person ready to pick you up at 6:10pm and deliver you home at the conclusion of the evening, if that suits you. This will give you time to make your way to Lakeview Church. All I need is your address please.
I will give you a call tomorrow to confirm details and answer questions if you have any.
Regards,
Karen
