Emerson, Odessa Elementary School, Florida

One of my favorite times in the Bring Smiles to Seniors program is when we have sent a batch of cards out to the schools and they come back with the students messages written inside. Most of our cards come from elementary age children, although we do have high schools and colleges involved as well. We have to read every card for appropriateness and it is very rare that we ever have to pull a card. When we do, it is usually because there is a message that may mean one thing to a child who means well, but would be taken differently by a senior receiving it. Getting a message that says “I hope you don’t die tomorrow” may not exactly be the way a senior wants to start their day.

When we deliver cards to the schools the question we are asked most often is what should the children write inside? Our answer is always the same. Let them use their imagination and creativity and write what ever is in their heart. Ninety-nine percent of the time the messages that come back are exactly what a senior needs to hear. Children innately get the need and channel the innocence that they still posses into messages that are heartwarming, genuine and pure.

There is only a certain amount of time that children get to enjoy that age of innocence before the world and people start to shape them into who they want them to be, rather than allowing them to carry that innocence on into their own lives. How often do we force them into sports, dance , arts or other activities simply because it is what we wanted for ourselves, but never had the opportunity and now want to live vicariously through them. Rather than let them blossom and grow into who they truly are, we mold them into what we want them to be. In the process we place unneeded pressure that causes that innocence that they were naturally born with to disappear.

When we read childrens’ messages we are hearing their true heart. The compassion and understanding that they convey at such an early age is truly a wonder to behold. When I am in classrooms speaking to students and I ask them how many know what a nursing home or assisted living facility is, many hands go up. It is far more likely that a child will have a relative associated with one of these communities today more than at any time in other generations. There are more of them, more people in them and it is only going to grow as the baby boomer generation ages. That also means that the need that we now strive to meet is only going to get larger.

The connection between seniors and children is powerful. That is why we have, from the very beginning of the program, made connecting the circle of life our mission. Nothing can bring a smile to a senior faster than a note or a visit from a child and we are tapping into that power to drive change. In doing so children learn, seniors smile and at the end of the day we have accomplished our mission. If we continue to let children speak from their heart and be who they are, the world will continue to be a beautiful place.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone smiles.

Ron

Year End Giving

This past year was an amazing year for Bring Smiles to Seniors having delivered 40,515 cards to over 200 senior communities in all 50 states. We exist because of the kindness of our donors. As you can imagine our largest expense is postage required to mail cards to senior communities for delivery by the activities director and our decorating program. If you are planning your year end giving we hope that you will consider us. We are a registered 501(c)(3) and donations are tax deductible.

Donations can be made on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/bringsmilestoseniors or on our website at bringsmilestoseniors.com. Checks made out to Bring Smiles to Seniors can be sent to us at PO Box 226. Odessa FL 33556

Happy New Year

bringsmilestoseniors.com

“A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA OR ONLINE AT http://www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com, REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.” REGISTRATION #: CH48309

This weekend I was thinking how lucky I am to be a part of a family that has always given back. I grew up as a kid spending time with my grandmother visiting the sick and the elderly all over town. My mom and dad were known as the “go to” people whenever anyone needed anything. It was only natural that my brother and I would possess those genes that would keep us giving back as we maneuvered through our own lives.

When you learn a compassion for people early on in life it doesn’t leave you. When you are taught what it is like not to be selfish and think about your fellow person before yourself early on, it puts taking care of others in your DNA and doing so seems just the natural thing to do.

Early on when I started Bring Smiles to Seniors, visiting my grandmother in her nursing home had a tremendous impact on me. Seeing so many without visitors, cards, flowers and other items touched my soul in a way that I could have never imagined. The need to do something about it was a must do, not a wish that I could. It is that drive and passion that I learned from my family that has gotten us to the point that we have delivered over 50,000 cards since March of 2016. That same passion and drive lives within my brother.

My brother has always loved painting. Now, later in life, he has channeled that passion into starting a program that works with military veterans. He has lined up painting companies and other support to provide military veterans with the supplies necessary to help instill a passion in them for painting. You can read more about his program at facebook.com/pleinairforceveteranssquad.

As part of my brothers painting he now does podcasts on painting. This has inspired m to do the same for this program and we will soon be implementing podcasts to supplement these postings on morningswithron.com. We each have goals to reach even more people to be involved in what we do and having the support of each other is an amazing thing.

We consider ourselves lucky to have parents and grandparents that put us on the path we are on at an early age. There is something special about helping others and in both cases we help people smile. How much better can it get than that. We are thankful for every person that is on these journeys with us and we can’t wait to see what we can all continue to do together.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone smiles.

Ron

The other day I was getting my hair cut and I saw this sign on the wall. I had to snap a picture because it got me to thinking about what we encounter every day. It is rare that you can turn the news on that it isn’t filled with information that is anything but positive. You can’t pick up the paper without the headlines blaring something negative at you. It is even difficult to immerse yourself in social media for an escape without being faced with many things that you would rather not hear or see.

Being bombarded by so much causes one to wonder whether there is still good in the world and if there is why isn’t it reported. The reality is that good news doesn’t sell or get ratings, yet people will line up to be bombarded with news that is not so good. What has happened to society when good deeds are rarely noticed but bad deeds make the top of the headlines?

One of the reasons that I try and share good stories that I find is because I believe we all need to be reminded that there is good in the world. People do amazing things every day, but the unfortunate thing is you have to dig to find them. There is no good news channel that we can go to for that positive fix. A place where they do only positive stories on the amazing things that people do. This makes it even more important to ensure that we share good news when we find it.

Normal every day people are constantly working hard to make the world a better place. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things that have a profound effect on peoples lives around them. It is those people that give us hope and make us believe that there is good in the world. The good works of the day pave the way for hope of a better tomorrow and it is those good works that help us validate that good in the world exists.

It is important to believe there is good in the world because there is. It is all around us. All we need to do is open our eyes to see it. The world has all the beauty it was meant to have if only we take the time to sift through the mire to find it. The next time you see someone doing something extraordinary, stop and recognize them for it. Thank them for making the world a better place with their compassion and caring.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone smiles.

Ron

My sister-in-law Debbie finds the best posts. Many times these posts become the catalyst for what I am going to write about. Other times my writing subject is a result of something that has happened during the day, a memory that came back to me, or just a thought that hits me that I want to share. Coming off an amazing week of celebration for my team and I, and knowing the impact we have on others, this post in particular really hit home.

In this big world that we live in, we often feel like a small fish in a very big pond. We go about our day doing what we need to do, taking care of life’s business and working hard just to survive. It is very easy to take for granted the impact that we have on other people’s lives that we don’t even realize. There are many times throughout the day where we do good deeds that affect others that go unnoticed in our own minds. Whether we held the door open for someone entering a store or provided a kind word to someone that made a difference in how their day was going to go, we had an impact on that person.

It is amazing to me how often thoughts of things that have happened in the past come back into the memory. An act, gesture or word that someone did or said that may have happened long ago suddenly pops back into your memory as if it were yesterday. Suddenly, you find yourself standing in front of that person again as if it were happening live at the moment. Somewhere in our brain we store those moments and they seem to resurface when they are needed most.

Every interaction with another person contains the possibility that what we do is going to have a lasting impact on them. Be it good or bad, what we may think to be insignificant can actually wind up being one of the most significant moments in that other person’s life. That makes it all the more important that we consider the consequences of our actions and words before we express them. Unfortunately, our minds do not have the ability to filter out all the bad and only remember the good. The bad interactions find a home in the brain as well.

None of us are insignificant. Our ability to impact others is often beyond our imagination. As you go throughout your day today try hard to be more aware of what impact you are having someone else. That awareness will often keep you from engaging in an action that will be detrimental to both you and the person on the receiving end. However, on the positive side it could provide you an opportunity to experience the impact you are having first hand, and that provides fuel for more of the same behavior. You have more influence than you know.

Have a great weekend and remember to be the reasons someone smiles today.

Ron

The more time I spend with my mom and dad lately, the more this quote resonates with me. It also really hit home when I was spending time with my grandmother when she was in her senior community. However, where it really hits home the most is when there is someone that we want or need to make contact with and delay for one reason or another, only to wind up with that person gone. It is then too late for us to make the connection that we wish we had made.

We all have busy lives that keep us from doing the things that we want or need to do. However, our lives should never get so busy that we fail to keep in contact and acknowledge the ones that we love. Every day on the news we hear of individuals who were met with untimely circumstances that ended their life way before their time. There was no way anyone could have seen it coming and suddenly all the things you wish you could have said become impossible. That often leaves individuals with a sense of regret that no one wants to deal with.

Ensuring interactions with your loved ones and people that you care about becomes especially important when they are dealing with debilitating diseases or conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Dementia. It is very easy to convince ourselves that it doesn’t matter that we don’t visit because they “aren’t there anymore anyway”. We justify it by telling ourselves that they won’t know we are there and question what the purpose is. In reality, we don’t know what they know. While physically or verbally they may not be able to say to us what they want to say, all you have to do is to look deep into their eyes to know that the person you always knew is still there somewhere.

I have written about this subject before and it seems to always be a good reminder. I inevitably hear from someone that it prompts them to make an outreach to a person that they had been meaning to contact. Sometimes, it encourages individuals to mend a broken relationship that was once important to them just in the nick of time. Other times it just reminds people of the importance of remembering those close to us and to cherish them while we can.

I always say that friends, family and loved ones are on loan to us for this lifetime. They were put into our lives for a reason. They help teach us life lessons. They mold and shape us into who we are. They are what makes our life beautiful, exciting and complete. If you have someone that you have been meaning to reach out to, make that outreach today. Both you and they will smile because you did.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone smiles today.

Ron

P.S. Thanks Debbie for letting me steal this from your post 🙂

It it with a humble heart and much gratitude that I write this post today. As we wind down our services for the year, we are ending 2018 having exceeded my greatest expectations. Throughout this entire year we have seen the “power of we” in action as  people came together for a common cause with a sole focus on making seniors smile. We set a goal of 20,000 cards to be delivered in 2018 and blew that goal out of the water. We added more card artist angels, civic groups, schools and card decorators, all while making more connections than we ever thought possible. It was truly an incredible year.

One only need to take a look at our statistics to see the power of what we all accomplished together:

Total Cards Delivered 2018:  40,515

Total Community Deliveries:  515

Unique Communities:  208

Total Cards Delivered since March 2016 (Program Start): 67,044  (7,719 2016/18,810 2017)

Home Delivery Cards Mailed (Renee): 3,070 (through December 15th)

Special Community Cards Mailed (Liane): 5,266

Elderly Nutrition Programs (Meals on Wheels) served: 9 in 8 states

Michigan Deliveries (Diane): 9,898 (up from 3,539 in 2017)

School Partners:  30

Numerous Civic, and corporate decorating partners.

Not only did we expand our reach in terms of communities, we delivered to at least one community in all 50 states twice, as well as Puerto Rico. You can see a list of the communities that have received our cards on our website at bringsmilestoseniors.com/services.

On the heels of this amazing year I am encouraging all my volunteers to take the holidays and enjoy family and friends and just relax.  Those of us with full time jobs in addition to the program definitely need it and most definitely deserve it. During these last few days of the year we will have limited services. We will come back in 2019 refreshed and ready to exceed what we have manage to accomplish in 2018. This will also be my last blog post for the year so I can give my creative mind a rest. I will set some of our previous posts to repost for the remainder of the year.

All of us at Bring Smiles to Seniors wish you and your family the happiest of holidays. We have felt the love from all of you this year and we are thankful for all you have done to help make our little dream a big, BIG reality.

Have a great holiday and remember to be the reason someone smiles.

Ron

bringsmilestoseniors.com

By now you all know that connecting the circle of life is a core mission of the Bring Smiles to Seniors organization. Yesterday, we had the opportunity to see that mission in action when the Odessa Elementary School choir visited Regency Residences to perform a concert, sing carols with the seniors and hand out cards. Even before the bus arrived with the students, the mood and air in the dining room was full of excitement. The anticipation was palpable and we knew we were in for something special.

When the bus pulled up, the approximately 100 students filed off in their blue shirts and took their place at the front of the dining room where they would be performing. The seniors eyes lit up and they knew that they were in for something special. Some early technical difficulties resulted in the first two songs being sung a cappella and the voices that came out of the children’s mouths were like angels. They did not miss a beat and seniors did not care that music was not accompanying them. Magically, the music was fixed and the concert continued.

After each song seniors stood, clapped, cheered and even cried. One gentleman told me that we caused his wife to come alive again as she had been a school teacher previously. Another commented that the children get more beautiful all the time. Others thanked us for making their day special and reminding them that they are not forgotten.

My favorite part of the event is when the students fan out and join all the tables and sing Christmas carols with the seniors. The room fills with the most melodious voices. The true combination of the circle of life as elderly and young voices join together to fill the room with some of the most beautiful sound you have ever heard. That my friends is exactly what I mean when I talk about connecting the circle of life.

As we were preparing to leave I looked back and saw many reading their cards that had been donated by our wonderful card artists and decorated by the Odessa Elementary School students. They were smiling and sharing with others at their table. One gentleman told us that he got a card from us at Thanksgiving and he reads it every day. Now he has another for his collection.

My grandmother was in that room yesterday. Her spirit was in the face of every student and the smile of every senior. We truly connected the circle of life and in doing so were blessed with the love and joy that filled that room on that day.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone smiles.

Ron

Bringsmilestoseniors.com

There was only one thing I could write about today. It is with great pride that I announce that Bring Smiles to Seniors crossed the 40,000 mark for cards delivered in 2018.  As a matter of fact, we are at 40,515 and I could not be more grateful.

We started this year with a goal of delivering 20,000 cards. We had delivered 18,810 cards in 2017 and we were not really sure what our incoming supply of cards was going to be like in 2018. However, all the stars aligned to get us more exposure to card artists across the country and it just started to snowball. For the first time this year we did not have to buy one card. Every one of the 40,000 cards delivered was donated by someone, somewhere in the world.

As amazing as those donated cards are, equally as important are the decorators, schools, civic groups and now corporate participants that decorate for us. Some of our card artists like to write their own message which is awesome and helpful. Others send us blank cards to use with our partners. That is where we involve others in remembering the importance of honoring those that paved the way for us.

I started this program with one senior community and one batch of cards. With the help of our volunteers Linda, Renee, Diane, Liane and Becky and the good old fashioned mail we have made 515 senior community deliveries in addition to  our home delivery program. Every card represents a smiling senior. The fact that that has happened over 40,000 times in 2018 is astounding.

I am humbly grateful for every single person involved in this program. I have no idea what 2019 has in store for us. However, if it is anything like 2018 it is going to be magical.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone smiles.

Ron

Bringsmilestoseniors.com

I shared this picture on our program Facebook page about a year ago and it went viral. There is a reason for that. Many people can relate to its message, especially during the holidays. But the most important lesson in this picture is the fact that it points out a clear distinction between being lonely and being forgotten.

When we first started this program, we were called Bring Smiles to Forgotten Seniors. One of the reasons that I started the program was because I saw so many seniors in communities that no longer had the benefit of family or friend visits, cards showing up in their mail, flowers being delivered to their community or even just a hug from a loved one. As a society we spend an enormous amount of money on the young and the thriving middle age population. Yet, when it comes to our elderly the resources to take care of them are far and few between, even though we all wind up there some day.

Seniors are one of our most precious resources. They hold our history in their thoughts and minds. They trail blazed causes and rights that we may have never had. They provided and cared for us in our early years and beyond. They sacrificed so we could have and often went without so that we would not have to. They earned the right to not be forgotten and for us to ensure that they are never lonely.

I mentioned that there is a clear distinction between being forgotten and being lonely. While being lonely is certainly a side effect of being forgotten, we all get lonely. Someone may be away and we miss them. We find ourselves sick and having to stay in when all our friends are out together. Everyone is busy and we have to find something to do by ourselves. We recently lost a loved one and find ourselves alone. Many things that can make any of us lonely at any given time. They are natural occurrences in life. What is unnatural however is the loneliness caused by being forgotten.

Being forgotten implies that we are no longer wanted. The opportunity for someone to be able to cure our loneliness is there, it is just that no one is taking the action to do it. It is as if at some point in life we become so self absorbed that those that made our own lives possible no longer matter. Parents and grandparents who took care of us are no longer an integral part of what we do. It takes too much effort to visit, to call, to care for, to love. Whether it was by some unfortunate occurrence or just a lack of caring, the seniors in our lives are simply forgotten and that is a sad thing.

I love my family. I was by my grandmother’s side until she passed away. I visit my mom and dad and have them visit me. I remember elderly people that I have been in contact with for years through cards and other means. Now, through this program, we will make sure that seniors all over the country will be reminded that someone cares, that they are not alone and they are certainly not forgotten. If you have someone in your life that you have lost touch with, reinstate that contact. Let them know they are loved and cared about. Fill that hole in their heart and at the same time inject a little life in yours.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone…especially a loved one…smiles today.

Ron

#rememberingseniors #connectingthecircleoflife #bringsmilestoseniors #sharinglove #inspirationalposts