“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”
- Fred “Mr.” Rogers
For those who are not currently freaking out over traveling the highways and byways of America in blizzard-like conditions, waiting in long lines at the TSA while airport administrators try and restore power, or wondering if the turkey they bought will actually feed every one coming over to the house, we reflect on the meaning of the season and the things for which we are truly thankful.
This past year has been truly remarkable in the life of BIAM. We started our fourth decade of service after celebrating our 30th Anniversary last year. We began working intently on our BIAMobile Initiative to convert our phones, databases, email, word processing, and social media into cloud based systems. This has allowed us to take all of our communications and resources on the road. We've remained open and answering our phones and emails during what would previously have been snow days, and allowed us to incorporate telecommuting into our work plan with no loss of efficiency. Complicated questions don't only come in on sunny days when your in the office or when you have all of your resources in a file folder. Now, we can respond more quickly and provide more personalized information tailored for everyone's specific situation.
But all of the technological advances in the world mean nothing without a person to answer, a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, or a smile to share.
And so we turn to Mr. Rogers' opening quote, "look for the helpers". There we find what never ceases to surprise and humble us year after year, event after event, week after week
- the generous spirit and enthusiasm of those special "helpers" around us. They appear just when needed, and, often, not a minute before. Whether stuffing envelopes with thank you letters, directing parking in dark and freezing cold with a smile and an orange flag, making sure the correct signs are on the doors of every conference session, coordinating registration at a biking event, or showing up to Board meetings month after month, they are there.
Look for the helpers.
Our association was founded in tragedy and has survived for three decades on the generosity, dedication and love of those individuals who continue to be affected by brain injury and its aftermath. Show me someone making their way in the world after brain injury, and we will show you dozens of people who stepped up, answered the call, and helped that individual along their way.
Look for the helpers.
Most do not seek the spotlight, nor are they comfortable with it when it is shown on them. It was their calling, it was their duty, it was their mission in life, they were just doing their job. Without them, those brain injury survivors and their families would be nowhere near as far along as they are today.
Look for the helpers.
Back to normal? Not often. But further along in their recovery because the doctor took extra time to make sure the medications were working correctly? Because the nurse made sure the family understood what to do when they got home? Because the therapist didn't take her well deserved break to make sure a gait was correct and without pain? Because the social worker made that last minute call to ensure the home healthcare was ready to go? Because the Mom always sang when she was there or the wife set up a visitation schedule so the room was never empty? Absolutely.
Without them, the journey, already fraught with pain, discouragement and doubt, would have been insurmountable. With them, we are able to carry on, with hope.
Look for the helpers.
As a non-profit working day after day to meet the needs of an ever increasing group of individuals on a limited budget, it is so very easy to get caught up in the numbers or metrics we can measure. How many were helped? How much money did we raise? What can we cut to be even more efficient? What will it cost to put on that event?
But the real work, the real reason we are here and have been here for over thirty years, has very little to do with numbers. The metrics we deal in are about hearts healed, hope restored, and love returned. We are able to meet those metrics daily because of our volunteers, our helpers.
So when we reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving, and make a conscious effort to pause and give thanks, we do not need a committee or a focus group or social media strategy to help us figure out who to thank or what we are truly grateful for. We already know
.
We look for the helpers.
-Bryan Thomas Pugh
- Fred “Mr.” Rogers
For those who are not currently freaking out over traveling the highways and byways of America in blizzard-like conditions, waiting in long lines at the TSA while airport administrators try and restore power, or wondering if the turkey they bought will actually feed every one coming over to the house, we reflect on the meaning of the season and the things for which we are truly thankful.
This past year has been truly remarkable in the life of BIAM. We started our fourth decade of service after celebrating our 30th Anniversary last year. We began working intently on our BIAMobile Initiative to convert our phones, databases, email, word processing, and social media into cloud based systems. This has allowed us to take all of our communications and resources on the road. We've remained open and answering our phones and emails during what would previously have been snow days, and allowed us to incorporate telecommuting into our work plan with no loss of efficiency. Complicated questions don't only come in on sunny days when your in the office or when you have all of your resources in a file folder. Now, we can respond more quickly and provide more personalized information tailored for everyone's specific situation.
But all of the technological advances in the world mean nothing without a person to answer, a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, or a smile to share.
And so we turn to Mr. Rogers' opening quote, "look for the helpers". There we find what never ceases to surprise and humble us year after year, event after event, week after week
- the generous spirit and enthusiasm of those special "helpers" around us. They appear just when needed, and, often, not a minute before. Whether stuffing envelopes with thank you letters, directing parking in dark and freezing cold with a smile and an orange flag, making sure the correct signs are on the doors of every conference session, coordinating registration at a biking event, or showing up to Board meetings month after month, they are there.
Look for the helpers.
Our association was founded in tragedy and has survived for three decades on the generosity, dedication and love of those individuals who continue to be affected by brain injury and its aftermath. Show me someone making their way in the world after brain injury, and we will show you dozens of people who stepped up, answered the call, and helped that individual along their way.
Look for the helpers.
Most do not seek the spotlight, nor are they comfortable with it when it is shown on them. It was their calling, it was their duty, it was their mission in life, they were just doing their job. Without them, those brain injury survivors and their families would be nowhere near as far along as they are today.
Look for the helpers.
Back to normal? Not often. But further along in their recovery because the doctor took extra time to make sure the medications were working correctly? Because the nurse made sure the family understood what to do when they got home? Because the therapist didn't take her well deserved break to make sure a gait was correct and without pain? Because the social worker made that last minute call to ensure the home healthcare was ready to go? Because the Mom always sang when she was there or the wife set up a visitation schedule so the room was never empty? Absolutely.
Without them, the journey, already fraught with pain, discouragement and doubt, would have been insurmountable. With them, we are able to carry on, with hope.
Look for the helpers.
As a non-profit working day after day to meet the needs of an ever increasing group of individuals on a limited budget, it is so very easy to get caught up in the numbers or metrics we can measure. How many were helped? How much money did we raise? What can we cut to be even more efficient? What will it cost to put on that event?
But the real work, the real reason we are here and have been here for over thirty years, has very little to do with numbers. The metrics we deal in are about hearts healed, hope restored, and love returned. We are able to meet those metrics daily because of our volunteers, our helpers.
So when we reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving, and make a conscious effort to pause and give thanks, we do not need a committee or a focus group or social media strategy to help us figure out who to thank or what we are truly grateful for. We already know
.
We look for the helpers.
-Bryan Thomas Pugh
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