4:41 p.m. Today's project was to work my volunteer 11:15 a.m.-2:15 p.m. shift at one of the stellar homes on the 59th Annual Panhellenic Home Tour. This year I was assigned to the Carla Hernandez home, built by Harry Marsh 1929 in the Wood Streets area of Riverside.
Panhellenic, which means "all-Greek," is an association of alumnae women who participated in sororities during their college years. There are 26 different national sororities on campuses throughout the US. I was an Alpha Omicron Pi (AOPi) girl during my years at UCLA. I joined the Riverside Alumnae Panhellenic Association in 1993, and have actively worked for this charity ever since, holding several offices and even co-chairing the Home Tour one year. The substantial funds raised are used solely for merit-based scholarships for collegebound high school senior girls. The girls are not obliged to join a Greek house, because many universities don't have them. But, once they win a scholarship, our scholarship disbursement panel monitors their college grades before they can receive money for each of the following years. Needless to say, these outstanding young ladies rarely fall below an A average during their undergraduate careers!
The girls are indeed "diligent in their business," as Proverbs 22:29 puts it!
Since we are all volunteers, the only money spent above and beyond scholarships is for printing, advertising, insurance (and supplies which have been reused for a few generations!) We actually take votes to replace the hospital "booties" that guests place over their shoes to protect the floors in our tour homes! Expenses are very lean. This year I am in charge of publicity for general meetings, so I place a free notice in the Press Enterprise each month. Members draw sketches of the homes and maps, solicit ads, and we do all of the phoning and footwork nvolved in getting homeowners to put their homes on the tour. We serve tea at a fashion show that is part of the ticket price, and bake the tiny tea-sized cookies that are served there.
After almost 60 years, the public can confidently support RAPA! Romans 12:17 says, "Do things in such a way that everyone can see that you are honorable"(NLT), so I am pleased to be affiliated with a cause that is trustworthy--and a Home Tour that is the same age as I am!!
Most years, I serve as a Key hostess, the one who marks tickets, takes in money, counts incoming patrons with a clicker, and assigns the ladies who greet patrons in each room of a home. It's a pretty responsible position. But, since the chairwomen know my situation with Steve, I was just asked to handle the raffle of a beautiful set of Italian earthenware that Ms. Hernandez donated.
I arrived 20 minutes early to see whether I'd be placed outside, and sure enough, there was the raffle table on the shady back patio near the beautifully set table displaying the raffled dinnerware. Problem is, that even by 10:45, it was getting warm, and as a skin cancer survivior, I just don't sit outside in the heat for three hours at a time! So I asked the shift Key hostess Susan Hill to assign me inside, which worked out fine, because a couple of college students were happy to stay on the patio. The sight of the young "bootie runners" (girls from the Ticktockers' charity group who help patrons with the booties they place over their shoes) brought back memories of Heidi and Heather in the same role while in middle school, and as room hostesses while in high school. Heidi had modeled in the fashion shows as well. Like all of my public efforts, Home Tour was a family affair!
Meanwhile, I accepted an offer from Susan and her husband to walk down the block to their house to use their bathroom, and we had a good visit along the way, discussing Steve's Alzheimer's and agreeing that both of our families' decision to purchase long term care insurance had been a prudent one! The tone of the conversation was empathetic without being overly emotional, and I appreciated the concern.
Most of the Panhellenic members have been retired for many years, and many are widowed, so they understand disablility and illness firsthand. I'm relatively young in the group, although newer members are joining from the ranks of the sororities at University of California Riverside. Just this week, Birdy Heatley lost her husband of 60 years to cancer. She actually attended the tour today! Now that's dedication. But, for Birdy to join her beloved fellow AOPi sisters and the others in the effort we all work to make a success was natural and right for her. She and I shared a long embrace as she came through my station at the Hernandez home with her daughter.
I was touched by several sisters, some Christian and some not, who asked after Steve by name. He had been to many a dinner and couples' event with the group over the years, helped set up signs, and move supplies back to storage at the end of the home tour a number of times, and always went with me to a few of the more interesting homes each year, especially if we knew the homeowners. Their surprise at his age and the progress of his disease was gentle but genuine, like that shown by friends and acquaintances I have known for years as they came through. It's good to know that Steve will be missed--not just as my husband, but for his own friendliness, volunteer efforts and contributions to the cause. Home Tour was a family affair for him as well.
This year I didn't even buy a ticket for him, because he has lost some coordination and might bump into some furnishing or decoration in a home, and, honestly, he wasn't very interested and wasn't that clear as to where I was going. So he got quite a few chores done at home, made his lunch, and enjoyed a nice afternoon on his own.
Change happens in our lives whether invited or not! As I saw hundreds of people today come through admiring the home, I couldn't help but notice how we are ALL aging! But just as notable were the young adults and teenagers on the tour, learning to appreciate beauty and becoming inspired to make good use of space to create a welcoming atmosphere--to create a home with heart!
On my way out the door with stiff joints and aching feet from standing for three hours, I thought, "Sheesh, will I do this again next year?" But the pleasure on the patrons' faces, the money raised for young women, and the sisterhood of our Riverside Panhellenic make the answer, if the Lord wills, a resounding YES!
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