Better Breathers' Program
Better Breathers Thank Supporters From Their Hearts
(Breathe
Easy Newsletter, Fall 2003 / Winter 2004)
Nettie Karras and Lois Neely want supporters to know their
gifts of money and time to the American Lung Association are
greatly appreciated. The two Better Breathers say they wouldn't
be where they are today without the organization and they want
to let supporters know how grateful they are with a personal
phone call or note.
"It's just my way of giving back," says Neely, who
writes personal notes to donors and volunteers for the American
Lung Association of California, Redwood Empire Branch. "I'm
so thankful for the help they've given me."
Neely attends the association's monthly Better Breathers support
group meetings for people with lung disease and she's learned
a lot through the program about managing her asthma and emphysema.
She also enjoys the support she gets from others in the group
who share in her struggle.
"It helps to talk to other people who have breathing problems,"
she says.
While she never smoked a cigarette in her life, Neely developed
emphysema as a result of being exposed to her husband's secondhand
smoke for more than 30 years. She doesn't blame her husband,
who passed away about 20 years ago, because the risks of breathing
secondhand smoke were not widely known then.
Neely Spends Hours Handwriting Notes
The retired schoolteacher, who just turned 85, spends hours
at her dining room table writing each personal note in perfect
penmanship. Over the years, she has written more than 10,000
postcards and notes to donors and volunteers.
"I just love doing this," Neely says. "I like
to write each name and think about the people who are helping
the American Lung Association."
She is grateful for their support because Neely knows she and
others like her are getting the help they need because of it.
Karras Reaches Out by Phone
Karras, who also has emphysema, spends two days a week at
the American Lung Association of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties
calling donors to thank them for their contributions.
"I let them know their donation counts, no matter if it's
big or small," Karras says. "It's important for every
donor to know their contribution is appreciated."
She joined the organization after a serious bout with pneumonia.
"I smoked for more than 40 years until I went to the
hospital with pneumonia," she says. "It took me a
year and a half to get back on my feet."
Diagnosed with emphysema and feeling the need to join a support
group, Karras called the American Lung Association and found
out about the Better Breathers program. That was nine years
ago and she's been attending the monthly meetings ever since.
In fact Karras, who lost her husband of 55 years in 2001, receives
so much benefit from the Better Breathers program that she wanted
to meet with others in the support group more often, so they
created an offshoot group that also meets every month.
Generous Gifts Make it Possible
Karras, who celebrated her 75th birthday a few months ago,
enjoys going to the American Lung Association office to make
her calls and says she loves hearing the surprise in donors'
voices when she tells them why she is calling.
"They can't believe I'm calling just to thank them. But
they deserve to be thanked because we really appreciate their
support and they should know it," Karras says. "It's
the only way I can repay what they've given me - both what the
American Lung Association has given me and what the donors give
to make it all possible."