DAILY NEWS PEOPLE : ELIZABETH CARRIGAN.Byline: - Andrea Hescheles Elizabeth Carrigan began a quest 18 years ago when she visited the sick, lonely and elderly in retirement homes and convalescent con·va·les·cent adj. Relating to convalescence. n. A person who is recovering from an illness, an injury, or a surgical operation. convalescent 1. pertaining to or characterized by convalescence. 2. hospitals. Her goal: Provide some love, some attention. Alleviate some of the isolation. Out of her efforts has come the Light Heart Foundation. ``I ignite and reignite Verb 1. reignite - ignite anew, as of something burning; "The strong winds reignited the cooling embers" ignite, light - cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat; "Great heat can ignite almost any dry matter"; "Light a cigarette" that spirit that's in our hearts to keep us active and in our community. Loneliness is a disease that's taking over this country, and there's no pill for it. You can't just take a pill to make it go away.'' But today, so many families are sandwiched between raising children and caring for aging parents - all while working - that careful study of health care options really falls by the wayside. To make access to medical information easier on everybody, Carrigan's Light Heart Foundation and the Encino Chamber of Commerce are combining efforts to hold the first Vintage Community Health Fair on May 16. The free event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Birmingham High School Birmingham High School is a public coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of the city of Los Angeles, California. The school is a part of District One of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). , 17000 Haynes St. in Van Nuys, will include vintage cars vintage car Noun a car built between 1919 and 1930 vintage car n → coche m antiguo or de época vintage car vintage n , entertainment, food and free medical screenings. AGE: 55 RESIDENCE: Van Nuys BORN AND RAISED IN: Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, OCCUPATION: Founder and director of the Light Heart Foundation. MARITAL STATUS marital status, n the legal standing of a person in regard to his or her marriage state. : Married to Gene Carrigan Gene Carrigan (born July 5, 1907 in Edmonton, Alberta - died March 15 1944) was a professional hockey centerman who played two seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers and St. Louis Eagles. See also
CHILDREN: Sean, 27; Laurie, 25; Brian, 22. VOLUNTEERISM vol·un·teer·ism n. Use of or reliance on volunteers, especially to perform social or educational work in communities. volunteerism : The Light Heart Foundation is a nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. of volunteers who visit and assist the elderly living in retirement hotels, board and care facilities, and convalescent hospitals. Light Heart's mission is to raise community awareness of the isolation and loneliness the elderly experience in these facilities and to train people to help alleviate some of the anguish. ``I train people in the community who have at least one hour a week. I teach them how to visit with families and seniors.'' In addition to the adult volunteer program, the Light Heart Foundation offers visitation VISITATION. The act of examining into the affairs of a corporation. 2. The power of visitation is applicable only to ecclesiastical and eleemosynary corporations. 1 Bl. Com. 480; 2 Kid on Corp. 174. training for elementary and high school students. HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?: ``Through my own volunteer projects I've been involved in through the years.'' WHY DO YOU VOLUNTEER?: ``First of all, it's something I just do. Something I've done most of my life. It feels good. It's important to step aside of our own daily frustrations. It makes life richer ... I'm very dedicated to this. This is my job. Some people think it's part time. No, it's a full-time career.'' GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: ``I've had so many accomplishments and blessings - from keeping my family together after losing my first husband to building this organization and getting to my third year in this foundation. Just being able to continue to grow and have people want to participate in what I do on any level they can.'' GOALS FOR THE FUTURE: ``To expand this work across all communities and across the U.S. To be able to have a publishing company for the foundation for greeting cards See e-card. and books. To be able to get the training class expanded to teach people how to do this so they can teach others, and our foundation can grow.'' WHO RELIES ON YOU THE MOST AND WHO YOU RELY ON: ``The seniors and my family. The community is beginning to rely on me for this need. They say, `She can handle this; call Light Heart.' '' ROLE MODELS: ``My mom. She was awesome. Absolutely awesome. My greatest cheerleader. My greatest cheerleader next to my husband. He's certainly my knight in shining armor.'' HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS? ``Being able to inspire people to have the confidence to recognize their own talent and to share it with others. To inspire people to say, `Yeah, I really want to be a part of this.' To help out on any level to get a smile out of somebody who's depressed. That's success. And to be able to do what I love doing and the freedom to be able to do it.'' WHAT WOULD BE A PERFECT DAY FOR YOU?: ``A perfect day? Every day is perfect for me.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Elizabeth Carrigan Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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