What’s in the word, Support? by Stuart Bunting, RWC President and CEO
Each weekday morning a team from across RWC functional areas gathers for a few minutes to share what is planned for the day across the community. In February, we focused on a department or area each day to learn a bit more or something new about that department or area. It has been a wonderful experience, and every department has done a fabulous job on their topic of choice. I wish I had room to cover everything.
Health Services, which is actually a very large area comprised of several departments, chose to talk about the subject of SUPPORT. Support means many things to many people. The dictionary definition is “give assistance to; enable to function or act; bear all or part of the weight of; encourage; help; advocate; maintain.” Each of the departments in Health Services reflected on the SUPPORT they provide for residents, fellow staff members and departments, and beyond, and upon how they are supported by so many others. It was remarkable for me just to take this in, and as I considered these examples of SUPPORT, I thought about so many more examples of SUPPORT across our neighborhood.
Residents support each other in countless ways from being a bridge fourth to taking a fellow resident to an appointment or shopping. You support the RWC Foundation Fellowship Fund and other projects. You support the staff with books for their children and grandchildren to borrow and your extraordinary gift at Christmas. You support churches and community service organizations through out the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula and beyond with gifts of time, talent, and treasure. Some tutor; others fix things; and still others share artistic gifts.
I am most amazed at the SUPPORT amidst our neighborhood through encouragement and engagement. This type of SUPPORT is critical to Wellness – the wellness of the giver and the receiver, the encourager and the encouraged, the friend and the befriended, the companion and the sole, the comforter and the comforted, the host and the guest, the engager and the reengaged, the caregiver and the cared for, the blessing and the blessed.
SUPPORT is so much more than meeting a need; it is an opportunity to be a blessing to someone and make a positive difference in the journey of life. It is our privilege to SUPPORT to our residents and clients each day and to be the beneficiary of your SUPPORT. Thank you for sharing your encouragement and engagement with each other and with us each day as we make our neighborhood a wonderful place to live.
