Celebrating Amazing Lives
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Gone too quickly -- love, compassion, joy, laughter, passion, friend, partner. Memories held in our hearts forever.
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It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
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"I have experienced the greatest joy I've known from being your mother." Felice Samuel Greene (1938-1994), April 1994
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Amari's Mautner Memories
There are sooo many memories! I remember endless pizza and paper cuts from mass mailings. I remember trying to build the infamous art wall and wrapping 1,500 roses made of Hersey's Kisses. I also remember Yavonne's last Gala in an electric blue dress with fringe. She had such a big smile that night, she was full of joy. That was the last time I saw her.
Lisa Spangler's Favorite Mautner Moment
When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer last January I was in shock, and if it wasn’t for Elizabeth and Lorraine would of never made it thru the process as easily as I did without them.
Lisa Spangler
Mary Mitchelson's Favorite Mautner Moment
Mautner means community to me -- a chance to give back to my community some of what my chosen family gave to me while I was sick.
- Mary Mitchelson
Debbi Rich's Favorite Mautner Moment
I had lived in DC for quite a while, participating in various marches and demonstrations. I was ready to take on more consistent volunteer work, as long as it could coexist with an inflexible full-time job. An ad in the Blade for a bookkeeper was all it took! I remember meeting with Susan Hester and the staff. I was immediately in awe of their work to honor Mary Helen’s life and to make her vision a reality.
I was nicknamed the phantom volunteer. Under the cover of darkness or in the early morning light, I came into the office and volunteered my time as MP bookkeeper. This was the first of many volunteer opportunities with Mautner Project that I have enjoyed being part of over the years.
-Debbi Rich
Susan Messina's Favorite Mautner Moment
"I'll never forget one of our early volunteers telling the story of how she visited one of the Project's earliest clients. It was a springtime visit and she noticed wrapped Christmas presents still sitting on a shelf. Lisa asked about them, and the client said sadly that they were presents for friends...friends who had never stopped by. It drove home how abandoned people can be during serious illness--and the incredibly important role volunteers can play."
- Susan Messina
Janet Coleman's Favorite Mautner Moment
Do I have a Mautner Moment that has stayed with me over the years? I guess I’d have to answer “yes,” although really what I have is a “Mautner Mama” who has stayed with me over the years. The story goes like this: I was hopelessly lost one day in 1992 and ran into the then head of the Mautner Project, Susan Hester, whom I asked for directions. As many of you probably know, Susan is persuasive: In our 3 minute conversation, she convinced me to come to the next volunteer training for the Mautner Project. At that training, I met my partner, who has provided me with 17 years of pretty much non-stop happiness, and I got many life-long friends to boot.
- Janet Coleman
Carol Burnett's Favorite Mautner Moment
Building wheelchair ramps for clients is the most satisfying and memorable thing I did for the Mautner Project.
- Carol L. Burnett