Sorority members gather to honor caregivers
The Theta Omicron Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated once again took to the Cedartown Women’s Building for a night of education, storytelling, and kinship centered around caregiving.
The topic, primarily focused on caring for one’s elderly parents, served as a small part of the group’s overall mission of targeting women’s health and wellness issues.
Guests were welcome to mingle with other caregivers, read tips and advice from booklets, and participate in educational workshops.
Makeup artists and other confidenceboosting activities were available, and none left hungry thanks to the massive meal the sorority prepared.
“Care for the Caregivers places emphasis on taking care of those who take care of others,” chapter vice-president Yvonne Prater said. “All Alpha Kappa Alpha chapters will emphasize the need for caregivers to practice preventative healthcare, as well as self-care, to eliminate the vulnerabilities and stress of being a caregiver. And we want to eliminate stress, don’t we? So, I hope all of you will take a deep breath tonight, relax, feel beautiful, and come back and join us many more times.”
As Prater suggested, taking care of oneself was presented as the first step to being a healthy and productive caregiver.
Nutritional advice was offered in pamphlets, healthy food options were available, massages were offered, and a round of stretches closed the night out. Those healthy of body but stressed of mind no doubt benefited from sharing their stories.
“Everyday, I go to work as a psychologist and a licensed professional counselor being the best rainbow I can be in someone else’s cloud,” Dr. LaTonya Watters shared. “I couldn’t have possibly mastered this if my health, wellness, body, mind, and spirit were not balanced with one another. Know that behind the cloud, the sun still shines.”
Watters advice was presented as someone who had overcome many challenges, including the loss of loved ones. She continued by highlighting how her own personal wellness was pivotal in overcoming those issues and helping those who needed it.
“Caregivers, your body, mind, and spirit each play an overall role in your overall health and daily functions,” Watters said. “There needs to be an equal stabilization, and you can’t master one without the others. Caregivers are always going to make sacrifices, and in making sacrifices, life can be unbalanced. Health is defined as the overall mental and physical state of a person, but wellness is more than that. It addresses living a life of personal responsibility and therefore taking proactive steps for one’s entire well being. One can not be an effective caregiver if they can not take care of themselves.”
Watters would be the last to share a story before the group joined hands in song and prayer.
Those interested in keeping up with the Alpha Kappa Alpha team and the Theta Omicron Omega Chapter can visit http://www.aka1908.com/. Caregiving resources and advice can be found at https://www.caregiving.org/resources/.