As the holidays are fast approaching, the Santa Monica Pacific Palisades Lion Club (SMPPL) celebrated an early Thanksgiving thanks to Chef Anne with her festive turkey dinner and decorations.
The SMPPL were very fortunate to have Cynthia Sirota and her son Garrett from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) West Los Angeles as our guest speakers. We’ve heard from a wide variety of outstanding service organizations and their representatives at our meetings, but this was especially memorable and moving as Garrett shared his personal story, which led to their involvement with NAMI.
He took us from his first diagnosis at UCLA, through his ever-changing experiences and his multiple diagnoses during his 17-year journey. As a result of his faith, determination and hard work he is now completing a graduate degree and working toward his LMFT, while also serving as a peer counselor with NAMI. He was truly inspirational.
Cynthia then shared her experience as his mother, learning to listen, be patient, offer support and project strength to help him move forward. She was feeling confused, afraid and alone, which led her to discover NAMI 12 years ago. They gave her the resources, comfort and support she needed to understand what was happening to her son and how she could be there for him. She said that the thing she did at NAMI was take a 12-week course and cried though most of it.
Cynthia shared that NAMI was the result of two mothers whose children had both been diagnosed with schizophrenia seeking support from each other and realizing there had to be other families dealing with similar issues. They opened their backyards for meetings, and it didn’t take long before more than 200 people attended. They decided it was time to create a service organization to help more families find reliable information and the support system they needed. It became NAMI.
In addition to our speakers, some Lions shared what a great time they had at Cirque du Soliel, having everyone looking forward to our next social event in the spring. We reviewed the busy holiday season we have coming up - bell ringing for the Salvation Army at Bristol Farms on November 26, holiday sing-a-long with members of the Salvation Army band on December 4th, delivering holiday baked goods and cheer to veterans at Fisher House at the VA on December 5, and gathering for our Club’s annual holiday party at Tony P’s on December 8.
To close out the evening, Lions Gail and Susan shared some of the details about our Community Recognition Lunch to be held at the Santa Monica YMCA on February 22. They also announced our honorees, Eula Fritz, from Santa Monica, and Sharon Kilbride, from the Pacific Palisades. They are two remarkable women that have made their communities stronger because of their dedication and passion every day.
If you are interested in joining any of our activities or being our guest to check out a Lions dinner meeting, please let Kingsley know at 310-454-2960 or smpplionsclub@gmail.com. Our next dinner meeting is Wednesday, December 4 at 6pm at the SM Elks Lodge. You can also learn more about the SMPP Lions Club from our Facebook, Instagram and website.
Susan deRemer
