THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 22, 1996 TAG: 9603200169
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Just when you get to thinking negatively, something happens to stop you right in your tracks.
No sooner had I lamented in this column that we aren't seeing many folks who want to help others than we got a telephone call.
A Chartway Care Team will start Saturday on a project they expect to be doing for a long time.
The volunteers will be fixing up Fisher House Apartments, a group of condo units that offer inexpensive and convenient housing for families of seriously ill patients at the Naval Hospital and other nearby medical facilities and for outpatients who do not live in the region.
``They're a real godsend for us,'' said Mary Johnson, the person most responsible for establishing the apartments.
Johnson and a group from St. John's Episcopal Church working with the Naval Officers' Wives Club at the hospital started Fisher House Apartments in 1989 as Chisholm House, named after the first rector of St. John's.
The name was changed when Zachery and Elizabeth Fisher of New York City gave the local group $398,000 to buy more apartments, giving the organization control of an entire building.
The Fishers have financed Fisher Houses (similar to Ronald McDonald Houses) at several naval medical facilities. Until last year, there was no Fisher House on the Naval Hospital grounds, so the Portsmouth apartments were the only alternative to commercial accommodations.
The opening of a Fisher House on the base did not replace the need for the apartments, Johnson said. For one thing, the base house does not provide for outpatients.
After seven years, the apartments are beginning to show some wear, and the Chartway folks intend to remedy that.
For those who don't know, Chartway is the new moniker for the old Naval Air Federal Credit Union. The Care Team is one of six organized to promote volunteer participation in community activities by employees.
``The Care Teams are people helping people,'' said Beth O'Toole, a Chartway manager. ``And that's what credit unions are all about.''
Janet Malone, wife of the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier Enterprise, says she was impressed by the existence of the teams when she went to work as a financial counselor for Chartway just over a year ago.
Malone, chair of the Care Team for family and military outreach, said outreach to military families is a perfect project for Chartway employees. Many of the credit union's members and customers are connected to the military.
``As a military spouse, I know how important it is to have a place like the Fisher House Apartments,'' Malone said.
The apartments, on Green Street near the hospital's Effingham Street gate, have been a home away from home for many people under severe stress.
Those who have taken advantage of the hospitality of a group of local benefactors cannot say enough about what the availability of the apartments has meant - emotionally and financially.
They pay $15 per night, and that includes basic food and the use of a washer and dryer as well as a clean and comfortable place to stay.
The apartments have a manager who lives on site, Isabel Mitchell.
``She's been in the military and was married to a military man, so she's very good for us, too,'' Johnson said.
Naturally, Johnson is excited about the Chartway plans.
The credit union employees, as well as members of the board, are going to fix the balconies and replace spindles on the porches. They're going to sew curtains for inside and will do landscaping outside, Johnson said.
``I think they'll clean, paint and refurbish one apartment at a time.''
Members of the Chartway Care Team expect to volunteer hours, raise money and donate money toward the projects they take on, Malone said.
``I think this will be an ongoing project, and I think it is an excellent choice.''
Fisher House Apartments are owned and operated by a non-profit foundation, so all gifts are tax deductible. And Mary Johnson said the foundation needs a simple computer to keep records.
``We don't need speed or anything fancy,' she said. ``So if anybody has a computer they are getting rid of because they're upgrading, we'd love to have it.'' by CNB