Giving Back Since 1986 – Meet The Rose’s Longest Living Volunteer

Dorothy: She’s our longest living volunteer. In this repeat episode, we hear from Helen Perry, who has volunteered with The Rose since the beginning in 1986. This is one woman who has been to every Shrimp Boil and thousands of other events. She has volunteered for dozen different projects, and when you listen to her perspective, it reminds me of it doesn’t matter who you are, anyone can help, and everyone’s help is important. Helen is helping us celebrate our 38^th birthday. Join us and learn more about what you can do to be part of The Rose’s outreach and our mission.

Let’s Talk about Your Breasts. A different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose, the Breast Center of Excellence and a Texas treasure. You’re going to hear frank discussions about tough topics and you’re going to learn why knowing about your breast could save your life. Join us as we hear another story and we answer those tough questions that you may have.[00:01:00]

Hi, I’m Dorothy Gibbons and CEO and Co-Founder of The Rose, Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. And today we’re going to talk about your breast. Our guest today is Helen Miller Perry, and she is best known as The Rose’s oldest living volunteer. So, Helen, welcome.

Helen: Thank you.

Dorothy: And how did you get such a title as old as living? I mean, it seems to take people back sometimes.

Helen: Well, a lot of people died. That’s how I got this. Uh, Olamay and, and, uh, Anna Belle and, you know, volunteers of old time, uh, had breast cancer. So, um, they didn’t make it and, uh, I’ve survived.

Dorothy: Well, and also you’ve been with us since the beginning.

Helen: Right.

Dorothy: And the two people you talk about were our first employees, but they, they were volunteers and didn’t get paid. But without them, we couldn’t ever have started The [00:02:00] Rose. So, uh, yes, you’ve, you’ve outlived quite a few and been with us for all of the 37 years that we’ve been around.

Helen: Right.

Dorothy: So, the, uh You’re not a survivor.

Helen: No.

Dorothy: You never had breast cancer, but you certainly understood what we were trying to do because of an experience you had in your 40s.

Helen: Right. Um, some clinic here in Houston, uh, said come get a mammogram, no charge. So I went and I got the mammogram and then I got a letter back saying that I, that there was an issue and that I should come back. So I got a mammogram again and It was weeks and weeks before I got a letter telling me there wasn’t a problem. And so, I felt like The Rose doesn’t wait weeks and weeks before they give you the information about what your screening showed. And [00:03:00] so, that’s that. That’s where I am with that.

Dorothy: Oh yes, and you’ve, you’ve certainly watched us grow through all these years. Uh, our first, one of our first fundraisers was the Shrimp Boil, and it’s a, um, huge event. Usually has six, eight hundred people and we serve boiled shrimp and potatoes and corn but in the beginning you were one of our corn shuckers.

Helen: I was.

Dorothy: And describe what it was like to get ready for a Shrimp Boil back then.

Helen: Well the shrimp was all frozen so you had to break it apart so you got frostbite on your fingers. The, the uh, corn had to be shucked. And my granddaughter reminded me the other day that she was the one who, had the grocery cart full of potatoes that she cleaned with a water hose outside. I had forgotten that.

Dorothy: So the Perry family, your granddaughters and and sons and all of them have been a part of the Shrimp Boil from the time [00:04:00] they were little children even. Yes.

Helen: Well now the the women still bake and the guys bid on the auctions.

Dorothy: That’s right. They’re still there. They’re still there And and that’s always been a uh, normally about the Shrimp Boil is that people bake goods and bring them in so that we can sell them and half the time they’re buying back their own baked goods But it’s a great part of the fundraiser.

It’s it’s one of the the uh, I think we’ve been doing that now some 32, 33 years and it’s just considered a tradition here in this area. Tell us about, uh, some of the other experiences you’ve had at The Rose. For our listeners, you have to know that, that Helen really started doing heavy duty volunteer with us after we tried to find her an actual job, but. We’ll soon learn that we lost two [00:05:00] databases. Thank goodness we had a backup because anything she gets near that is electrical, it goes away. And then she was trying to, we had an old, old RV type mobile unit in the very early days. That, here she is, she says, I can drive that, I, I was a bus driver. And so we, we brought her in.

Do you want me to tell the story of your first day? So she’s out trying to, you know, she’s got to go and do a test run. Very first day, she gets on the, on the RV, and as she reaches for the door, she falls out, and she lands on her back. And, and, our other, uh, volunteer with her was Shelly, who was a, uh, about to be nurse, who just knew you had broken your neck, so she wouldn’t let you move.

We had to call the am, she was calling the ambulance, and, and I, it was one of those calls, like, she called me and said, the ambulance is on its [00:06:00] way, and I’m going, wait, wait, what, what, what’s happened? And poor Helen had to lay there while the ants were running over her legs, and,

Helen: She wouldn’t let me move.

Dorothy: No. So, you got checked out, you were fine. But you never got to drive again, and you never got to be on the computers again. So what, what was it that we let you do?

Helen: What was it that made me stay here? It’s, it’s because I believe in The Rose. I did work when, when it flooded. I walked people down to the screening area.

Dorothy: You sure did.

Helen: I did that for a while, and I think I’ve stuffed envelopes and all that in the beginning. I worked with the drapes at the Joan Gordon Center when we were trying to open that.

Dorothy: You were hemming the drapes, I remember that now. You kept saying to me, I don’t do this work, I don’t do this stuff, you know. But they turned out great.

Helen: [00:07:00] So, whatever I could, I did.

Dorothy: Now you’ve been in the real estate arena for 40 plus years. I think you’ve done all of the basic in the office behind the scenes type work. And then you went on to become a broker and went on to own your own, uh, school, real estate school. But you have all through this time been writing the curriculum for many of the courses.

Helen: Oh yes.

Dorothy: I, and I know there’s a, uh, most people don’t even realize there’s a whole process with this. It has to be approved by the state, it has to be approved by, uh, the organization, and so you really have to know your real estate to, to do that. But as a teacher, you were, you knew what they needed to learn.

I, I remember one time you saying that you just wanted your students to be prepared for, That next level of their life.

Helen: Real world.

Dorothy: Yes, real world. Had to bring [00:08:00] them in. Now, through all that time as, uh, in real estate, you saw lots of agents that did not have insurance or, and developed breast cancer.

Helen: Right.

Dorothy: So, most people think real estate agents have all kind of money.

Helen: Right.

Dorothy: And they, they’re surprised to learn they might not have insurance. How does, how does that happen?

Helen: Well, Real estate agents are independent contractors, so each one of them has their own business. And, you know, real estate is an up and down business, so a lot of people feel like they can’t afford insurance. Not, not, some people do very well in real estate, but the average agent just is a day to day type business where they, their income is sufficient to live, but they don’t, they’re never wealthy.

Dorothy: Right.

Helen: So, um, a lot of times they don’t have insurance. So.

Dorothy: Like so many businesses, small [00:09:00] business owners.

Helen: So, um, yes, there were people who had breast cancer and, and other illnesses. And usually what happened was that a group would get together and Um, collect money for them to help them offset their, their cost.

Dorothy: Uh, yes, and I remember several fundraisers that you actually had for The Rose.

Helen: Right.

Dorothy: So we could have that funding to, to provide those services at no charge. Now, even though you’re not a survivor, and you’ve never had breast cancer, it has come very close in your family. Your daughter in law was diagnosed.

Helen: Yes.

Dorothy: And. How did, you know, that was many years after you’ve been with us. All of the Perry family has worked with us. How did the family react to that? How did, how did Sandra react?

Helen: Well, I think there was obviously the concern and the, the shock of, of her having breast cancer and also then the fear of knowing what happened too often. [00:10:00] So, um, it was a good shock for her two daughters and her four sisters. And I think we all realized that anyone, this could happen to anyone. We’d looked at it from afar for a while, but it came up to home.

Dorothy: Oh yeah. And she had a, uh, pretty tough time of it. You know, she had some strong treatment, but she’s fine now. That’s been 10 years? Longer?

Helen: At least. Maybe 15.

Dorothy: So, tell us about the, uh, one of the things we used to love to call you for and send you out on were the health fairs.

Helen: Right.

Dorothy: And, tell, give us some idea about what that’s like.

Helen: Well, the, the thing that, that comes to mind about health fairs is that I had so many people who would come to the table. And they would say, someone in their family had, had [00:11:00] cancer. So, sometimes it were the women with breast cancer, sometimes it was other types of cancer. But they always shared that when they came by the table. And, uh, so, uh, that was, uh, That was something that, that was important to me and particularly for the men because I’d be able to say are you aware men have breast cancer too.

Uh, because I think most men don’t know that. But the funniest thing that ever happened was I was doing it in a high school. And the group came up and, and one of the girls said, after I talked to them, they said, the girl said, can I sit with you? And I said, yes. And my spiel was, are you, Do you examine your breast every month? Because if you don’t examine them, you won’t know when there’s a change. So, I was, always suggested that to them and this group walked forward and before I could say anything this girl said, Do you check your breasts, your boobs every month? And uh—

Dorothy: [00:12:00] And she’s a teenager.

Helen: She’s a teenager. So, I got tickled, but uh, I was glad that she was aware enough to know that was important.

Dorothy: And, you know, I think, to put this in context, that was at least 15 years ago, 20 years ago.

Helen: Yes.

Dorothy: People just didn’t talk about mammograms or breast cancer or doing self exam. No, there was, there was, it was still pretty taboo, still pretty, uh, I don’t know if it’s push to the side or whatever, but that was part of your job was to get out there and help raise that awareness.

Helen: Well, I’m not sure that the teenagers were comfortable with with that, but but they did come and we did talk.

Dorothy: Yeah, and that’s good. Yeah, it’s always good. It’s interesting There’s very few people who don’t have a cancer experience. It’s whether it’s breast or like you said, whatever cancer I think it was interesting that they had found a place to talk about it at a health fair. This [00:13:00] is, you know, we don’t think of that as being somewhere people can really connect over something so serious.

Helen: Well, we’ve done health fairs out in stadiums, and we’ve done them in the nicest places, and we’ve done schools, and so.

Dorothy: And in, and outlying towns. I remember Cold Spring was one of your favorites, and you, if we needed that, you were ready to go, and. The, uh. In the last few years now, you have moved away from Houston.

Helen: Right.

Dorothy: And how do you continue to stay in touch with The Rose?

Helen: Well, I’m on the Advisory Board. And that is one of the ways to stay in touch. And obviously, I have contact with you, which gives me the information. And I don’t have the same kind of thing as we had in the beginning, when you and I used to mastermind every week. Um, and it’s amazing to me how some person [00:14:00] or entity came through and our whatever we had masterminded for appeared. And that happened over and over.

Dorothy: And those were the very early days.

Helen: Right. They were very early days. Um, this, and we were in a different facility and, and, um, but, um, I just try to stay in touch because I care.

Dorothy: So some of our listeners may not really have heard about a mastermind group or know what it is, but it is truly where people of like mind thinking come together and put out their request for something that is of the highest good. And certainly that that was my stabilizer so many times in the early days it. We had a, a lot of, uh, hills to climb, a lot of challenges, so that kept us, kept us in that place where we could see a change, or could see the [00:15:00] solution, or at least saw it after we asked for it.

Helen: You’re right. For years and years, we asked for a radiologist. We always needed, seemed to need one.

Dorothy: As we grew, as we went from part time radiologist to full, then suddenly we needed a whole staff, and yes. That was, that was one of our, our requests, and we’ve had some great ones. You have always had some kind of connect with The Rose employees, and you’ve been a wonderful, wonderful contributor to their, to some special needs they had, but also to those fun things that, in the beginning, we really couldn’t provide. So, tell us about that part.

Helen: Well, because I care about the employees and they’re all dedicated to The Rose, And in the beginning they didn’t make, didn’t have competitive salaries. So, um, I started out buying lunch, and then we grew too much for that. And then I did t shirts for [00:16:00] probably, what, ten years at least. And, um, because I wanted them to know that they were appreciated. And I know you do a good job with that, but I thought if somebody outside said, you do a great job, it must be good.

Dorothy: Right, and then you went to polos, which were very nice. And that became our employee official polo shirt. But the last and nicest gift I think you gave us were the jackets. I mean, people are, That was five years ago and people still wear them and they think, you know, they all know the story, this came from Helen and I remember when you had your, uh, heart attack, we, we came to a staff meeting and said, Helen is in the hospital and the impact on our staff, I mean, they were like, wanted to do cards, wanted to do whatever, we’re holding you up. One time you told me you could actually feel that.

Helen: [00:17:00] Yes. Yes. I, I, I, I’m very gratified by my reception with The Rose staff.

Dorothy: Yes, they know you. So you’ve, you retired, but you really have never retired.

Helen: True.

Dorothy: Uh, and you’ve, you’ve recently at age 86 published a book. But you’ve written all your life, but this is a novel and it is kind of a mystery, love story, adventure story. What in the world motivated you to write that book?

Helen: Well, a friend of mine was telling me that the NASA satellites had discovered that there were changes in the forest in the north and so, and that they had sent someone up to do some monitoring. So on the way home from work one day I thought, you know, that would make a good story. Oh. And I walked [00:18:00] into my house, and I had a legal pad on my dining table, and I sat down and started writing. And like six hours later, I looked up.

Dorothy: Oh my goodness.

Helen: And so, obviously, I just didn’t finish the book. Much of it in the long hand, just because it flowed that way.

Dorothy: So this was a book that was meant to be.

Helen: Well, I think so, yes.

Dorothy: And of course, it has some really racy scenes in it.

Helen: Well, yeah.

Dorothy: That you’re trying to decide whether it was really good to leave them in or not as our other people were just shocked.

Helen: Well I mean, that’s life, you know, I mean, it’s not— It it it was a love story not not a racy story necessarily. It was a love story So yeah.

Dorothy: That sounded pretty racy to me.

Helen: Oh It’s not as racy as it was when it started.

Dorothy: True true, I I know you did some Deliberate editing of some spots. So, but yes, it’s out and we are so [00:19:00] pleased that you’ve made that happen. And you know, you talk about the ways you’ve supported The Rose and not just with your time and your volunteer efforts, but also with your funding or with the monetary support that you’ve given us, and even now in retirement, you’ve found a way to continue that support.

Helen: Yes, you know, when I found out that The Rose would, uh, deduct the funds either from my bank account or my credit card, that was a real relief for me because I can’t give the large amounts that I might have in the past, but I, I can have that monthly, uh, payment come out of my, uh, off of my credit card and it’s easy. I don’t have to worry about it. I just know it’s going to happen.

Dorothy: Right. And after a while, you don’t, quote, “really miss it” because it’s, it’s just part of what you’re doing. Helen, what are you most grateful for at this time in your [00:20:00] life?

Helen: Well, I’m grateful for friends and family, and I’m, I’m, I’m grateful for the book. I’ve started the second one, uh, which you were probably shuddering about, uh, because she did all the editing and stuff. Just, I guess, life itself, you know. Every day I get up and I’m grateful I’m still here.

Dorothy: Right. And your motto in life has been that you would go anywhere—

Helen: Anyplace.

Dorothy: Anyplace.

Helen: Anytime with almost anybody.

Dorothy: A real traveler. You have been all of your life. You were always in Washington when you were in real estate and Washington, D. C. and I think you’ve been in all the, all the states and all but three?

Helen: No, I’ve been in I think 36 and we have a plan for going next summer to get about 10 or more. Santa Fe is my [00:21:00] very favorite place to go and I’m going again in November.

Dorothy: You’re such a good example of, you know, life does not stop. If you want to, if you want to enjoy life, you just keep on keeping on.

Helen: That’s absolutely true.

Dorothy: So say something about the volunteer part of you. Is that, is that part of what kept you young?

Helen: Uh, I think probably. Um, you know, I did a lot of things in the real estate industry that, uh, events and things like that. Um, I love the health fairs. Uh, I’m so sorry I can’t still do that because they, uh, they did a lot for me as much as hopefully I got the word out about The Rose. And, um, you know, if people are bored or think there’s nothing that they wanted to do, find a place to volunteer.

Dorothy: Yes. And, and that tradition in you has continued even with [00:22:00] your new country place. You’ve got very involved with community and right part of their their efforts to make sure everyone is fed. Make sure everyone is taken care of—

Helen: what what I’m so pleased about is my kids still do some volunteering.

Dorothy: Yes.

Helen: So it’s it’s going on.

Dorothy: Mm hmm. So not only are you the oldest living volunteer, but you were the first recipient of our Lifetime Achievement Award. So when The Rose presented that to you, were you surprised or did you have an inkling or?

Helen: Well, when I, I w I was stuffing envelopes or something and I saw my, my first grade friend’s name and I thought something’s going on. I don’t know what it is, but something’s going on. So I had an inkling, but that was like the day before. So, but I had no idea what. No.

Dorothy: Right, right and so the board and employees all decided that that was the one honor we could give you and it was during our 25th [00:23:00] anniversary celebration. So it was uh, really fun time and Something that i’ve seen on your resume since then And it just tickles me to know that that that meant so much to you.

Helen, thank you so much for all of your support for all your love volunteering 37 years with us.

Helen: The Rose is my heart.

Dorothy: You used to say real estate’s your vocation.

Helen: No, real estate’s my profession. Rose is my vocation.

Dorothy: That’s it.

Helen: Yes.

Dorothy: Say that again.

Helen: Real estate was my profession. The Rose is my vocation.

Dorothy: And The Rose is very lucky to have such a wonderful supporter and volunteer as you. Thank you for being with us today and we’re going to wrap it up till next time.

Helen: All right. Thank you.

Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk about Your Breasts. This podcast is produced by Freddie Cruz Creative Works, and brought to you by The [00:24:00] Rose. Visit therose.org to learn more about our organization. Subscribe to our podcast. Share episodes with friends, and join the conversation on social media using #Let’sTalkAboutYourBreasts. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Consider supporting The Rose. Your gift can make the difference to a person in need. And remember, self care is not selfish. It’s essential.