It’s a place where families can come to rest, regroup, and enjoy a home-cooked meal while staying close to their children. For the past two years, Brenda has been a core volunteer there, sharing her time three days each week. She came when her own life felt heavy and she wanted to focus on others.
“I began volunteering at a difficult time in my life; my mom was living at Fairwinds and had multiple health issues, so I spent a lot of time caring for her. Spending time serving at the Family Room gave me two hours where I didn’t think about my own struggles and I could just help other people,” Brenda said.
As a volunteer, she does a little bit of everything. From welcoming families, organizing, and helping with daily tasks, she steps in wherever she is needed. But most often, that means baking.
For health and safety reasons, all of the food served at the Family Room has to be cooked on site or in a commercial kitchen. Brenda loves to bake and finds herself making everything from meals to cookies to banana bread.
“One week I made six loaves of banana bread, and when everyone came in, they would say, ‘Oh, we can smell the bread clear down the hall!’ and just a few weeks ago, a man came in and said, ‘I love your banana bread; it just reminds me of home.’ That made me so happy,” she said.
The Family Room is a 2,800-square-foot, four-bedroom house within EIRMC. With a living area, dining room, full kitchen, bedrooms, and laundry facilities, this “home away from home” gives families a respite while their children are ill. The Family Room is open to anyone with a child in any of the hospital’s pediatric units, from the NICU and PICU, to the Burn Unit and Behavioral Health.
“It’s such a good break for families,” Brenda explained. “They can come here while they’re waiting to hear from the doctor, or when they’re exhausted from being at their child’s bedside. It’s quiet and peaceful so they can relax and regroup.”
Brenda has visited with families coming from Salmon, Teton Valley, and Star Valley, Wyoming, though she says many are from Idaho Falls as well.
A native of Idaho, Brenda was born in Pocatello, graduated from Idaho Falls High School, and attended ISU in Pocatello. She and her husband Curt have lived in Idaho Falls for the past 49 years.
Since 1981, Brenda has worked at the YMCA as a fitness instructor. She’s taught aerobics, kickboxing, and weight training, though her focus right now is teaching yoga. She’s found that teaching fitness, especially yoga, is one more way to help people.
“When I hurt my back years ago, I found that yoga alleviated so much of my pain. I thought if it was helping me so much, it could help other people, too,” she said.
Brenda earned her 200-hour yoga teaching certification and began teaching classes specifically for people with back pain, though it has morphed into teaching other kinds of yoga as well.
“Participants always tell me how much better their back feels after class, which is so rewarding,” she said.
She also appreciates the all-inclusive, family feel of the YMCA. “It’s a friendly, no-judgement zone where we’re all just a big family,” she said. “We notice when someone misses a class and we call and see if they’re okay. We support each other at funerals and family events.”
In the rare moments where Brenda isn’t serving someone else at the YMCA or the Family Room, she and her husband enjoy spending time outdoors. They often go hiking and cross-country skiing in Harriman State Park. They also love traveling to Europe and taking long-distance walks or bike rides. They’ve walked over 40 miles along Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland, biked 260 miles along the Danube River in Germany, and recently walked 62 miles of the Camino Pilgrimage Trail in Spain.
Brenda said, “Shortly after my mother passed away, we had our trip to Spain.
Walking along the Camino Trail gave me so much time to think about her, and it helped a lot. When you need something for grief, I suggest a big, giant walk.”
She’s grateful for the perspective she’s gained easing the lives of other people, since it helps her recognize her own blessings instead of focusing on the difficult moments. And the best part of all is when she can see the impact of the Family Room.
“At the Family Room, we’re working together for a common goal and that’s to help these families. It’s especially wonderful when we have a family return for a follow-up appointment and give us an update. We love getting to see a baby that spent time in the NICU but is now thriving and is just so sweet and cute,” Brenda said. It’s meaningful work that makes a difference, one loaf of banana bread at a time.