The Road’s Safety Net: What Escapees CARE Offers Every RVer

SPEAKER_03 0:05

So I was born in 1972, and I don't usually cold open a podcast with that. So now you all know how old I am. But it's important tonight to start about this because it matters. 72 is the very year that a woman named Kay Peterson and her husband Joe packed up their kids, sold the house, and moved into an RV for an extended trip and hit the road. What Kay did back then was crazy. Everybody thought so. People thought we were crazy 13 years ago, but Kay, it was 1972. Nobody was doing this. She had all of her kids, all eight of them. She had hung up her hat on her nursing career. She decided that the open road was where she wanted to be. Isn't that nuts? Love it. It's such a beautiful story, but people thought she was reckless. Has has anyone ever told you you were reckless for packing up your family and hitting the road?

SPEAKER_02 0:52

All the time.

SPEAKER_03 0:54

The thing is, there was no community back then. There was no Facebook to keep you keep you connected. There were no podcasts to tell you how to do it. There was no, hey, let's hit YouTube and find out how to unclog the black tank. There were no accounts for any of that. People were literally blaming a mobile society for like destroying the American family. But Kay didn't care. That's what I loved about Kay. She got out there anyways. And six years later, in 1978, she founded Escape Ease RV Club. They found out the hard way that full timers need each other. Hurt timers need each other. Do you know how the whole thing started?

SPEAKER_02 1:29

I don't.

SPEAKER_03 1:30

Tell me all about it, Jennifer. It was a five-page newsletter that she literally hand wrote on a portable printer and sent to 164 people. It was just announced a couple weeks ago that Escape's now has over 100,000 members. Wow. And I'm that is incredible. I am too. If you're tuning in, hi, I'm Jennifer, and that's Tasha. And you've joined us at Learn to RV the podcast. Today we're going to talk about something that's very near and dear to our hearts. So if I get a little sappy, bear with me. But we're talking not about escapees, actually, although it has to do with escapees. This is about escapees care. And that stands for caring affordable respite experience. You're going to hear from Crystal, who's the acting director of the program, from Mark, who's an escaper, who's actually using care this year, and from Dan. He's actually a volunteer there at the facility. And he keeps going back year after year. Three different perspectives. The reason this program matters. Before I start, let's talk about Kay Peterson because I think this changes how we look at RV life in general. Kay was a nurse before the road. She didn't work remotely like you do. So when she started watching her community age, maybe even age out, she saw full-timers that were getting sick or hurt and face an impossible choice on the road. You either at that point in life had to give up being on the road or there had to be something that gave, right? So Kay came up with an idea. She wasn't just watching people age off the road. She was watching her friends. I don't know about you, but when my when that happens to my friends, I want someplace to go. So she refused to accept that the only options then, depending on your neighbors indefinitely, or have an RV facility. So in 1992, she built a third option. And that's what we're going to talk about today. Right in Livingston, Texas, next door to Rainbow's End, the very first RV park for escapees headquarters. And it's the only program of its kind in the United States. So the first thing I want to do is talk about escapees. Because as soon as we say that, if you're an escapee, you know what that means. But what kind of reaction do you get when you say I'm an escapee?

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Depends on what year it is. Can I say that? Or do I need to edit that out?

SPEAKER_03 3:37

No, I think, well, I think a lot of times when we ask people if they're escapees members, if they're not escapees members and don't speak the lingo, they're like, No, what would I have escaped from? There's two original RV clubs, if you will. There's FRVA, formerly FMCA. They are the oldest in the industry, but they're a nonprofit and they always have been. Escapees was not that. This was just a club, a place to go hang out with your friends, have rallies, experience life. When Kay did that, she made this club with this newsletter, and the newsletter would be written every month. She literally hand wrote it. I don't know, but you're 10 years younger than me. So my mom actually does this still at Christmas time. She handwrites her letters, takes it to the library, goes and copies it, and sends it out to friends and family.

SPEAKER_02 4:17

Yep. I have friends who do that. Friends my age. So, like, I mean, I know that you're like, you're younger than me, but I have friends that do that. Friends that I went to school with that do that. Well, I think it adds a more personal touch to it.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

I think Kay was building a very special community. So we joined, much like many people out there, we were looking for a domicile address. We had never gone to Livingston, Texas. We joined in 2015, early 2015, just because we needed a place to send our mail. I didn't realize it was a club back then, not to the degree I do today. Right. But before Crystal walks us through the program, we need to talk about what the facility is there. And so let's go back to care. It's a residency program, and our brain goes somewhat specific. It almost goes like what it is, but I want to talk about what care is not. Okay. Care is not a nursing home. Would you agree with that? I definitely would agree with that. And you stayed at Rainbow's End. Have you ever gone over to the care facility? Okay. I did. Yeah. People don't stay in rooms in a hallway. Care's mission is to delay or eliminate the need for a nursing home. So it's an alternative, but it's not a nursing home. Care is not a place to stop living. So all I mean by that is care provides activities and meals, and there are volunteers that go to care. We'll talk about the volunteers a little bit more later, but they drive people to and from appointments to Walmart, help them go shopping. It's a place that you almost look forward to going to each day. And I actually spoke this was kind of fun because I got to be like a reporter on scene for this one. I went out to the care facility last week and spoke with some of the residents. And one of them is actually a local from Livingston. She pays to go in and have meals at care all week long. She doesn't want to make food at home. And so she knows that she's going to get a healthy meal when she's there.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

I love that. I love that it's someone in the community. So it's not just giving back to or feeding into the RV community. It's also feeding into the community there in Livingston. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

And so the one thing I would tell you is you do have to be a member of Escape Ease to participate in the care program. And that price is, you know, fairly affordable. I think it's$50 or$60 a year. And there's costs associated with being at care. Care is not just for people in a crisis. And I think that's going to be a point that most people listening to the podcast this week don't realize. Some residents, actually, I've known several now. And we actually had a client for RV Riffing Solutions last year that he had shoulder surgery. They spent several months at care getting surgery, the care he needed, and then he got it back on the road. Others have aged off the road gradually and their health changes. Or they did they started out perfectly healthy, but then their ability to manage things maybe didn't. Or they lost a spouse. Care gives those folks an opportunity to keep going with active supported lifestyle in a community without having to abandon their neighborhood. I just love what care is doing. I do too. Like I mentioned, care is not only for old RVers. I mean, I could go to care if I needed surgery. Yeah. We're going to ask Mark to tell his story. Mark goes by a few names, which will be fun too, but he's an escaper, not just an escape.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

See, that's awesome. That escapers it.

SPEAKER_03 7:24

It's good for any age. Escapers are working age, typically, and you identify yourself as an escaper. I mean, like I know people in their 80s that claim to be escapers. Right. But it's not who you necessarily picture when you think of a care facility. Right. And last but not least, care is not a place you go by yourself. Your RV comes with you. I think that's super important. You're parked on site, you sleep in your own bed, surrounded by your own things, and you have professional support available to you. But then you return to your own space every night. The only thing that changes is now you're not caring it all by yourself.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:58

What do you think is the thing that impacted you the most hearing those what care is not part of it?

SPEAKER_02 8:02

What I really liked about learning about care was it gave a sense, I mean, it's a community. You've built this community, and experiencing something or a life event that pulls you out of that community has to feel so jarring, more than just any other type of experience like that, just because this is a community that's based on freedom and a nomadic lifestyle and being able to really set parameters of your life in a way that is not traditional. It's really beautiful that Kay kind of said, we need something that's not traditional for this untraditional community. We need something that supports them, whether it's temporarily in a moment where they have to come off the road and they need a place to rest while they heal, or a place where they can age gracefully off the road, but do it in a way that allows them to stay connected to their community. It's on their terms.

SPEAKER_03 9:09

And I love that. You know, when I got there last week, I was fortunate enough to arrive like as they were having lunch. I got to see the friends' circles sit together. And so that was neat to see. So there were three ladies at one table, and one of them thanked me for coming to care and just getting the word out. You know, a lot has changed in the last couple of years at the care facility. The next step is to hear from Crystal, who's kind of in charge of running the care facility. And they've got a really big fundraiser coming up. She goes to Escapade to help raise money for the care program. And escapees and escapers alike have been very generous over the years at Escapade to help care stay funded. And so we'll talk later in the episode about what that looks like for them. And we have no skin in the game other than the fact that we're escapees members. Let's cut away, talk to Crystal and uh see what you have to think. So I'm here with Crystal. She is at the Escapees Care Center here in Livingston, Texas. And I've known Crystal for about four years.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Yeah, yeah. Four years.

SPEAKER_03 10:04

It's been a couple minutes. So if you don't know Crystal and you're going to Escapade, which is just around the corner, I believe she's gonna be there. So make sure you stop by and say hello because she is one of the heartbeats of care. She cares about the facility, she cares about the residents, and she takes real good care of them. But Crystal, how did you jump into this role?

SPEAKER_01 10:23

This job come knocking on my door. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Wasn't even sure of what the position was, which was volunteer coordinator. So I came out, checked it out, they hired me on the spot, and and now here I am 13 years later.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

Wow, so you've been doing this as long as I've been traveling.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Oh wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 10:42

So in 2013 we hit the road that summer and we didn't become escapees um members until 2014 or 15. You've known about it longer than I have, even. So what is the care facility?

SPEAKER_01 10:54

I see it as Kay Peterson, the founder of the RV Club, Escape's RV Club and Care. She's seen her friends getting older and needing a place to go. She was a retired nurse. She had the idea of the care center, a place where RVers could go to, have a safe place to go to that offered services to help one get through the day-to-day life. That was in the 90s, whenever it started. The thought began in the 70s. They built the first site in the 90s, and now here we are.

SPEAKER_03 11:23

If you have to come to care, do you have to be older and uncapable of doing things?

SPEAKER_01 11:28

So our youngest resident is my age. I'm 53. And our oldest is 93.

SPEAKER_03 11:36

So it's a variation of people.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Big variation. We have couples and singles. You don't have to have anything wrong with you per se. Could be the eyes, the knees, anything in between. We have one lady that comes here just for social activity, just to be around people and to talk to people because she's on the road alone a lot.

SPEAKER_03 11:56

That's awesome. You have a full schedule though of things that you do with them day to day. And you also have skilled nursing right on site, correct?

SPEAKER_01 12:03

We do. Judy, uh, our our nurse is a LVN and we also have a CNA. Nice. And they help mainly with our respite program because that that is a side program from the resident program. People from the local community or right here within the Escape's Park can bring their loved one over here. They hang out with us and we entertain them for the day.

SPEAKER_03 12:23

Very nice. So, you know, to get involved with care, um, obviously, you are heavily donated fund, correct?

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

So, what would it look like to help care? What is the best way to help care financially?

SPEAKER_01 12:36

The best way is to sign up to do a monthly donation. And you can do that through our website, ww.escapeescare.org. Set that up as a monthly donation. It could be ten dollars and up.

SPEAKER_03 12:50

Every little bit helps in this.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Every little bit helps. We have fundraisers. We have our big health fair in March where we raise a lot of money. And of course, escapade, a lot of money is raised, and we're very thankful for that. Many people have left us in their will.

SPEAKER_03 13:04

That's fantastic. Do you know if Escapade's still doing dip a chip for care this year?

SPEAKER_01 13:09

They are actually going to be doing a chill chili and chowder night.

SPEAKER_03 13:13

Oh, that'll be fun.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Yeah, I'm pretty excited for that.

SPEAKER_03 13:16

Yeah, it'll be different for sure. Yeah. So let's take it back to the facility. You know, you have quite a bit of things. So when someone comes here to stay for the care facility, are they in their own RV or are they staying on site like in your properties?

SPEAKER_01 13:29

They stay in their own RV. So they bring their RV here and they they park it on one of our sites. We have the sewer. The maintenance guys go around and do the sewer every week. That's not of any concern. You don't have to worry about that, although some residents want to do their own because some want to remain as independent for as long as they can. Maintenance also mows the grass and picks up the trash. You don't even have to worry about the trash other than just getting it out to the end of your sidewalk. We have housekeeping every other week, laundry every week, and she just goes by, picks it up from your place, takes it over, gets it all fixed up, washed up, dried, and hung up on hangers or folded, and then she'll bring it back to you. Bada bing, bada boom.

SPEAKER_03 14:09

That is fantastic. And then when I got here, you guys were having lunch. Is that a daily activity?

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Daily. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

SPEAKER_03 14:16

Wow, that's a lot of work.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Yes. So staff is wonderful.

SPEAKER_03 14:20

Now we've been here in the fall when you guys did your big drive for the fall festival. And so that happens every year, usually in October, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:29

Yes. Yes, it has changed up over the years, but we have a lot of vendors, artisan craft vendors there, and food trucks. And then we also do a dessert auction where part of the proceeds goes to our local fire department. That's fantastic. That's been going on for close to 40 years.

SPEAKER_03 14:48

That is awesome. Yes. All right. So RVers that are out there, a lot of them don't know of the volunteer opportunities. And there are volunteer opportunities. That's what you're in charge of, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Well, I was when I first started. I'm I do the marketing now for care and the events. But when I for the first seven years that I was here, yes, I was the volunteer coordinator. So, you know, my heart is still in it. But yeah, if you're an RVer and you want a place to idle for a while, this is a wonderful place to do it. It's a great way to give back and especially to your fellow escape members and to, you know, people who live that same kind of lifestyle that that you do. Our residents are wonderful. And so the main, you know, functions that the volunteers do is answer the phone. Kind of on and off throughout the day, and they do a mail count just to check, you know, make sure everybody's live and well and doing good to get a mail count to our kitchen. And then they wipe off the tables and chairs, do a little bit of vacuuming, and then also driving, driving the residents, which is usually the more favorable thing for volunteers because they get to have some one-on-one time with the residents and, you know, learn more about them. And then of course they want to, you know, they kind of live through your travels. So they like to ask questions about that.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

Yeah, I got to meet Carol out there who has been an RVer for quite some time. And she said that she used to be in the newspaper industry and she was asking what paper I was with. And I was explaining to her that it'll be on a blog and a podcast, and it was hard to explain to her exactly what we do. But you know, the reality is a lot of these folks are very vibrant. They're still very full of life. They're not like they're not giving up, and they're a very active part of your community. And so I love the fact that we met Mark and he's not here. Like, I love that he's an escaper doing this, that it's not just for people that are aging out of the RVing, that it's for everybody, and it's such a beautiful thing. Let's talk about the thrift shop for just a second, because that does support care, does it not?

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Oh, it's a bit, yes.

SPEAKER_03 16:44

And you know, I have to tell you, I've been all over the country. This thrift shop is one of the best in the industry. I don't know if you know that. So it always has such beautiful stuff and it's always full of such wonderful things, and it's jam-packed with them. But I love that that funding goes back to care. So, how does that work? If someone was passing through Texas and you're in central Texas, I don't care how far I have to drive, I'll drive up here to drop it off. Just because I know it supports you guys.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

Well, because we have the way station here at at the Rainbow Zen RV park, many people get over there and have the realization that they need to lighten their load. Well, this is a great place to lighten one's load. Plus, we have people that live in the park, you know, maybe somebody passes away or has to move into a nursing home or where they need more assistance or or move with family. But, you know, they have to get rid of a lot of stuff so they'll they'll end up just donating it to care. So whenever I first started here in 2013, there were these two big metal containers, the big pods, and they would collect the stuff throughout the year and they would all go into these pods. And then so twice a year they would go and empty those pods and bring it all into the care center, and it was the worst smell in this building. It was just musky. And we would have a big yard sale that would last three days, and then all of the stuff that was left over, it was donated to, you know, a local charity. And then a resident had a really great idea one day and said, Why not have a resale shop so we don't have to get rid of all of this stuff that's left over? So we have it every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from nine to two, and it is wonderful. We have people that come from the surrounding areas to visit it on a regular basis, and we have regular donations that come in now also.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

And and is it manned by volunteers?

SPEAKER_01 18:28

It is manned completely, 100% by volunteers, yes.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

Now, do any of your residents participate in that over there?

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Yes. Yes. We have, I think just have Gina and we have another resident.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

But I love that it's an option for everybody. Like if you're active and you're still wanting to do things, you can still find purpose here at care, not just a place to have lunch.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

That is right. And not, you know, a place to just come and sit in your rig, you know, day in and day out. We have all kinds of stuff that goes on inside the building in the morning. We do chair exercises, and then, you know, who knows what we may have planned throughout the day. This last Thursday we had a Victorian tea. Oh, how fun. It was really fun. So much participation with the staff and some of the residents. It was great. We had a full house. Yeah, it was great.

SPEAKER_03 19:19

That is fantastic. Now, if somebody wanted to help you like to volunteer, who would they need to contact to volunteer here at CARE? First of all, you do have to be an escapees member to volunteer, correct?

SPEAKER_01 19:31

Yes, yeah. We do, you know, it just um it's kind of a warming feeling, I guess you could say. But yes, we do our residents and uh volunteers do all need to be escapee members. They are the ones who who have backed us for so long, so that's our our way of supporting the organization and the supporters of care. But yeah, you can give us a call up here to the care center, let them know you want to speak with the volunteer coordinator, and they will get you set up. Volunteers come from the first of the month to the end of the month. You will get a free site and three meals a day. And then you also get a credit towards your electricity. So if anybody's saving up to go on a cruise, then that'd be a good way to do it.

SPEAKER_03 20:11

That is a fantastic way to do it for sure. And just the warm, fuzzy feeling you get from volunteering and being a part of something so much bigger than yourself. Now, can families volunteer? And I don't mean like kids necessarily driving people, but I mean like can a family that, you know, is can a like the wife volunteer part of the week and the husband volunteer part of the week, do you do that too?

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Well, it's you know, for the most part they do it together. Uh currently right now we have a volunteer couple here where he just has shoulder surgery, so he can't do a whole whole lot, plus he has a you know, remote job that he he does. But it's it's working out great. She does the work for both of them and you know, and he's just tilling, which he did have to have another procedure to correct something. But yeah, it's worked out really good for them and us.

SPEAKER_03 20:57

That's awesome. Well, thanks for sitting down with us, Crystal. If there's anything more about care that you'd like to mention, you know, maybe the website one more time just so we have it.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Um Yes, www.escapeescare dot org.

SPEAKER_03 21:12

Awesome. And it is a nonprofit, correct?

SPEAKER_01 21:15

We are 100% 501c3 nonprofit organization.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

Which means that your donations are tax deductible.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

So deductible. We will we would send out a letter to you that would show the donations that you've made throughout the year, and you can use that to benefit your taxes.

SPEAKER_03 21:32

And there's no better way than giving back to our RV community.

SPEAKER_01 21:35

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 21:36

Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you. So I think the biggest takeaway on that for me was the fact that they actually have skilled nursing on site. And yeah, that's a big one. It's really cool. Yeah. So, I mean, and they love their nurses. Like it's it's such a wonderful opportunity to have that ability there. The other thing is the the other thing that I love about the care facility is when Crystal talks about the three. thrift shop there. Now they have a terrific thrift shop right there in Livingston. And so, you know, she talks about it in the interview. But what I love about it is the story of how it's funded completely by volunteers. So if you know you want to volunteer at the thrift store, you know, you're helping care. So you don't have to like drive people to appointments to help care. You can sort clothes. I mean, whatever that looks like for you. But it's such a nice thrift shop. Like it's one of my favorite. And I love that all the money and the proceeds right go right back to care for that particular purpose. I love that that's what it's designated for. Kay was a pretty smart lady. Yeah, she was. She really was. So the next interview I have is real short. It's just a couple minutes, but it's Mark. And Mark is actually there right now as an escaper. He says he's been there way too long. So I don't think he anticipated being there nearly as long as he's been there. But let's hear what he had to say. Okay. So we're here at the Escape's care center and I'm here with Mark, but he's known something as somebody else in the escaper circle. So if you're a little bit of an escaper, you might know him by MSW.

SPEAKER_04 23:03

MSW.

SPEAKER_03 23:04

How did you get that nickname?

SPEAKER_04 23:05

Long story but sometimes I answer the phone mark. Sometimes I answer Willie and it's just easier to tell it up front. That's fair.

SPEAKER_03 23:11

Okay. And you're here at the care center as a temporary resident. A temporary res So what happened that made it happen?

SPEAKER_04 23:17

Had to have surgery.

SPEAKER_03 23:18

Okay. And so you can come here as a resident just part-time?

SPEAKER_04 23:22

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 23:22

That's really neat. So what did that look like for you? Are your doctors here in Livingston then?

SPEAKER_04 23:27

No, the doctors are in Conroe. Um the physical therapy is in Willis but I can stay here and because you can't drive yourself home from surgery. And so also it's hard to cook when you only have one hand. Yep. So you know I had food and I had drivers and that was the main two things. I was able to maintain everything else in my rig, but you know they offered laundry service, trash and everything else, but I could handle most of that myself just not the cooking and not the driving.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

Well that's awesome. And are you solo then? Are you okay cool. And so if you're part of the escapers crew out there, just say hi to MSW because he can like use your love. He's out here healing and getting ready to get back on the road sometime. Hopefully soon. And then a smile oh nice. And then maybe we'll see you somewhere down the road in the next event.

SPEAKER_04 24:06

That's true.

SPEAKER_03 24:07

All right good deal.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

Thanks. So I'm really impressed that they have allowed him to extend his stay there with all of the complications and the issues that he's had with his healing and just getting better. That's really awesome.

SPEAKER_03 24:23

Yeah. And I and I love that about it. You know one of the other neat things was when I went in to have I didn't have lunch with them, but they were all eating is that all of the people that are there that are even volunteers are getting fed three meals a day. So they're eating alongside the people that they're with. So it's it's such a unique situation. Yeah. Then there's Dan I got to meet Dan. Dan is a great guy. The net's only held together because of people like Dan. So Dan volunteers at the care facility every year and he keeps going back since he joined Escape's. But why he does it is going to give you a completely different picture of what this community is like. All right. So I am here with Dan. Dan is a volunteer here at care. And it was funny because you were just talking and I was thinking we should have been recording the whole time. You found about care out about care the same I was in Rock Springs with you.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 25:13

That year. And so let's talk about that for a second. So when did you find out about care?

SPEAKER_00 25:18

Well it was at the Rock Springs uh get together and I just saw a sign up thing for escape I was escapes member and I didn't know anything about care. So I signed up and then it was for the next year. I went up to Idaho to camp hosted a state park which is what I do a lot of and I came down here and went to the escape's park over here at Rainbows Inn. They said no no you're not here you're over at Care. So I thought well what's care I'd volunteered for being over here and didn't even know anything about it. And I've been back year after year after year because it's such a good group of people it's for you know campers that maybe they might have been a full time camper 20 years and they just can't go around anymore but they want a place to stay. They're still mobile and they provide them three meals a day. We got an on site nurse and take them to the doctor's appointment, Walmart, ATB, and you know just sometimes there'll be a concert or something in town we'll take them to it just gives them an opportunity to get around. It gives us as volunteers you know a way to pay back and you you get you know uh a a full hookup site. You get like uh$100 in the winter off your electric,$150 in the summer off your electric. You get f free meals. You know, it's just it's a benefit for both. It's really a good thing. So I encourage people at least come and just do it for a month. And how many months a year do you do well I come and go. I was a full time RV for three years. And I just recently in January bought a place down in Harlogen in the valley but I still come up here what three or four times a uh three or four months a year. Generally I I'm doing April, May, no, what was it January? March, April, May. And I may do part of June. And then I'll probably come back again around October and do another month or two before I head back down to Harlogen.

SPEAKER_03 27:02

That's fantastic. So are there anybody that you've met that's like really stood out to you while you've been here at CARE whether a resident or you know Yeah there's the stories that the residents can tell are priceless.

SPEAKER_00 27:14

It's unbelievable. There's so many good people here from different walks of life and they're from all over. I remember one lady Ellie she was such a neat little lady she was from New York and had a just a cool story to tell about her life. She was given up for adoption as an infant and grew up and wound up marrying a guy that he wanted to get away from his mother so he they joined the Coast Guard and traveled around for years. Just little things like that make it so unique.

SPEAKER_03 27:40

Absolutely well and that's the thing that makes this so beautiful is you know whether you're an escape or you know somebody that ends up at care, you know, it's just a beautiful place for everybody.

SPEAKER_00 27:49

Oh yeah. And I tell them like you know give me another 10 or 20 years. Y'all better have this place ready because I'm coming back.

SPEAKER_03 27:55

That's great. I will I'm going to be a resident now whether we support it as a volunteer like you or we support it financially with us even just a small donation monthly could be the difference stopping at Starbucks every week. You know if you can just cut out one stop at McDonald's you know once a week you could get$10 a week to care because you know and the burgers don't get bigger but your heart gets bigger when you support care I think. Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

And and for somebody that's retired it kind of gives me something to do.

SPEAKER_03 28:20

No that's awesome. Thanks Dan I so appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

No problem good and I'll enjoy what you're doing.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

So I love Dan's story. I mean just the fact that he joined escapees and it gives him a purpose a way to serve his community and goes back. There's also another woman that serves at care in the wintertime. She and her family come in and her husband works remotely from home but she does all of the stuff for care. And so it's it you know I think they work with just about anybody to make it work for their situation.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

Yeah. So can anyone who is staying at Rainbow's end volunteer to serve while they're there or is it a you know you need to um apply in advance and kind of get your ducks in a row before you show up.

SPEAKER_03 29:10

Do you know what I'm saying? I do. You actually you you have to apply through the the um care platform. So you go through the website and there's a volunteer coordinator and she reaches out to you. But you get the whole month for free when you stay there. Oh that's stipend for your electric. So like in the summertime they actually give$150 off your electric just for staying there for the summer because they have a really hard time getting people to come in June, July and August when it's really hot here in Texas. They did share with me that they really right now only have two volunteers for the summer months. And so that puts a big burden on those two volunteers and it makes it harder for the staff because that means they're doing things, you know, taking people to appointments that maybe and things are getting left in the dust.

SPEAKER_02 29:53

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

So here's the thing I don't want us to skip over either staying active matters. So not just physically but mentally and emotionally they do chair exercises in the morning and so they are doing regular activities which is very important. There's research on how important is it that elderly people or people that are healing have that type of thing.

SPEAKER_02 30:14

It is so important. In fact because of some of the studies that have come out in hospitals and healthcare settings if you have a procedure done they are pushing for patients to get up after surgery and start walking sooner, earlier, quicker just because the studies are showing the sooner you get up and start moving after a procedure, the quicker you will start healing. It's so important. And I work with a lot of doctors and a lot of them have been talking about just how important it is whenever you get like a hip replacement or a knee replacement or a shoulder repair or anything like that to keep that active and to not like nurse it or you know cuddle it if you will that you've got to like get back out there and you've got to help it out so that it heals that and it works that back in. And that's going to be the same for any type of injury as soon as you know as soon as you can be active you really need to be active. So that's amazing that they are out there keeping people active working with them getting them up in the morning keeping activities out there. That's so helpful for everyday health but also recovery for injuries.

SPEAKER_03 31:32

Absolutely care doesn't just do that. Like they do a health fair um in the fall they do a great big drive where they do cupcakes for care out there. And so everybody brings baked goods and they raise money with an auction and 50% of that money actually goes back to the local Livingston Fire Department. And they've been doing it that way for years. That's awesome I love that they even give back even knowing that they need the money to support themselves. Now I got to meet Kay in 2017 at Escapade. That woman had more fire than most people that I know my age she was spunky. She was sharp she was warm in a way that made you feel welcome so but what she's what struck me most was how she talked about the escape's members. She didn't care if you were in a Privot or if you were in a travel trailer. It didn't matter to her. There was diversity there was big rigs there was small rigs there was full timers there was part-timers there were families solo travelers. She greeted everyone from every walk of life she was so proud of how they could come together in one place. And that's kind of the one thing that makes I think the escapees community so much different than some of the others because back when she started the community that she was creating was built across different travel styles but she built it on purpose. Kind of like we're doing learned RV, I feel like in some ways. But caring and sharing wasn't just a tagline it was really the operating system. When I grew up I want to be like Kay Peterson yeah um like I told you that's going to be that goal. Yep. And Kay Pate Peterson passed away later that year. She was 90. think that I think about the fact that she hit the road the same year I was born and that she spent her entire life building and her nursing career as creating escapees and then care, asking the same questions how do we take care of each other well? So that's a question I want to keep asking too. All right. So this next step and we've never done this on air and if you're listening somewhere today is please stick with us because this is important. We're going to call this the Learn to RV care challenge. And so it starts with one number$10 a month. How yeah CareZone website says that$10 a month is their starting ask. So we're just going to bring the community to it and answer it. Right now it costs$849 for one care resident to stay in their own RV with professional support, daily meals, transportation and nursing oversight. They also will come in and do their laundry clean their unit so those are some things that they do. Compared to assisting assisted living costs anywhere else in the country right now, that price only exists because of member donations. Right. So here's what our community could do if people said yes to just$10 a month that's$1,000 every month$12,000 a year and all we'd need is a hundred people to do that.

SPEAKER_02 34:12

All right so here's the next number are you ready for this one? If 10 people yeah okay people oh a hundred people so one zero zero that would be twelve thousand dollars a year for care. Wow that's incredible that would change so many lives it really really would let's keep going because I've got some more numbers for you you ready for this?

SPEAKER_03 34:31

Okay. Yeah. So now we're looking I know we have more than 100 listeners. They may not all be escapes members and you don't have to be an escapees member to donate to care. If you are out there listening and you know you just want a good place to donate you can do that too. It's a 501c3 let's say 250 let's say 250 people gave$10 a month to care. That's$2,500 a month. Uh-huh that would affect multiple residents that could stay in their RV in their community if 500 people said yes that's$5,000 a month. That's$60,000 a year. That's like literally life changing for care right now. Yeah it would be member donations member donations fund about 40% of care's entire operating budget. Wow our community alone in learned RV could move that needle in a really real way. Yeah 500 people found way in a community of millions. Yeah all right so here's a few other things worth knowing if you shop online at Camping World Bass Pro Shop Target or Cabela's set up an iGive.com account and designate escapees care as your cause every purchase will donate a percentage automatically escape's care because there's another charity called care. So you need to write out escapees C A R E. Okay. Your support will land so it lands in the right place. But if your total lifetimes donation hit$100, you get a care jewelry pin. Not that I need a pin, but it sure would be nice to have a pin for care. When you hit$1,000 your name goes on a donor plaque that's mounted permanently in the care facility right there in Livingston, Texas on the wall that Kay Peterson built and if donating isn't where you're at right now if donating isn't where you're at right now that's okay. You can still volunteer care needs people year round. Like I said June July and August are tough months to get people to help their most critical window being summer because the snowbirds go back north and no there's no medical training required. You you just be a part of the commute community. But none of that's possible today. Just share this episode with somebody free. Yeah the person who needs to know about care might be the person that you're sitting next to. Yeah absolutely Kay Peterson believed that there were two kinds of people in the world those who discovered something wonderful and those who guard it carefully and those like us that shout it from the rooftop. She was a rooftop person. We are also rooftop people. Yes. The road's yes much sweeter when we know we're out here not out here alone. All right so I have a page that's a quick reference guide that I will share um with Tasha. So it'll be in the show notes. We'll talk a little bit about what care is not. And I would challenge you you know if you if you can designate something to care, even if that's$10 this year, that would help care right now. Care is there and it won't be there forever if we don't take care of it. You know, and I think that Kay Peterson's legacy is important for that. You know and you may know that you know escape's isn't owned by the original family, but the care facility is still the care facility. And so that didn't change. And so that funding no matter what happens I feel like I don't want to say they're getting lost. In fact I'm going to talk to the people that be when I go to escapade in just a few weeks and make some wild suggestions and see if they bite. The worst they're going to do is tell me no. But I think that if people are stepping up and being a part of that, right? You're right near Lake Livingston on your days off, you know, it's not terrible. And the town is adorable and Livingston itself is a nice I was just gonna say that. So you know there's the little diner in town with the train. And besides if you've got to you know do your domicile stuff you can go there and who knows you might be back on jury duty while you're there. Reason to go donate volunteer do jury duty but it's not a nursing home. I'm here for you. But yeah I don't know I think that care is just such a neat I think that in the grand scheme of things it's too easy to have things just slip through the cracks. So the one thing about history is if you don't have it it's gone. And so I think Kate Peterson needs that memory kept and I think we need to be diligent as a podcast to to be able to tell those stories um to have them for future generations of escapees. Because I don't want to be the last generation of escapees. Right. You know and I want the care facility to be there for people if they want it to be you know some people don't have kids you know that they can go back to that care facility is a lifeline for them. Right. Yeah. So I mean like I think that preserving the legacy of care is so important. So I challenge you if you can donate to care. If you can't donate share this episode if you can't share this episode and it's free. There's no reason not to but if you can't share this episode you know share with a friend what Escape's is you know join escape's who knows you might even meet me at Escapade. I'll be up there and I think Tasha might make a guest appearance one day during that event she's gonna try to so we'll see so you'll have to actually tune in and find out if she's gonna be there we'll announce it probably on the Facebook page I suspect if she ends up coming. So and then you have to like and follow and subscribe to keep you know involved in it. And you know I'll let Crystal know that we've made the challenge out here but we don't want any credit for it. You know if you give to care give to care. So it's one way we can give back to our RV community.

SPEAKER_02 39:46

Absolutely thanks for joining us we will see you next time around the campfire