Meals on Wheels, Indianapolis
We Deliver Smiles
Liz Browning
Of the many unexpected "perks" realized by our volunteers, none is sweeter than meeting your true love "on the job." That's what happened to Liz Browning, when at a fundraiser in 1993 she was introduced to her husband through MOW Advisory Board member Mary Ann Browning. One thing led to another, and 11 months later she and Jamie Browning said "I do."
The first thing you notice about Liz is how beautiful she is. Not just in the physical sense: Liz has an inner beauty that won't be contained. Her eyes brim with tears when she talks about the "forgotten" senior citizens served by Meals on Wheels, and how much it means to homebound people to have that daily social contact with the volunteers. "You know those MasterCard television commercials?" she said, "Well here is something that's truly priceless."
Liz and Jamie's children, Annie, 8; Ellie, 5 and Will, 3, keep this stay-at-home mom busy running to and fro, but that doesn't stop her from taking on myriad fundraising projects for Meals on Wheels. Since the serendipitous Bizarre Bazaar where Liz and Jamie first met, she's chaired both the annual Bingo Bash and Kitchen Tour fundraisers and helped host a book signing for Sarah Brady1 at the Governor's mansion.
And there's more. Liz and her children often sub for absent drivers. They deliver meals over holidays and hold workshops with the kids' friends to make holiday cards for the meal recipients. "It's fun to get the kids involved, to make them aware of older people," she says.
Raising her kids with an awareness of others comes naturally to Liz because of her own upbringing. Her mother, Marty Copher, began delivering meals in 1972, when Meals on Wheels was just a year old. Mrs. Copher often involved Liz and her sister Sarah over her 30-plus years of volunteering, and thus, a legacy of service was born.
But wait-there's even more. For 10 years Liz taught English-American literature and journalism-at Manual and Cathedral high schools. She also coached track and field. Her favorite work to teach, and indeed her favorite piece of literature is Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." She said, "Every time I read it I find something new." Liz is now back in school herself, studying at Butler University for a master's degree in English.
And if all that were not enough, Liz, Jamie and several partners are getting ready to open a restaurant in Broad Ripple this spring. Liz is the project manager for the new Usual Suspects café that will open in place of the Parthenon at 6319 Guilford Avenue. The fare-upscale American (nothing fried)-should prove to be superb: they're getting start-up help from award-winning Brugge Brasserie (and former H2O Sushi) chef Neal Brown.
From the grandmother receiving a meal the day after Thanksgiving to the wheelchair-bound veteran posting a homemade holiday card on his refrigerator - our clients at Meals on Wheels are blessed for the legacy of service of the Copher and Browning families.
1 Sarah Kemp Brady is the wife of former White House Press Secretary Jim Brady, who was seriously injured during an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Sarah Brady's book, "A Good Fight," was published in 2002 by PublicAffairs.
For further details, please contact us at 317.633.6325, or by e-mail at info@mealsonwheelsindy.org .
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