Valmonte Living ~ Meet the Jordan’s

A local magazine has asked me to contribute so I have taken up interviewing fascinating people near home. This blog is about two such individuals.

Volunteer Spotlight : Stephen Jordan & Margi Braun

If he had it to do all over again, Stephen Jordan wouldn’t change a thing - especially his volunteer work at the South Coast Botanic Gardens on Crenshaw Blvd. His time there is spent weeding and planting and when he’s done one can see the results. He tells me “it’s immediate gratification!”

Originally from Illinois, Stephen and his wife Margi Braun love plants and the out-of-doors. Though they are happy with their place on Via Nivel in Palos Verdes, the wide open spaces of the mid-west have always felt more like home to them.

Stephen enthusiastically tells me the history of the Gardens; it started out as a mine for diatomaceous earth around 1900. The city of Los Angeles took over the shaft and open pit mining to turn the area into a land fill, hoping later to make it part of Parks and Recreation development. For Stephen this is exactly what happened: “The Botanic Gardens is my playground and so much more satisfying than my little back yard.” Nowadays 80+ acres are cared for by 130 volunteers. Last year they put in over 17, 500 hours of loving care – a happy ending for an abused piece of real estate.

Bringing things to life is not a new venture for Stephen as he was a doctor of obstetrics at Kaiser Permanente for most of his career. Correcting problems of infertility and bringing healthy babies into the world was “positive medicine” for him.

In 1985 Dr. Jordan did a year of cancer training, surrendering himself to the practice until he retired in 1995. He continues his positive medical care even in retirement by also volunteering for the Kaiser Hospice as a companion to P.V. souls in need. He feels his ten years experience with these patients led him to the Hospice position. This home-based care program provides a physician, nurse, social worker, chaplain, and volunteer for each patient. As part of this team Stephen picks up medication refills, takes patients to their doctor appointments, relieves other team members and, most importantly acts as friend and confident to the ailing individual. He’s such a nice, genuine guy it’s a blessing to have him on your side.

Margi is a caregiver in her own right by rescuing cats in the South Bay. She acts as ‘foster parent’ to kittens, feeding them, getting them their shots and, yes, sees to it they get ‘fixed’. When the kittens are about four months old the organization, South Bay Cats, is able to put them up for adoption through outlets like PetSmart on weekends. They charge $100 which pays for expenses incurred. Oh, and there is a two week return policy – just in case. Her day job as a computer programmer for website optimization is sometimes interrupted by a friendly face peering over the computer monitor or a helping paw on the keyboard.

Childless by choice, this loving couple has dedicated their lives to things they already loved – plants and animals. If you get a chance to meet them, say ‘thank you’ : )

You can learn more about the Botanic Gardens at southcoastbotanicgarden.org. Investigate the home care by Googling Kaiser Permanente Hospice Program and find out more about adoptable kitties at southbaycats.com.

BuzzNet Tags: Valmonte Living Magazine ~ February 2010 issue,Palos Verdes Peninsula,Stephen Jordan,Margi Braun,Botanic Garden,PetSmart, Niki Chanel