The Pilot Club of Bennettsville has been in existence since 1947 and focuses on brain awareness and protection. Members are, seated on floor, Rachel Kostelnik and Emeli Fisher. Second row, from left is Vivian Lee, Donna Skipper, Beulah Black, Virginia Williamson and Bari Stubbs. Back row is Joyce Miles, Bobbie Jo Grooms, Angela Branton, Barbara Levine, Tiffany Platt, Leaci Dudley, and Dyann Stroud.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) contributes to about 30 percent of all injury deaths.
Every day 153 people in this country die from injuries that include TBI.
The only defense against brain injury is prevention education and the members of the Pilot Club of Bennettsville are doing their part to help.
Donna Skipper, is governor over the districts of South Carolina District and a member of the Pilot Club of Bennettsville.
Skipper said the Pilot Club likes to be able to influence positive change in their community, and to make our communities better places to live. One way is to focus on brain awareness and protection. “Our main concern is that we don’t want anyone to suffer from any type of brain injury, because that can have a traumatic effect not only on the person that is injured, but also their family and loved ones who have to take care of them,” Skipper said.
Statistically, brain injuries occur anywhere from every six seconds to every 20 seconds in the United States. This week is Brain Injury Awareness Week. March is Brain Injury Awareness Month.
Skipper said the Pilot Club is trying to do this through the schools for children age four to third grade with the Brain Minders program. Members visit schools, preschools and daycares to present puppet programs about the importance of protecting your brain. For instance, children learn about wearing a bike helmet, knee pads and elbow pads when skating. Skipper said the age group is vulnerable because they’re so young They haven’t necessarily been taught about how to protect their brain and how important it is to wear a helmet or wear kneepads or to take care of themselves so that they don’t get hurt,” she said. “The younger they start learning those things, the more they can carry that knowledge into their lives as adults.”
The Pilot Club of Bennettsville is sponsoring a coloring contest with a bike helmet being given to one student per grade.
“We teach them all kinds of little tips and tricks to help them remember to protect your brain because you only get one,” she said. “And the more you protect it for your life, then the better off you are.”
This is why the Pilot Club decided to do the coloring contest in conjunction with the Brain Minders program.
The contest has already started and were given to the schools last week. “The Pilot Club also offers programs for seniors to help them remember to protect their brains, even as adults, by, you know, having slip guards in the shower, playing brain games, anything to stimulate their brain’s ability to help keep them active as adults and those types of things,” stated Skipper. The Pilot Club of Bennettsville has been in existence since 1947 and has about a dozen members.
The club meets at 6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month at Shiloh Methodist Church in the Lester community.
Skipper said anyone is welcome to come join them.
This month, members will discuss the brain, the importance of the brain, how to keep your brain safe, and how to take care of your brain, as well as playing some brain games to help you jog that memory and keep yourself active.
The Pilot Club of Bennettsville holds an Oktoberfest event every year with bingo and sells hot dogs and baked goods. The club also provides recognitions to the bus drivers, teachers, law enforcement, fire and EMS. “We try to stay involved,” Skipper said. “Even the smallest things can make a difference. We want to be involved and make things better.”
For more information or to join, email vivblee@yahoo.com or www.pilotinternational.org.