Tom and Bev Brayden, founders and leaders of the Jeffco Spellbinders, were spellbound April 21 when their chapter surprised them with a birthday party.

One of the members, Cheri Seeton, aka Merry Cheri the Clown (Golden), showed up in full clown regalia. Linda Boettcher, Coordinator, asked Merry Cheri the Clown to come up and share a story about Earth Day. Merry Cheri the Clown had gotten Earth Day and Birthday "confused" and ended up telling a story about the history of the Happy Birthday song instead.

At the end of the story, the group began singing Happy Birthday to You, and Linda wheeled in a beautiful cake and balloons!Merry Cheri, who is also a balloon artist, made crowns for the birthday couple. Not only was this a birthday celebration, but it was a way of honoring two dedicated people who have worked passionately to promote the goals established by the national Spellbinders organization.

Tom, a retired dentist, reached the milestone of 80 years this week with Bev following close behind. The Braydens started up the Jefferson County chapter of Spellbinders 9+ years ago with seven members.

Spellbinders is a group of volunteers who go into the school system once a month to tell stories to the grade school kids. The oral art of storytelling is a way to pass on wisdom, engage the imagination of the children who hear the stories, advance literacy, and connect the young with the older. A win-win scenario is created, enriching both the lives of the storytellers and the story listeners.

Each Spellbinder must graduate from a Spellbinder Training Workshop. In the ensuing years, 29 new classes have graduated from training, with 77 active storytellers this past school year. Sixty-six Jeffco schools and other community facilities have Spellbinders coming to tell stories each month.

The Jeffco chapter meets September through May on the third Monday of each month, 1 - 3 p.m., at the United Methodist Church, 38th and Wadsworth, in Wheat Ridge. The next training will be held in September. If you are interested in learning more about storytelling through Spellbinders, please contact Bev at 303-233-0766.

www.spellbinders.org
www.merrycheri.com