“Before the Well Community began meeting at our church, Cliff Temple Baptist, I was teaching Sunday school, and Joel Pulis* started bringing a couple of people to my class who turned out to be some of the first Well members.” Ever since these early days, Jeff and his wife, Violet, (and often with their daughters) have been “full on” as volunteers and donors for the Well. From helping with Thursday Night Life meals, to assisting with parties and events, and through the years Jeff served on the Board of Directors, the Lanes have given much to make the Well a welcoming and safe place for adults living with severe mental illnesses.
“I’ve always thought that the face of God was closer to the surface at those times when I am able to work in the kitchen with people who share a common goal to minister to others and then to walk the food out to a group of people who really cherish the opportunity to be together and to love each other,” says Jeff.
“These are people who may not have any other place to feel like they are loved or they belong,” adds Violet. “Our experience has been that they’ve always shown that gratitude for anything that you do for them.”
One of the favorite ways the Lanes support the Well is to attend the annual Monster Mash, Halloween Bash. This year it was held on Saturday, October 25th at the Turner House in Dallas.
“Who doesn’t like a party, right?” explains Violet. “It’s so fun to have the opportunity to dress up if you want to and bring friends with you. Not only are the food and drinks terrific, the music fantastic, the costumes creative, the games fun and the silent auction exciting, but we also get to see other supporters of the Well that maybe we only see once a year,” she continues. “That’s one of the things I really enjoy. It’s very much a community within a community. And the people who support the Well are very close-knit with each other. And so that’s really fun.”
Jeff agrees, “We don’t cross paths nearly enough with other supporters, but there is a community of people who love members of the Well.”
Jeff is also quick to point out that though FUN is the word that describes Monster Mash, generosity is the goal. “One of the ways we can show our love for those dealing with serious mental health issues is to help provide the safe, welcoming environment they have at the Well.”
“The Well Community is completely dependent on donors. Many members of our church like us have been associated with it since the beginning and donate to the Well and volunteer,” explains Violet. “But I always want to tell people, the Well is an independent organization apart from Cliff Temple. It takes a broad community of people to lend support to make it work. There are multiple congregations involved as well as individuals who have a heart for folks in real need. Without that kind of broad-based support, obviously the whole thing would fold and fall in on itself, because it just takes resources to provide a warm, welcoming place for the membership to thrive. The Monster Mash event brings together this larger community, and that’s why it is so important.”
Over the years, Jeff has observed that it isn’t just the donors of the Well who are generous. It is also the members. “There is always a feeling to me that we come to serve out of our abundance, but with the Well members, it seems like they give to each other out of their need. You could never find a group of people more generous with each other.”
Serving at the Well has changed the Lanes’ perspective about people living with mental health issues. According to Violet, “I think I’ve learned a lot about human nature. I think we have a lot more similarities than we do differences. In a lot of ways their concerns are not that different from the needs I face every day. I’m just fortunate enough to be able to keep an independent lifestyle, and they’re not able to do that for whatever reason. But we all share as human beings; we all share struggles, different types of struggles. And so, I think they’ve taught me a lot about how to handle challenges in a lot of ways. They’re very resilient people.”
Jeff adds, “It has always been a really uplifting lesson to see how the Well Community helps people grow and change. It’s been fascinating to see how individual members’ lives have become sweeter over the years.”
If you didn’t make it to Monster Mash, Halloween Bash 2025 you can still make a contribution. Click here.
*Joel Pulis and others started the Well Community in 2002 as an outreach from Cliff Temple Baptist Church. It has since become an independent 501(C)(3).