HONORING OUR VOLUNTEERS

National Volunteer Week: April 20-26, 2025

Volunteers are a vital part of the Hospice Care Team and we continue to be inspired by our compassionate volunteers who show up wanting to be of service!  Your kindhearted caring for those approaching end-of-life is greatly appreciated, so this month we CELEBRATE YOU -- MAHALO!

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT GROUP

MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2025 (5:00-6:30PM)

Aloha Patient Volunteers! Please MARK YOUR CALENDARS to attend our meeting on April 7th. Come share your experiences and insights, and increase your knowledge and skills! These meetings are for all active patient volunteers whether or not you are currently serving a patient/family. We look forward to seeing you! Light refreshments provided; Kauai Hospice Conference Room. (RSVPs are appreciated.)

HUMOR - SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: "LEAVE ME ALURN"

YOUTUBE, January 19, 2019 (2:29 minutes)

We’re celebrating half a century of “Saturday Night Live” -- the most acclaimed comedy institution in the history of television!  Enjoy this zany fake commercial introducing the Leave Me Alurn, a little urn for women to take with them when they’re traveling solo and just want to be left alone.

Click here to watch this VERY funny skit.

YOUTUBE: RELOCATING HOPE WHEN SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS DYING

BY: SARAH KERR, PhD - Founder, Sacred Death Care

(2:02 minutes)

Hope, at the end of life, refers to the ability to maintain a positive outlook and sense of meaning even when facing imminent death, often drawing strength from loved ones, spiritual beliefs, or a reflection on the life lived, despite the reality of one's mortality; it signifies finding comfort and peace in the final stages of life, even when a cure is not possible. 



Sacred Death Care founder Dr. Sarah Kerr writes: "Dear friends, there comes a time in every death journey when hope needs to transform. In this week's video, I share a profound insight from a hospice chaplain about redirecting our deepest wishes toward outcomes that can truly serve everyone involved.” Watch this worthwhile clip.

ARTICLE: VOLUNTEER ‘FINISHERS’ HELP COMPLETE KNITTING PROJECTS STARTED BY LATE LOVED ONES

BY: Keena Alwahaidi (CBC Radio, Feb. 15, 2023)

Loose Ends is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization started in 2022 to help finish fiber arts projects started by people who cannot do so themselves because of illness or death. It aims to ease grief, create community, and inspire generosity by matching volunteer handwork finishers with textile projects that people have left undone due to death or disability. Loose Ends welcomes knitters, crocheters, quilters, needle-pointers, weavers, cross-stitchers, embroidered, or textile crafters of all sorts from anywhere in the world. As of 2025, there are over 28,000 volunteers registered in 65 countries. And, an estimated 3500 projects have been finished or are in progress. Read the uplifting article here, and watch the inspiring YouTube video (1-minute).

A GRIEF STORY

There is a tale of a woman who has lost her husband. She is inconsolable. The grief has lasted so long she feels she will never love and live again. Finally, she goes to see a holy man. This is spiritual storytelling's oldest ply: "Maybe the holy man will help." She enters his hut and tells her tale. The holy man says he would like to help her, but he is cold and could she go around to the neighboring houses and gather some wood? They could make a fire and warm his old bones. Then, they could address her grief. She agrees, but as she is leaving, he says to her, "Only take wood from a house that has lost no one." Everyone who has lost a loved one knows that she didn't get any wood. But her grief lifted.

~ As told by Jack O’Shea, an Advocate Health Care Senior Scholar in Residence when addressing that for the truly elderly, loss is a universal experience. 

FOOD AND THE DYING PROCESS

~ She isn't dying because she's not eating... she's not eating because she's dying ~

End-of-life educator and hospice nurse Barbara Karnes has published many resources designed to guide families and professionals through the final stages of life. Her booklet “Always Offer, Never Force” addresses one of the most challenging aspects of caregiving towards end of life when your loved one stops eating. She shares her knowledge on this topic in her blog post (August 9, 2017) -- click here to read.

WEBSITE: HOSPICE NURSE PENNY

Normalizing Death and Dying One Video at a Time

https://www.hospicenursepenny.com/

Penny Hawkins Smith, RN has a passion for hospice advocacy and normalizing death and dying. She has over 17 years of experience as a certified hospice and palliative care nurse and she uses her expertise providing education through social media to a worldwide audience. Just published in January, her book "Influencing Death: Reframing Dying for Better Living" helps readers come to terms with mortality and living more fully so that end of life can be approached with greater acceptance, grace, and peace. You can listen to a 1-minute snippet here.  And, her YouTube channel is another great source for videos and shorts. 

BLOG: KEEPSAKE PINS FOR MEMORIAL SERVICES

BY: SevenPonds.com

SevenPonds is dedicated to living and dying well, and encouraging a truly open dialogue about death, in a space of connection, learning and solace. Their monthly tip for February was about Keepsake Pins -- a meaningful memorial favor for guests to wear during a service. Having their image on a keepsake pin that also includes words they might have spoken, dates or other information, can be a way to bring your loved one’s presence to the celebration of life. Click here for How-To Suggestions...