Four Tides Hospice Society Newsletter

Dear Hospice Supporters,

A huge thank you goes out to Jodie Young and her team of family and friends, who recently held a Burger & Beer night at the Carlson Club with all proceeds going to Hospice. Jodie spent countless hours organizing, soliciting silent auction donations, and ensuring that everything was done well. Tickets for the event sold out so quickly that we didn’t even have time to offer them to our membership! Once all the bills were paid, Jodie was able to donate $9000.60 to Four Tides Hospice Society. Donations of this size make an incredible difference in our operational ability.

We held a Volunteer Appreciation lunch at Royal Zayka on October 21st for those volunteers who were able to attend. Congratulations, too, to those who received service pins for their years of service! Our volunteers support individuals as they near end of life, whether they are at home, in the hospital

or in long-term care; those who are grieving; and those who are caring for someone with a life-limiting illness. We could not provide these supports without the commitment of all our volunteers. Thank you so much for all you do!

If you have been a Hospice volunteer in the past but are no longer active, have you completed our inactive volunteer survey yet? Have you shared it with others who are no longer active and encouraged them to complete it as well? It only takes a couple of minutes to fill out, and your input is so important. We want to hang on to our volunteers so we can continue to meet the community’s needs, and we’d like your input to help us with that! The survey will remain open until November 15th. You can access this survey by clicking here.

Our AGM is coming up on November 27th at 7:00 in the Art Centre above the library. Watch your e-mail for notice, and we hope you will be able to attend. At this meeting you’ll get reports from all our board committees and elect up to 4 new directors, each for a 2-year term.

We are currently seeking board members who believe in Hospice, whether or not they’ve previously been involved; who you think would represent us well in the community; who will contribute in one way or another to our growth going forward; who see the big picture as clearly as they see the details; and who you feel would be dedicated and committed to stewarding this organization. Do you or anyone you know fit this description? One skill set we will definitely need is someone who works well with numbers and could take over the position of Treasurer. It might be helpful to share our vision, mission and values when you consider asking someone you know, because that’s really the first step – a belief in who we are and what we stand for.

Thank you again for your ongoing support of Four Tides Hospice Society. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like further information on any hospice related topic.

Cathy Fisher, President

president@fourtideshospice.org

Update from our Executive Director

We are noticing an increase in both palliative and bereavement clients over the last couple of months and so, our need for volunteers is also increasing. You will see in this issue of the newsletter, an announcement about the upcoming Volunteer Visitor training. Please consider attending yourself if you haven’t already or sharing with others who you think might be interested. The training itself is very informative and current volunteers describe their experiences working with clients as “deeply fulfilling” and “an absolute privilege”.

The ongoing support of the community for work of hospice is truly heart warming. We discussed our wish to create a more welcoming office with one of our board members and shortly after the conversation, a member of the Health-Care Auxiliary reached out to offer support for the project. We are now in the process of preparing for a makeover. It may take a few months

but, stay tuned for an open house preview of the new and

improved digs.

I’d like to add my appreciation to Board Member, Jodie Young, for pulling off an incredible fundraising event in support of hospice services. The food was wonderful, the silent-auction table alive with healthy competition and the warmth in the room in support of Jodie’s efforts and of hospice in our community was gratifying.

Hope to see some of you in the office in the month of November as we host our first Reflection Room!

Leslie Emory, Interim Executive Director

executivedirector@fourtideshospice.org

Reflection Room Coming in November

Starts Tues, Nov 7th

Tuesdays - Thursdays 9-2pm

Starting November 7^th, Four Tides Hospice Society office will be hosting a Reflection Room.

This space offers a chance for the community to reflect on death, dying and grief. During office hours, for the month of November, the community is welcome to come to the Reflection Room to write or read.

Reflection Rooms first started in 2016 as evidence-based art installations in various long term care facilities. Installations were studied and found to help express emotions related to death and process the journey of grief. During the Covid-19 pandemic, these rooms were modified to address grief related to the pandemic, including various types of loss unrelated to death. Spaces were expanded to hospitals and other health-care centers to help community members process their grief and thoughts through storytelling and provide a safe space to rest and connect. For more information on Reflection Rooms, see https://thereflectionroom.ca/about/

Paripooranam, N. (2022). Reflection room: Exploring pandemic-related grief in long-term care homes. https://theconversation.com/reflection-room-exploring-pandemic-related-grief-in-long-term-care-homes-191245

Update from our Programs Coordinator

The next Advance Care Planning workshop will be held on November 7^th at 1030 at the qathet Art Center. This workshop supports participants to explore, identify and document their future health care wishes. This 1.5 hour workshop is guided by trained volunteer facilitators who follow up with participants 1on1 to support the completion of an Advance Care Plan.

Celebrate a Life Memory Tree

In December we will be hosting our Celebrate a Life Memory Tree at the Town Center Mall to offer an opportunity for community members to commemorate the loss of a loved one. Come in to the mall to create an ornament in memory of your loved one and place it on the tree or submit a request via our Facebook page and we will print the ornament and place it on the tree for you.

The Caregiver Support Group Program is held on the 1^st and 3^rd Monday of each month at 10:30 at the United Church. The Caregiver Support Group is open to those who are in an active caregiving role of someone experiencing a life-limiting illness. Guided by a senior volunteer, participants share experiences, frustrations, and successes in their caregiving journey.

Our Grief Walking Group continues to meet on the first and last Tuesday of the month at 10am at the lower Seawalk Parking lot. The Grief Walking Group is open to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Participants share an outdoor active hour, engage in conversation and socialization, and acquire skill/tools to manage grief.

For more information and to register for any of the above email Ciara at programs@fourtideshospice.org or call/text 604.208.7221

Updated information on the events will also be posted on our Website, Facebook Page and Instagram.

Update from our Fundraising Committee

As most Four Tides Hospice Society members and friends know, our organization’s programs are sourced 100% by grants, bequests, donations, membership fees, and fundraising activities; we receive no contractual federal, provincial, or civic funding. Additionally, fundraising raises awareness about our society, its vision and mission, and the critical role Four Tides Hospice Society programs play in our community’s support web. Other reasons why fundraising is so important to Four Tides are:

1. Fundraising requires that we step back and think about when and how we will accomplish our vision. This planning supports the society’s organizational goals.

2. Fundraising helps us to identify where we are vulnerable, where we have gaps in resources, and how to address those gaps.

3. Fundraising contributes to cohesion; it unifies teams that work together and therefore strengthens the society.

4. Fundraising requires the society to prioritize, to make the best use of our precious resources.

5. Fundraising means we are reaching out and broadcasting our message widely. The exposure we get through fundraising benefits the society beyond raising money as it increases our presence in the community.

6. Fundraising means partnering. In today’s world, partnering is often a requirement for grants.

Additionally, partnering helps spread our message. Four Tides Hospice Society recently partnered with the Sunshine Gogos, Grandmother to Grandmother Campaign, and put on the ‘Art from the Attic’ fundraiser. We ended up with a successful event and a number of new members!

Four Tides Hospice Society does not do all of its own fundraising; third party fundraising is an integral part of fundraising. A third-party event is an independent event, program, or initiative undertaken and executed by a corporation, local business, community organization, or individual for the purpose of raising funds in support of our society. We have a Third-Party Fundraising Tool Kit that advises others on how to fundraise for our society. This toolkit is available on our website.

This year, Tim Hortons chose Four Tides as the recipient of funds from their third-party fundraising event “Smile Cookies”. Earlier this month, Jodie Young organized a wonderful ‘Beer and Burger’ event that raised $9,000 for hospice in just 4 hours! Hats off to Jodie … our fundraiser extraordinaire!

If you are interested in joining the Fundraising Team, we could use you! Please contact me!

Malerie Meeker, Vice President

vicepresident@fourtideshospice.org