Dear Hospice Supporters,
Here we grow again! As we are more well-known in town and extend our reach within the community, it has become evident that we can no longer operate with one part-time employee and a very part-time administrative assistant.
The Board is pleased to announce that we have recently hired Elisa Renick to the position of Resource Development Coordinator. Elisa will be responsible for helping us secure the funding we need to maintain operations through grants and fundraising opportunities, as well as planning and spearheading our major capital campaign to secure funding to build a 4-bed hospice space. That campaign isn’t quite ready for rollout, but you’ll be the first to know when it is!
We have also hired Gillian Reyes to replace Jackie Baker as our Program Coordinator. Gillian will be responsible for overseeing all our programs, including our support groups, designing and conducting surveys to evaluate our programs and assess community needs, and raising our profile in the community.
Elisa and Gillian join Sarah Joy Herzog, who looks after our clients and volunteers, and Megan Gros, our administrative assistant, who is responsible for supporting all the other staff and the Board, as well as our website content and social media. Sarah Joy and Gillian work out of our office, which is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00 to 1:00, or by appointment. Contact information for all staff is available on our website, prhospice.org.
May is Membership Month, so now is the time to renew yours. If you each get one friend to take out a membership with you, we’ll double our membership! Remember that active volunteers do not have to pay for their membership. There will be a draw for a prize basket for one lucky member at the end of the month. Click here to renew your membership or become a member!
The recent Art from the Attic fundraiser, in conjunction with the Sunshine Gogos, was quite successful, with each group getting close to $4000 after expenses. We had great representation in all aspects of this event, from planning through set-up and take-down, thanks to our amazing volunteers. There was some artwork remaining after the sale and an online auction will be announced in the near future, so you haven’t completely missed your chance!
Walk, Run & Hike for Hospice ended on May 15th, and while we don’t have our final total quite yet, I can say that we will have exceeded our $20 000 goal by the time all donations are in! Thank you to all of you for spreading the word about this significant fundraiser.
Our completed strategic plan will be posted to the website shortly. As part of this important process, we have revised our mission, vision and values. I’ll discuss values in our next newsletter, as that’s a longer statement!
Mission
Powell River Hospice Society provides compassionate support to individuals at the end of their life, to their family and friends, and to those who are grieving in Powell River, qathet Regional District and Tla’amin. We provide community education and advocacy regarding end-of-life issues.
Vision
A community where all people are accompanied and supported on their end of life or bereavement journey.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook to find great resources, thoughtful articles and up to the minute news about Hospice happenings. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like further information on any hospice-related topic.
Cathy Fisher, President
