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Community Hospice Foundation

Welcome to Community Hospice Foundation

Community Hospice Foundation is dedicated to advancing philanthropy to enable Community Hospice of Northeast Florida to fulfill its mission and vision of compassionate care and end-of-life education and support.

The funds raised through Community Hospice Foundation enhance the quality of life for our patients and families, and support unfunded and underfunded patient care, outreach programs and services for those facing advanced illness or grief. Our donors enable Community Hospice to continue to provide community programs and compassionate care to all who need it, regardless of a person’s ability to pay.

There are a number of ways you can join this effort to make a difference, including:

  • Support our endowment fund.
  • Make honorary or memorial gifts.
  • Attend, donate toward, or host a fundraising event.
  • Sponsor specific projects or activities.
  • Invest in planned giving opportunities.
  • Shop, donate or volunteer at the Community Hospice Thrift Shops.

Your gift provides compassionate care, enhancing the lives of our patients and their families.

  • Leadership Message
    • DeAnn Collins

      DeAnn J. Collins,
      Executive Director
      and VP of Philanthropy

      Working together to change lives...

      Community Hospice Foundation was created in 2000 to support Community Hospice’s programs and growth.  Having grown from grassroots to a leading-edge organization, we remain true to the vision and values of our founders – to guide our neighbors through the journey at life’s end, to embrace life, and provide comfort and care for all, regardless of payment.

      It is with you and because of you that we remain this community’s hospice, the only not-for-profit hospice founded in, based in and exclusively serving families in Northeast Florida.

      Our area has a unique asset in Community Hospice:

      • It is among the largest hospices in the nation in numbers of patients served.
      • It boasts one of only a handful of end-of-life educational institutes in the country, the Charles M. Neviaser Educational Institute
      • It features a national model in pediatric palliative and hospice care, Community PedsCare.
      • It operates five inpatient hospice care centers, an important level of care that remains unavailable in many cities in the United States

      Your generosity enhances the quality of life for our patients and their families, and enables Community Hospice to provide unfunded and under-funded patient care and programs, such as Community PedsCare, Camp Healing Powers, caregiver support, and grief and bereavement services. Most importantly, you ensure the care that gives families precious moments together near the end of life.

      Community Hospice is the organization it is today because of the many people who walk with us—our donors, volunteers, staff, and especially the patients and families who allow us to support them through their journey.

      To our supporters, I extend our most sincere appreciation. To those who are considering your participation, I invite you to become a part of our mission, sharing the gift of compassion by lending your gifts of time, talent or treasure to Community Hospice.

      This is your community, and it's your Community Hospice. We're working together to change lives.
  • Testimonials
    • Why I Support Community Hospice

      • Marcia Morales

        Why I Support Community Hospice
        Marcia Morales

        I got involved with Community Hospice about nine years ago when a good friend, who had lost her daughter, asked me to join the board of directors. Through that experience, I’ve learned more about all the wonderful things that Community Hospice does – not only by providing end-of-life care in people’s homes but through the inpatient care centers.

        A lot of friends call to tell me what a good experience and wonderful care they’ve had at these centers through Community Hospice. 

        By being on the board, I also learned about the behind-the-scenes programs like Community PedsCare, the special pediatric hospice and palliative care program that cares for children with life-threatening conditions.

        Programs like Community PedsCare are not reimbursed by insurance or Medicare. So when my friend came to me again about five years ago and said we need to do something to raise money for Community PedsCare, I said let’s just each call a few people and see what we can do.

        That’s how Halloween Doors & More got started. You just need young, smart

        people who are out in the community and willing to work to make a difference.

        There will always be the end of life. We’re lucky to have Community Hospice – with its dedicated inpatient care centers and its programs like Community PedsCare – as a resource where we live.

        Marcia Morales has served on the board of directors for both Community Hospice of Northeast Florida and Community Hospice Foundation. She was instrumental in launching the annual Halloween Doors & More gala, which to date has raised more than $2 million in support of Community PedsCare.
    • Why We Love Halloween

      • Samantha Fross

        Why We Love Halloween
        Samantha Fross, Community PedsCare patient

        I can dress up like a princess and get lots of treats!

        At Halloween Doors & More, children like Samantha can enjoy activities and entertainment in spite of their life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.

        Samantha is one of more than 100 children cared for by Community PedsCare, a pediatric palliative and hospice program of Community Hospice of Northeast Florida. 

        The vast majority of the care we provide is not reimbursed by insurance. Your generosity ensures Samantha and other Community PedsCare children and their families get the comfort, care and support they need.

    • Why I Support Community Hospice

      • Mark Bailey

        Why I Support Community Hospice
        Mark Bailey

        For more than 30 years, Community Hospice of Northeast Florida has provided care and comfort to patients and their families near the end of life. This nonprofit, community-supported organization is grounded in the belief that everyone has the right to die with dignity, in comfort and at peace.

        My family and I are among those who believe deeply in the mission of Community Hospice, and we are grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate our support with our dedication of the Bailey Family Center for Caring in St. Augustine.   

        The Bailey Center greatly enhances the level of hospice care for residents of St. Augustine and the surrounding communities. Most importantly, patients needing inpatient hospice care receive this care close to their physicians, and close to home, close to family and friends.

        Mark Bailey is the naming donor and served as chair for the Bailey Family Center for Caring capital campaign, which raised more than $5 million dollars and was one of the most successful fundraising efforts ever launched in St. Augustine. The Bailey Center opened to patients on January 25, 2011.
  • How Your Gifts Help
    • Adult Hospice Care

      • Gifts to Community Hospice Foundation enhance the quality of life for our patients and families and support unfunded and under-funded patient care and programs of Community Hospice:

        Adult Hospice Care 
        Hospice Care and Respite Care.Community Hospice provides patients with compassionate care and knowledgeable guidance every step of the journey. Our experienced physicians, nurses and other professional caregivers offer patient personalized choices and options for where they can receive care, the most up-to-date approaches to pain and symptom management, and peace of mind to help patients live better with advanced illness.

        At Community Hospice, no one is denied hospice care due to an inability to pay.

        Emergency funds for families with financial need. A chronic or life-limiting illness can strain a family’s financial resources. Special needs support from the Community Hospice Foundation eases this financial burden, freeing patients and their loved ones to focus on achieving quality of life near the end of life.
    • Community PedsCare®

      • Community PedsCare®

        Our innovative pediatric program provides palliative and hospice care for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. This physical, spiritual and emotional support is provided to children and their families free of charge and primarily is unreimbursed.

        Carey Bishop Fund. The Carey Bishop Fund supports a family when a Community PedsCare child succumbs to a life-threatening condition, helping parents in need of financial assistance to make funeral arrangements and begin to heal. 

        Kelsi Leah Young Respite Care Fund. The Kelsi Leah Young Respite Care Fund provides specialized nursing support for Community PedsCare children who require constant medical support to give caregivers a break or time to attend to family matters.

    • Community Grief, Educational Resources, Community Outreach

      • Community Grief, Educational Resources, Community Outreach

        If you or someone you know has experienced the death of a loved one, the support of others can play an invaluable role in the healing process. Community Hospice of Northeast Florida provides an array of services that can help guide you through your personal grief journey.

        Grief and Bereavement Support. Group and individual counseling with bereavement professionals is available for patients’ families, as well as others in the community who have experienced a loss.

        Professional Education. Training for healthcare professionals, nursing and residency rotations provided through our Charles M. Neviaser Educational Institute helps to advance the understanding and practice of hospice and palliative care.

        Community Outreach. Programs, resources and workshops support and educate residents in the community on topics such as caring for the caregiver, coping with grief during the holidays, dealing with recent loss and completing advance directives.

        Camp Healing Powers. This service of Community Hospice of Northeast Florida is a therapeutic camp experience open to any child age seven to 17 who is grieving the death of a loved one, regardless of enrollment in Community Hospice. Designed by bereavement specialists, the camp creates a safe and secure environment where young people can remember those who have died, acknowledge sadness and pain and begin taking steps toward reconciliation and renewal.

904.268.5200 (800.274.6614 toll-free)