By now most of you realize that I like gardening. The springtime is always a great time for experiencing the beauty of seasonal flowers. So I’m taking this opportunity to share with you a picture of the amaryllis in my backyard.
Just as these flowers reflect the beauty and aroma of the season, you and your awesome service bring beauty and aroma to the lives of our patients and their families. Thank you for spreading your blossoms of love and compassion at a time when it is so desperately needed.
Please know that although we celebrate “Volunteer Appreciation Month” in April, we appreciate you and your faithful service year round! We are grateful you have chosen to volunteer at Community Hospice & Palliative Care.
This newsletter contains a lot of wonderful things that are happening in the Volunteer Services department for Community Hospice & Palliative Care. If you have a volunteer experience you would like to share, please email your story to your volunteer coordinator.
Happy Volunteering!
April was National Volunteer Month and a time to honor community volunteers. To continue the celebration, we are honoring one of our wonderful Community Hospice & Palliative Care volunteers, Gail Baker. In addition to volunteering in the Foundation, you have probably also seen her warm smile and upbeat personality at the front desk at the Hadlow Center for Caring. Gail is a light to so many!
Gail is an expert with mailings, but we are also very proud of her assistance with the Celebration of Life Walkway brick restoration project. The walkway is the garden near the Neviaser Educational Institute where loved ones can purchase a brick in honor of or in memory of a loved one. Friends and families have purchased bricks since 2003. After wear and tear, the bricks need to be re-painted. Gail works hard to make sure families and friends can remember their loved ones day after day. If you are interested in helping Gail with the bricks, please contact the Foundation at 904.886.3883. Thank you, Gail, for all of your hard work each and every week! We love seeing your beautiful smile.
“Being a volunteer at Hadlow is such a blessing to me. Whether greeting family, friends or visitors at the Hadlow reception desk, or doing mail outs, brick painting, or sorting for the Foundation, I always feel welcome, needed and appreciated by all, especially the staff. The volunteer opportunities are endless and the need for volunteers is great.” -Gail Baker
A big thank you to the 180 volunteers who attended our grand event this year!
(left to right) Dan Batty, Renee Stoffel, Manager of Community Representatives, Volunteer Larry Murphy, Dawn Townsend, Community Healthcare Rep, and Jackie Hayes, Chaplain.
The Stephen R. Chapman Family Community Campus is opening in St. Augustine next month! The campus includes offices, conference meeting rooms and an Upscale Resale Store. Please recruit your friends and neighbors to sign up to volunteer at our new store. We are securing new volunteers now.
Pet Fostering involves bringing a cat or dog into your home with the goal of nurturing them until they can be adopted into a permanent home with a family who will love them forever.
Pet Peace of Mind (PPOM) cats and dogs, like their human family members, have experienced the loss of a loved one. They need a place to stay as they learn to adjust to their new life, and being in a home environment is favorable to living in a kennel. Community Hospice PPOM pets have been to the veterinarian for a complete exam, and in some cases, may have recently been spayed or neutered - if they were not ‘fixed’ prior to joining the program. Veterinary expenses for these pets are paid for by Community Hospice and we will help provide pet food, bowls, etc. if needed. There is no way to guarantee the time a pet will be in your home as a foster, but with your help of providing updated photos and personality information, we hope to find them a permanent, loving home quickly.
As you know, the PPOM program provides an opportunity for you to assist with the pet needs of our patients. Since starting this program in 2014, we have provided (243) services for dogs and cats. and have adopted out (39) dogs and (37) cats during this time period.
Pets waiting to be adopted:
If you are interested or know of someone who is interested in one of these pets, please contact Chris Whitney at 904-470-0688 or email her at cwhitney@communityhospice.com. Click here to check out the pictures of these pets.
Our Volunteer Services Department is always here to help. Please click here for a list of contacts who are here to provide you support!
The annual Thursday Night Workin’ Man’s Bass Tournament season is now underway! The 2019 series began April 4 and runs through August 29. Last year the tournament raised $5,000 for Community Hospice & Palliative Care.
Again this year, we need volunteers to help sell 50/50 raffle tickets on Thursday nights. The shift is usually from about 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. depending on sunset time. As we did last year, we’d like volunteers to sign up for one shift per month April-August. If you can’t commit to a monthly shift, we’d still love to have you come out and help on any date you’re available!!
By volunteering your time for this fundraiser you are providing vital support to the patients and families we serve. We could not do this without you!
To sign up for a shift or for any questions, please contact Katie Bono, development assistant, Foundation, at 904.383.3883 or kbono@communityhospice.com.
We are in the process of address improvements to the new Time Clock/Electronic Contac Note. While we are updating the system, we ask that you please record your contact with patients on the paper contact notes. Please contact your volunteer coordinator if you need copies. For those volunteers that utilize the time clock feature, please report your time in the same manner in which you did prior to the new online system. Do not use the mobile app. At this time, we do not have a specific date for the system to be back online. You will be notified you once the changes are complete.
Dining Companion - The next training is on Tuesday, June 11 at 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville. If you are interested in attending, please contact Betsy Beckham, bbeckham@communityhospice.com or call 407-6117 to RSVP.
Compassionate Companion – The next training will be Wednesday, June 12 at 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville. If you are interested in attending, please contact Betsy Beckham, bbeckham@communityhospice.com or call 407-6117 to RSVP.
If you are interested in attending either of these programs, but cannot attend due to your schedule or distance, please contact Betsy Beckham.
Please help us add to the Volunteer Team by asking your relatives or friends to consider volunteering with Community Hospice & Palliative Care. The volunteer application can be found at the following link: https://www.volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/ap?AP=1017126725.
Community Hospice & Palliative Care is currently looking for ambassador volunteers. Read this important letter from Renee Stoffel, Community Relations Manager and liaison for ambassador training.
We would love any acrylic paint or sample sized latex house paint. Other miscellaneous art and craft supplies would also be appreciated. We can use large crayons, cardstock, glue, markers, tissue paper or just about any other items that can be used for projects with the patients or future fundraising events like the Portraits of Loyalty Painting Party. Please contact Betsy Miller at EMiller1@communityhospice.com.
Volunteers are needed to spend time with patients in a creative atmosphere and to help facilitate art events supporting various Community Hospice & Palliative Care Programs.
The Volunteer Services Department is available to help you at any time. The main volunteer number is 904.407.7064
For a complete list of the Volunteer Services Department, click here.
You can also visit the website at Volunteer.CommunityHospice.com.