Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but Thanks For Giving is underway right now.
The Chatham-Kent Hospice is looking to bring in $250,000 between now and Oct. 15 from the public to help push its campaign towards its $5 million fundraising goal.
The hospice fundraising effort topped the $4-million mark Sept. 25 as a dozen businesses, service clubs and individuals donated a collective $260,000 to the project, with the Rotary Club of Chatham, Downtown leading the way with a pledge of $100,000.
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Don “Sparky” Leonard, speaking on behalf of the Rotary Club, said the fundraising for that pledge is underway.
“We will find our way, roll up our sleeves and get it done,” he told a gathering at the future site of the hospice. “It will be done by the community collectively.”
The hospice is to be built in what is currently an overflow parking lot for St. Andrew’s Residence.
Jodi Maroney, director of development for the hospice, said the goal is to provide “compassionate care in an end-of-life setting.” The hospice is to have 10 beds to provide palliative care.
Michelle O’Rourke, director of hospice services, said she’s excited to be part of the project.
“Right now, there are a lot of good things happening locally in terms of end-of-life care,” she said. “But the missing thread is not having the hospice as an option.”
A hospice provides a home-like setting where people approaching the end of their lives can die with dignity and receive care and support from hospice volunteers. They and their families can also receive counselling on dealing with death.
O’Rourke said the hospice will work with other organizations who are involved in palliative care and end-of-life care to assist as many people as possible.
“We want to assist people and their loved ones before, during and after end-of-life care,” she said.
Jessica Smith, executive director of the hospice and St. Andrew’s Residence, said the Thanks For Giving campaign is part of the final push for fundraising.
Smith said the capital campaign began in February and the focus has been on reaching out to the local business community, “but we haven’t asked the general public for support yet. We want them to participate.”
Discussion for the development of a local hospice began just three years ago, Maroney said. Staff and volunteers are hopeful it will be operational in just over a year. That means fundraising needs to be complete in the coming months.
“We really have to wrap things up in early 2015,” Smith said of the fundraising drive.
The hospice building is in the design stage, and Smith said she hopes to present the plans to the hospice committee by Christmas.
“We hope to start construction early in 2015 and have it completed in the fall,” she said.
Here is a list of people, businesses and service groups who donated Sept. 25:
- Kent & Essex Mutual Insurance, $25,000
- JP Contractors Inc., $5,000
- Chamberlain Mercury Design and Print, $5,000
- Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 243, Ridgetown, $10,000
- Preferred Transport Ltd., $20,000
- Rocky Gaudrault, $25,000
- Rotary Club of Chatham, Downtown, $100,000
- MC business Solutions/Micro Age Computers, $25,000
- Hopkins Canada, Inc., $10,000
- Dave and Brenda Baute, $20,000
- Handy Bros. Climate Care, $10,000
- Hub Creative, $,5000
