The Olds and District Hospice Society raised $46,200 in 2013 through various fundraising events and donations, members of the society heard on Oct. 9 at the group's annual general meeting.
The society, according to its website, aims to “provide quality, compassionate care in a home-like setting for those facing death by offering physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual and educational support to individuals, their families and community at the end of life and during bereavement.”
While the society's complete financial statement wasn't presented at the meeting, its cash balance as of July 31, 2013, was $152,600, including various grants that need to be expended.
The Hike for Hospice, held in the spring, raised about $23,000 with about 150 people taking part. Kathy Kemmere, president of the society, said after the general meeting that the hike was a good way to raise awareness of the society's objectives.
“It was neat to see the different groups that came out,” she said, noting that people were invited to walk in memory of friends and family.
The society will host a two-day training session on November 15 and 16 at the meeting room at Mountain View Dodge. Kemmere said that after the training session, more than 35 volunteers will be trained in palliative care.
“To sit with patients, you have to have palliative care training. It's kind of shocking actually because there was no training after 1993 to 2011 and since (then) we've had four training sessions that had people in it. It's quite amazing that there's that many people that want to help out and we're very honoured by that,” she said.
Board members have spent a lot of time over the last year working on a business plan. They hope that a few more volunteers with a financial background will volunteer to assist with the preparation of the society's financial statements.
“Because our model of care is right now supporting families at home or in the hospital, there is a desire for families to have a hospice place and so we have been taking that seriously and (building) a business plan to put that in order,” Kemmere said.
She added the society has also been actively spreading the word about hospice to various community groups such as women's institutes, service clubs and others.
“We've been doing a lot of community education, what (hospice is) about and what we do. Also, we were present at trade shows in Didsbury and Innisfail and the seniors' wellness fair in Olds. For us, right now it's not so much about the dollars, although we do appreciate all the support, it's very important to make the community aware of what (hospice) is,” she said.
Kemmere and Harold Johnsrude, vice-president of the society, agreed at the annual general meeting to switch positions at the board's next meeting on Oct. 16. Connie Strautman and Gina Reid have also joined the board for 2013-14.
