Editor:
Our community has several positives for an aging population, but none stands out as much as Moog & Friends Hospice House for those last days in one’s life and that very difficult time for the family. Moog and Friends Hospice House represents the very finest in caring staff and volunteers and amenities more attuned to a comfy home than an institutional hospital bed. Several decades of effort and fundraising have entrusted this House to our community’s need. A stand-alone hospice in our province is a rarity and we are fortunate to have one right here in Penticton.
I am honoured to oversee the financial well-being of the Society. A lot of the heavy lifting was done before my tenure and a pandemic never makes it easy for any charitable cause, ours or others. It has been difficult in the last year as lockdowns limited family visitation. Like all charitable causes we have felt the loss in donations to support our volunteer programs and House amenities.
Last year, before the pandemic, we established an endowment to ultimately fund our volunteer programs. To date, this endowment has seen only founding contributions from the Okanagan Similkameen Hospital Foundation and our society. When the community returns to normal, we will launch the fundraising campaign that has been held in abeyance.
I reached out to a Vancouver private foundation recently and through its financial advisors introduced the foundation to our community hospice house, its volunteer programs and its House amenities. Within 24 hours we received a commitment of $25,000 and the understanding that a visit, once lockdown was lifted, may build on that initial commitment.
On behalf of the Society, I want to thank all our donors and volunteers, and during this National Hospice Week, I want to make a special shout out to the mister Blake foundation, established by Blake V.L. Elliott Jr. and his financial advisor, James Grill. Our board is waiting for the day we can invite both to Moog & Friends Hospice House to experience first-hand its value to our community.
Bob Biagioni
Treasurer, Penticton & District Hospice Society
