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LETTER: Hospice volunteers make a meaningful impact every day

During National Volunteer Week April 16 to 22, 'awesome volunteers' at Margaret Bahen Hospice and Doane House Hospice are being celebrated

Newmarket Today welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). 

Our community benefits every day because people volunteer to help others in their time of need. At Margaret Bahen Hospice and Doane House Hospice, over 100 trained volunteers give selflessly to individuals and their families living with a life-limiting illness and at end of life helping them to live as fully as possible.

April 16 to 22 is National Volunteer Week, and our hospices are celebrating our awesome volunteers with the theme Volunteers are the Threads of Connection. Our volunteers offer countless hours of virtual and face-to-face connections enriching the hospice experience. They are the friendly face at reception; visit at bedside and bake delicious treats at Margaret Bahen Hospice. 

Margaret Bahen Hospice, a residential hospice with 10 suites, provides palliative care support in a home-like environment to York Region residents at the "end of life” through 24/7 nursing care, social work and psychosocial support.

Volunteers offer their listening skills when visiting clients in their homes and assist with programs at Doane House Hospice. Doane House Hospice, a community-based hospice serving north Aurora, Newmarket, Bradford and East Gwillimbury offers non-medical support to individuals diagnosed with a life-limiting illness as they navigate their treatment journey and provides programs to loved ones if they require grief and bereavement supports.

Volunteers also help with gardening, administration, fundraising, community awareness and give in so many ways. As essential members of our team, volunteers enable our hospices to provide the best quality care with dignity, respect and kindness. Services are offered free of charge at both hospices, however we rely on the generosity of the community to make donations to cover our essential costs each year. I encourage others to learn more by visiting our websites: www.doanehospice.org and www.myhospice.ca

With their gift of time and empathy, our volunteers make a meaningful impact every day. Our community is a better place because of their service. We value and offer our heartfelt appreciation to every single volunteer.

Ann Boden
Co-ordinator of Volunteer Services
Margaret Bahen Hospice and Doane House Hospice

Newmarket