The Newmarket community will once again rally together in person to support its two hospices through a Hike 4 Hospice event May 13.
Participants will be hiking at Fairy Lake Park to support Margaret Bahen Hospice and Doane House Hospice. After a long break for virtual events amidst COVID-19 restrictions, the event is returning to in-person this year.
Better Living Health and Community Services fund development manager Camile Garzon said it is exciting for participants to all be able to walk together again.
“We’re extremely happy to be back in person,” she said. “So we can all walk together in honour and memory of our loved ones and our support of hospices.”
More than 140 people will make that hike around Fairy Lake for the annual event, which supports the hospices' programming. Participants have raised about $63,000 for the event as of May 9, with $80,000 set as the goal.
“We’re so thrilled with how things have been going,” Garzon said. “We still have a little bit to go, so we’re hoping that our community can band together and support us in reaching that goal.”
Garzon presented to the council regarding the event May 8. Mayor John Taylor said the town is fortunate to have its hospices.
“There are communities much larger than ours that would like to have a service and facility this well supported,” Taylor said. “It’s very important to the community and has certainly helped many, many families in a very difficult time.”
Although government funding covers things like salaries, the hospices rely on community support for about $750,000 each year, Garzon said, to cover operational costs, programs and things that “make our hospice feel like a home.”
“It is really important that our community comes together to support our hospices, so we can continue providing free-of-charge services,” Garzon said.
You can still sign up to donate, or participate May 13, at hike-for-hospice-2023.raisely.com. The event will go from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
