McLaren Northern Michigan Hospice Newsletter Winter 2022

Friends

Our Mission: To receive and administer funds to support the mission of McLaren Northern Michigan and support programs that enhance the well-being of the community.

O F T H E F O U N D AT I O N HOSPICE EDITION

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Letter from Leadership

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Volunteers Bring Joy

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Donors Provide Holiday Meals

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A Lasting Commitment

W INTER 2022

You Give Comfort

Your support of McLaren Home Care & Hospice provides comfort and peace for those facing end of life. Patients and their families are grateful for you and the many ways you, volunteers, and the community give back to bring them comfort.

Thank You for Helping Hospice Patients

Why We Need Your Help The financial cost of providing patients with the comfort and care they deserve across our service area can be intimidating. An overnight stay at one of our hospice houses is $164. We need help from donors like you to cover the costs of maintaining our services for patients who come to us in need.

Your gifts allow us to provide for patients in need!

Here’s how you can help today: • Give $164 to pay for the cost of an overnight stay for one patient • Give a monthly recurring gift to cover patient care costs

Dear Friends, The focus of McLaren Home Care and Hospice is to support the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their family members through the end of life. It is through your generous gifts that the McLaren hospice program is able to provide this support for patients and their loved ones.

Included in this newsletter are examples of the various acts of kindness from donors and volunteers that have brought joy and comfort to patients, their families, and hospice staff during the 2021 holidays. See how these acts have a positive impact on the recipients as well as the benefactors and volunteers.

Looking to the year ahead, we hope you will consider making a gift to support the McLaren Hospice team and their commitment to providing the dignity, comfort, and care patients and their families deserve.

• Give a one-time gift of any amount • Plan a future gift in your will or estate plan All gifts stay here in northern Michigan and go to support McLaren Northern Michigan hospice patients.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and share our stories with your friends and family to encourage them to give back as well!

Julie Jarema

Elise Fisher

Vice President, Chief Philanthropy Officer McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation

Board Chair McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation

Families Are Grateful

360 Connable Avenue Petoskey, MI 49770 231-487-3500 Friends of the Foundation Newsletter: Hospice Edition is a publication of the McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation and is produced three times a year for contributors to Hospice. Find out more about our work by visiting mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation.

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end-of-life “Hospice caregivers not only helped my mother-in-law with her ion care, they helped my entire family. They treated us with compass th us and kindness. They helped us navigate the process by talking wi tions about everything that was happening. They answered all our ques . and made sure we knew what to expect every step of the way We were blessed to have them those last couple of weeks.”

- Hospice Family

mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation | 231-487-3500

Volunteers

Bring Joy

Profile: The Petoskey Ukele Players Kathy Brady, a retired hospice nurse, was excited to hear the Hiland Cottage Hospice House was looking for carolers to bring cheer to patients and their families. She thought this would be a great volunteer opportunity for The Petoskey Ukele Players, a group of four ukele players to which she belonged.

The Petoskey Ukele Players developed a play list that would uplift and comfort patients. They were delighted to also be able to take requests from patients for their favorite holiday jingles.

Being able to play some of the residents’ favorite holiday songs brought joy to both the players and patients.

The group members remarked on how meaningful it was to provide entertainment and joy to patients, their families, and

Members of The Petoskey Ukele Players play holiday tunes for a patient at Hiland Cottage.

hospice staff during the holiday season.

Kathy, as a former hospice nurse, knows how difficult it is for hospice patients and their families especially during the holidays.

“It was wonderful seeing good things going on at Hiland Cottage. It felt good to be able to bring joy!” said Kathy.

Volunteers Bring Comfort Over the last six months, sewing volunteers have brought comfort to eleven McLaren Cheboygan Hospice resident families by creating Remembrance Teddy Bears made from residents’ favorite article of clothing or from materials purchased with donations from generous donors like you.

Volunteers make a huge difference in the quality of life at Hospice. They bring joy and comfort to the residents, family, and staff by giving of themselves.

If interested in becoming a hospice volunteer, please contact Stormy Dickinson at 231-445-2380 (Petoskey) or Logann Poley at 231-627-2031 ext. 2139 (Cheboygan).

Scan the QR code below to make a donation that benefits local patients.

mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation | 231-487-3500

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Grateful Donors Provide Holiday Meals Holidays can be difficult for patients in hospice care.

Some traditions may seem impossible to maintain, including sharing a holiday meal with family and friends.

Recently, however, through the generosity of donors, hospice patients and their families were able to enjoy hot holiday meals for both Thanksgiving and Christmas at Hiland Cottage.

Thanksgiving dinner was provided by funds from multiple donors, and Christmas dinner was generously provided by an anonymous donor. Thank you to Bob Evans and Stafford’s Bay View Inn for preparing these meals.

“We hope this meal provides you a bit of holiday comfort and joy during this difficult time. Please know there are people thinking of you this Christmas and praying for your family and loved ones spending this time of year at Hiland Cottage.”

– Anonymous donor

"Thank you for the generous donation to our residents and staff!

We appreciate the kindness."

HILAND COTTAGE STAFF

A Lasting Commitment to Northern Michigan In 1991, Marvin and Betty Blandford established a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) and named multiple local nonprofits as beneficiaries, including McLaren Northern Home Care and Hospice (formerly known as Hospice of Little Traverse Bay).

After Marvin passed away, Betty moved to Florida full time but their commitment to this region never wavered. On a frosty morning this past fall, Betty and Marvin’s son, David, and his wife Debbie, made a special trip to visit the nonprofits named in his parents’ estate and hand deliver the proceeds from the trust established 30 years prior.

“Charitable bequests like this help to ensure hospice services are available for neighbors,

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friends and family needing endof-life support now and in the future,” said Julie Jarema, Chief Philanthropy Officer. “We are grateful to Marvin and Betty for their generous commitment to our patients and their family members.” A second gift, designated for oncology, was also presented to McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation at the time of the visit and will be used for future oncology related needs.

Legacy giving is a great way to help secure the future of offering quality end-of-life care, at no cost, to residents of northern Michigan.

Simple arrangements can be made in a will or trust, or with a gift of life insurance or retirement assets. For more information

mclaren.org/NorthernMichiganFoundation | 231-487-3500

Dave and Debbie Blandford, pictured with Jennifer Yelovina, Philanthropy Officer, Planned Giving

about supporting hospice services with a future gift or, if you’ve already made arrangements to do so, please call 231-487-3500.