Summer 2024 Newsletter
Hello, Summer!
It is difficult to come up with adequate words to describe how much your support means. You are dedicated and focused. You are hardworking and full of innovative ideas. I hope your good work will come back to you many times over. Thank you so much for volunteering with Community Hospice & Palliative Care. Although we celebrate “Volunteer Appreciation Month” in April, we appreciate you and your faithful services year-round!
I am excited to present to you my first Volunteer Newsletter. It contains many wonderful things happening in the Volunteer Services Department for Community Hospice & Palliative Care. If you have a volunteer experience you would like to share, please email your story to your volunteer coordinator. AHowell@communityhospice.com.
Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon!
A big thank you to the 120 volunteers who attended our grand event this year at the UNF Adam Herbert University Center.
Volunteer Stats
Oct-May 2024 FY Stats
Filling over 90% of patient volunteer requests, filling an average of 100 requests monthly.
(a savings of over $850,258.50)
Empower Our Mission
The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care generates philanthropic and community support for patient care services, family needs and community programs.
Community Hospice Volunteer of the Month: Linda Ashley, Honored by the Clay Today Golden Year Gala: Women of the Year
Linda Ashley, pictured in the center with Volunteer Coordinator Victoria Foster, has been a volunteer with Community Hospice & Palliative Care since 2017. As a former social worker, Linda understands the needs that may arise, and she has made herself available night or day. In 2016, she helped coordinate the hospice program at Penney Farms. Having come full circle, she is now a dedicated and loving volunteer for patients and families dealing with end-of-life situations. She is also a Community Educator for Advance Care Planning and Honoring Choices. In Linda’s words, “I have loved every minute of helping patients and families at the most important time of their lives.”
Pet Peace of Mind Corner
PPOM Volunteer of The Year Beth Berry
We are thrilled to announce that Beth Barry has been chosen as Pet Peace of
Mind’s Volunteer of the Year! Community Hospice & Palliative Care joined the Pet Peace of Mind program in 2014, and Beth was already a volunteer at that time. She expressed an interest in PPOM and offered to foster small dogs if needed. The volunteer coordinator took her up on her offer very quickly. In the last ten years, Beth has been an invaluable volunteer. She has become the go-to foster volunteer for small dogs and helped raise funds for patients’ pet medical expenses.
More PPOM News
Pet Fostering involves bringing a cat or dog into your home to nurture them until they can be adopted into a permanent home with a family who will love them forever.
Pet Peace of Mind (PPOM) cats and dogs, like their human family members, have experienced the loss of a loved one. They need a place to stay as they learn to adjust to their new life, and being in a home environment is favorable to living in a kennel. Community Hospice PPOM pets have been to the veterinarian for a complete exam and, in some cases, may have recently been spayed or neutered – if they were not ‘fixed’ before joining the program. Community Hospice & Palliative Care pays for veterinary expenses for these pets, and we will help provide pet food, bowls, etc., if needed. There is no way to guarantee the time a pet will be in your home as a foster, but with your help providing updated photos and personality information, we hope to find them a permanent, loving home quickly.
If you are interested or know of someone interested in one of these pets, please contact Chris Whitney at 904-470-0688 or email her at cwhitney@communityhospice.com.
Click here to check out the pictures of these pets.
A special thanks to our PPOM Sponsors: Clay County Humane Society, Mandarin Animal Hospital, Homemade Hounds Bed and Biscuit of Middleburg, Matanzas River Animal Hospital, Southeast Veterinary Hospital
Healing Waves: Community Sound Bath Fundraiser Benefits Community Hospice & Palliative Care
Julie Montemerlo of
Wise Waves Wellness orchestrated a transcendent experience at the Full Moon Soundbath fundraiser in the serene ambiance of Oceanfront Park in Jacksonville Beach. Attendees were surrounded by the soothing tones of crystal singing bowls and gongs, finding solace and tranquility. This event was a benefit for patients in the care of Community Hospice & Palliative Care.
The success of the fundraiser highlighted the power of collective generosity, as participants found both personal rejuvenation and fulfillment in supporting noble causes. Through the harmonious vibrations of sound healing, attendees not only nourished their own well-being but also extended a compassionate hand to those in need, fostering a spirit of unity and compassion that illuminated the path toward a brighter future for all.
Administrative Notes
Presenting our New – Northside Jacksonville Office
Healing Harmonies
Presenting our New – Northside Jacksonville Office
