CEO Message: October 2018

Dear Friends,

We recently held our annual fundraiser at MPCC. It was a wonderful two-day event with an evening Party and auction followed by a stellar day of golf. People joined us to celebrate the Foundation’s impact on our community.

As I looked around the room that night, I was struck by the philanthropic people that generously support so many causes in our community. All of us at Hospice Giving Foundation realize this community is remarkable because of that kind of generosity. Giving mirrors our beliefs, values, and what resonates in our hearts. We are deeply honored by those of you who include Hospice Giving Foundation in your philanthropic priorities.

Often, I hear people say that they began supporting HG Foundation after they experienced a loss of a loved one. At that time, they realized how very important excellent care was to the person they loved. At HG Foundation we are incredibly proud to fund agencies in our community that provide exceptional clinical care as well as nurturing support for the patient and their families. This September we awarded $761,000 to a dozen local agencies providing care along the complex continuum of end-of-life services. Please visit our Initiatives page for the complete list. We want to thank all of them for taking such good care of patients and families in our community. This year HG Foundation also sent three clinicians to an intensive Palliative Care training program at Harvard Medical School. Your generosity makes this possible.

These days I also am heartened to learn that more people support HG Foundation before a loss because they understand that this issue is universal and deeply personal.

Each of us will take this journey. Each of us want the people we love, those we work with, or our friends, to experience a peaceful and dignified end of life. Having conversations with your family to plan and prepare is a powerful gift. It allows expression of wishes, desire, and dreams. It allows others to honor you. This intimate and personal issue is the heart of Hospice Giving Foundation; it’s our reason for being. Our Foundation’s values are rooted in ‘Compassion and Dignity’ at end of life. Of late I’ve found myself taking out the word ‘at end’. Our values, which are deeply held and guide us in our work, are really for ‘Compassion and Dignity’ all through one’s life including the time when someone is no longer with us in this physical world. The event I referenced was a celebration of our other values: Hope and Grace. Grace is the amalgamation of acceptance, tolerance, and patience. Hope is what we all want — to know our wishes will be honored, that we will be treated kindly, respectfully, and with the best care possible. Hope and Grace bring about healing. Hospice Giving Foundation is your advocate for these values in our community.

It’s Fall, and we know the holidays are around the corner. When you gather with friends and family to celebrate, I encourage you to take a moment to think about the person you loved who is no longer with you and to raise a glass in their honor.

Wishing you all hope and grace,

Siobhan Greene
President/CEO