NEWSFEED
CEO Message: November 2024
Pictured: CEO & President Erin White at the End Well conference
“The prelude to compassion is the willingness to see.”
— Dr. Sunita Puri, Palliative Care Physician
Dear Friends,
As I board a plane back to Monterey after attending the annual conference with End Well, an organization dedicated to advancing the national conversation about end of life, I reflect on where I was a year ago. I was at the National Philanthropy Day luncheon at Pebble Beach, watching former Hospice Giving Foundation CEO, and my predecessor, Siobhan Greene, accept the Foundation of the Year award. During her remarks, she shared how the topic of her work often clears out the circle around her at cocktail parties. Then she said, “But there is always one who stays.”
I was deeply moved by this, as I have always been struck by the “double pain” we experience—and observe—in grief, death, and dying. The first pain is the loss. The second is the alienation, the solitude we often face as we cope with it. People don’t know what to say, the topic feels too painful to discuss, and there’s an unspoken expectation to “move on” after a while.
But what Siobhan was really saying is that Hospice Giving Foundation will stay. We will see you—whether you are approaching the end of your own life, caring for a loved one who is, or witnessing the end-of-life journey as a healthcare provider. We see you, and we aren’t going away.
Being seen is especially important during the holiday season, when the world seems filled with twinkling lights and carols, yet some of us are still stunned by the absence of an empty seat at Thanksgiving, or the traditions that will never be the same. We see you.
Last month, we launched our annual series of events to help our community honor and remember their loved ones. In early November, we hosted the 4th annual Día de los Muertos celebration in partnership with Hartnell College and Hijos del Sol. We also held “Grief during the Holidays” workshops, both in English and Spanish, and are now preparing for our annual Tree of Life Ceremony on Sunday, December 8th at Portola Hotel and Spa at Monterey Bay. We are so grateful for your participation in these traditions, and for extending your own remembrances and well-wishes to those who have experienced loss this year. We invite you to join us on December 8th to light a candle for the person or people you are remembering this holiday season.
Like Siobhan, I, too, have begun to understand what it means to work in this field—to be the one who “stays.” Whether in airports, at cocktail parties, or on the sidelines of youth sports events, there is always one who stays. There is always someone with a story about how hospice impacted their life—about loss, about alienating grief, and about the profound gratitude for the people who walked that journey with them. It’s a great privilege to serve not only the palliative care teams, hospice nurses, social workers, volunteers, grief counselors, and chaplains who walk alongside families every day, but also the families and community members who rely on this support. In supporting Hospice Giving Foundation, you, too, are part of that journey. Thank you for your enduring and compassionate partnership.
Wishing you all a meaningful and peaceful Thanksgiving.
Warmly,
Erin White
President & CEO
P.S. We are deeply humbled by the outpouring of support for The Siobhan Greene Care and Dignity Fund through our MCGives! campaign. If it works for you and your family this holiday season, we welcome your generous donation here.
