Coastal Hospice encourages you to honor a loved one this holiday season through its Angel Appeal
Photography by Grant L Gursky
Each year, Coastal Hospice encourages its Lower Shore neighbors to be “angels” by including the organization in their holiday giving, through the Angel Appeal campaign. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, angel ornaments are hung on Coastal Hospice Christmas trees displayed across the region, and each is personalized with the name of someone a donor wants to honor or memorialize.
Donor Kathleen Abercrombie participates in Angel Appeal because of a strong personal connection.
“For many years, I had a general awareness of the services Coastal Hospice provided our community, but it was not until a family member needed care that I truly understood the scope of what Hospice provides, not only for the patient but for the family as a whole,” said Abercrombie. “My husband’s lovely grandmother, Joanna Cato, was blessed to spend her final days at Coastal Hospice at the Lake. Her birthday, November 28, always coincides with the annual Angel Appeal and is a wonderful opportunity to both remember her and help others to receive the care and support we did in 2008.”
“It is fitting that we take this moment to bring attention to those within the hospice and palliative care community who have worked relentlessly throughout this pandemic. That is one of the many reasons that makes this campaign so special. Those angels represent the love of those they have lost and those who have made a difference in each donor’s life. As we watch those trees fill, it fills us with joy and buoys the spirit of the community, which is a gift in its own way.”
Angel Appeal helps support vital Coastal Hospice programs, such as offsetting room-and-board costs at Macky & Pam Stansell House and Coastal Hospice at the Lake, and sustaining the organization’s yearlong Bereavement Program.
“Canceled fundraisers and higher-than-usual census numbers have made this Angel Appeal even more critical,” said Tammy Patrick, director of advancement for Coastal Hospice. “While the medical care we provide is covered by Medicare and insurance, there are gaps, especially for low-income and indigent patients. Our annual Angel Appeal delivers crucial financial support.”
Donations may be made a number of ways. Those on the Coastal Hospice mailing list will receive a package by mail that will include the commemorative angel ornament, shown here. The donor can add the name of their loved one and return it in the envelope provided.
Those who do not receive the mailing can call the office, and one will be sent. Or donations can be made through the Coastal Hospice website (coastalhospice.org/angel) or via the new texting program (text “ANGEL” to 345-345). Using any of these methods, the donor can provide the name of their angel, and Coastal Hospice will write it on the ornament, or the ornament can be sent so that it can be written in person by the donor and then returned.
Then, from November 30 to December 31, WMDT’s Good Morning Delmarva will share the names of some of the angels, a segment many honorees, donors, family and friends look forward to.
Angel Appeal launches during National Hospice and Palliative Care Month in November, which recognizes the tremendous efforts made by caregivers during COVID-19.
“It is fitting that we take this moment to bring attention to those within the hospice and palliative care community who have worked relentlessly throughout this pandemic,” said Alane Capen, president of Coastal Hospice. “That is one of the many reasons that makes this campaign so special. Those angels represent the love of those they have lost and those who have made a difference in each donor’s life. As we watch those trees fill, it fills us with joy and buoys the spirit of the community, which is a gift in its own way.”
Learn more by visiting CoastalHospice.org/Angel or by calling 410-742-8732.