Volunteers and staff of Milbank Area Valley Hospice Avera@Home have begun the annual Tree of Lights fundraising campaign to help continue the work the organization performs locally. Area residents will receive the donation form as inserts in this week’s Grant County Review and next week’s Valley Shopper. The forms are also available at Milbank Area Hospital Avera.
The Tree of Lights campaign is the only method of fundraising the organization employs. Hospice focuses on the quality of life, not the quantity of life, according to those involved. The funds raised help not only the patients but also the family members.
Hospice is a team of professionals – doctors, nurses, social workers, home health aides – and volunteers who work together to provide medical, spiritual and emotional support to the terminally ill, their families and caregivers. The service is available 24/7 to people with terminal illnesses, who have chosen not to seek treatment or not to continue treatment.
Milbank Area Valley Hospice Avera@Home has been providing care to families in a 35-mile radius from Milbank, including Minnesota, for several years. Hospice care is primarily given in the home but can be provided in a nursing home.
The organization provides equipment, such as hospital beds for in-home use, wheelchairs, medications and other supplies that may be needed. But hospice workers go the extra mile and provide emotional support for the patients and caregivers as well.
This year’s Tree of Lights campaign will provide each donor with a snowflake ornament. The ornaments can be personalized if given in memory of or in honor of an individual.
As in past years, the organization has scheduled a special ceremony at the conclusion of the campaign. The event will honor those served by Hospice and give their families the chance to receive their ornaments. This year, the ceremony is planned for Sunday, January 3, at 2 p.m. in the Milbank Area Hospital Avera chapel, located at 301 Flynn Drive. The public is asked to be forewarned that the ceremony may be canceled because of health and safety concerns surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hospice leadership will make that decision nearer to the event.
The local hospice staff and board of directors wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season and ask each resident to consider a contribution to the organization.
Any questions concerning hospice or the Tree of Lights campaign should be directed to Linsey Allen at the Milbank hospital at 432-3260.
