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#GivingTuesday, a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration, is celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and the widely recognized shopping events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We encourage you to join in kicking off the charitable season by thoughtfully considering a year-end gift to Hospice Savannah.
Bereavement counselor Betsy Kammerud knows that losing a loved one is almost unbearable, but for a child, the trauma of losing a loved one - especially to gun violence - can be even more than we, as adults, can imagine: "We can't stop gun violence, but we can give children a brighter future. With your help, Hospice Savannah's
Full Circle Grief and Loss Center
is here to provide counseling to all the children - and adults, too - who need it."
Donate here
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Tree of Light is this Sunday
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Take a breath, slow down, and pause to remember your loved ones this holiday season by attending our 26th annual Tree of Light candle lighting and memorial gathering on Sunday evening. We will gather on the outdoor patio of the Demere Center for Living, 6000 Business Center Drive at 5:15 p.m. Full details are
available here.
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Sarah Breyfogle - our Healthcare Hero
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Hospice Savannah offers the only
hospice music therapy program in our area, and Sara is one of few practicing board certified music therapists in Savannah. We are grateful for community donations and grant support which allow us to fund this important therapy and we appreciate that Georgia Medical Society's recognition of the ground-breaking and important work Sara performs each day. She was recently honored as a Healthcare Hero in the Allied Health Professional category. Read Sarah's
full nomination here.
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Thankful for our volunteers!
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Our volunteers are the heart of Hospice Savannah! During National Hospice and Palliative Care Month we acknowledge and thank them for their dedication to our mission, and fittingly, this year's celebration had a Thanksgiving theme.
Pictured standing, left to right are Ginny Donaldson, Eileen Bailey, Marcia Berens, Sarah Brown, Nancy Berulis, Laney Pollock, Faye Allen, Johanne Stauffiger, Judy Saucerman, Rick Shay, Rachel Toraya, and Mary Jane Weeks. Sitting, left to right, are Carrie Johnson, Joyce Kilcrease, Betty Wright, and Pam Harris.
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Help for weary caregivers
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November national poll by the University of Michigan gives a glimpse into the lives of the spouses, grown children and other family members and friends who act as caregivers for up to five million Americans with dementia. "They don't get pay, recognition, or much of a break. They spend hours a day helping someone who may not even recognize them anymore."
Read the full report here and consider reaching out to our Edel Caregiver Institute for practical help to relieve the strain of providing such care. Our next class on "Understanding a Dementia Diagnosis" is from 10 to noon on Wednesday, December 6. Reach Tonya or Jill at 912.629.1331 to find out more.
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Memorial Service for Anne Stewart is Friday
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What a debt of gratitude our community owes to the visionary Anne Stewart who chose to explore the unique and cutting-edge healthcare delivery program known as "hospice" in the late 1970's. Truly it was an extraordinary grassroots effort by committed pioneers from the United Way and the Georgia Medical Society who worked together to establish Hospice Savannah as a community hospice in 1979.
Anne, who retired following the opening of Hospice House (above) in 1992, died last month under hospice care in Atlanta. She was our first board chair and subsequently became our first Executive Director. Join her daughters as we remember and honor her at a brief memorial service at 3:00 p.m. this Friday in the community education room of her beloved Hospice House.
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Tree of Love at Savannah's Oglethorpe Mall
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Oglethorpe Mall's holiday tree will again be festooned with white doves to commemorate the loved ones of shoppers! Stop by to hang a dove, or consider volunteering for a two-hour shift during peak shopping hours.
To sign up for a two-hour shift and receive your simple instructions, please call Ophelia in our Foundation at 912.629.1027. Ophelia promises this will be a very rewarding volunteer experience.
Pictured above are bereavement counselor Betsy Kammerud and VP Jamey Espina. Tune into WRUU 107.5 FM Savannah this morning at 8:00 a.m. as Jamey explains about the help Hospice Savannah offers through our many programs.
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