Volume 16, No. 3, Summer 2008
No Age Limits Here
You’ve got your Barnstable High School students and your Happy Quilters, age 50s to 80s, all volunteering to make life easier for patients of Beacon Hospice. The quilters are identified, from left, Betty Kasputis, JoAnne Sullivan and Lois Beardsley (back row) and Lotus Bradlau, Pearl Backburn. Karen Robbins (who organized the group in 2000, and Joan Genova.)
By Christina Hamizidis
What generation gap?
When it comes to inspiring and recruiting volunteer organizations to assist in easing the final days of its clients, Beacon Hospice of Hyannis relies tremendously on support from volunteers of all ages.
These volunteers help patients and their families in a number of ways, from companion visits on an ongoing basis, to sitting vigils, assisting with office work and creating items such as blankets, quilts, Afghans, pillows, memory posters and books.
It’s not always easy to find passionate, dedicated volunteers, but they are out there…and age is no barrier.
Take these examples: One group consists of students from Barnstable High School, teenagers all. Another, the Happy Quilters of Eastham United Methodist Church, who range in age from late 50s to the 80s.
The high school students have been volunteering since 2005 making items such as pillows, colorful posters, cards and decorative crafts to bring cheer to hospice patients’ rooms.
The Happy Quilters, formed in 2000 by Church Secretary Karen Robbins, consists of eight dedicated women who have made it possible for Beacon Hospice to provide every new patient with a beautifully crafted quilt.
Despite the significant age difference between these two volunteer groups, they share a common altruistic goal to make life brighter and more comfortable for hospice patients.
Of the many objects made by the students, the pillows have resulted in an extensive hospice patient outreach project bringing comfort to hundreds of patients.
“The pillow project” was created by Judy Nolan, former director of the high school student volunteer program, in response to a hospice request for positioning pillows often used to keep patients supported and comfortable while sleeping, relaxing or sitting. They’re made from soft, cuddly material with a cheerful motif.
Those involved with this project usually supply their own materials for the pillows, but they also have received supportive donations from The Lighthouse Hospice Foundation, Inc., an autonomous, nonprofit corporation committed to the support and development of end-of-life services provided by Medicare-certified hospice organizations in New England.
The Happy Quilters, who meet weekly, sew lap quilts and knit Afghans not only for Beacon Hospice, but for The Baby Center and their home church. This group of dedicated women has put in close to 5,000 volunteer hours for Beacon Hospice alone and provides about 12 handmade quilts to the Hyannis office every month.
The gifts are greatly appreciated. As Cindy Robotham, Volunteer Coordinator at Beacon Hospice’s Hyannis office, puts it, “Both groups’ incredible gifts have resulted in such a special outreach of warmth and comfort to those nearing the end of their lives.”
Those interested in becoming a volunteer for Beacon Hospice, may contact Ms. Robotham at 508-778-1622.
(Ms. Hamizidis is Clinical Services Manager of Beacon Hospice in Hyannis, 508-778-1622.