I amble down the hall at the Sunset Manor,* trying to make eye contact with the wheelchair bound residents lining the walls. Some return my smile. I make my way […]
Reflections on Death with Dignity
When I started working in hospice care, the phrase ‘death with dignity’ meant maintaining respect for the individual who was dying as that person became more and more vulnerable. For […]
Fun Facts About the 2016 Great Cookie Caper
The student councils of three area elementary schools, Alamo, Washington, and Dix Street, provided the holiday cookies and packaged them for delivery. This year 23 volunteer drivers shared their time […]
A Homeless Man Comes Home for Christmas
This is how our Wings Home provided a place for reunion between a homeless man and his family during their last Christmas together. He had called from a hospital in […]
Loveliness Enhanced by Debilitating Disease
The photos near her bed at the skilled nursing facility show her as robust. She was lean with sinewy muscles during her first fifty-five years. Her character was firm, too. […]
Love On A King Size Bed
A family gathers The yard was packed with cars as I pulled into the driveway. A few grand-kids were gathered in a circle out in the yard having a smoke, […]
Fundraising IS a Profession!
Professional Fundraising A friend of mine has been a professional fundraiser for over 30 years. She has worked for many nonprofits raising millions of dollars. When she got her first […]
My Experience as a Volunteer at Wings Home
Giving Back I had often thought because I had been blessed with the wonderful support of Wings of Hope Hospice in the past for both my Dad and Mom in […]
Importance of Memorial Gatherings
As a chaplain, I often encounter well-intentioned people who plan no gathering for family and friends after death occurs. A dying person may say, “Don’t go to any trouble or […]
The Final Voice
Introduction As the generation of people who are faced with decisions for our parents, we are so very many times their final voice. We are a society that plans for […]