May 2012 - HURON HOSPICE VOLUNTEER SERVICE

The Newsletter of Huron Hospice Volunteer Service
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May 6th, 2012
VOLUME 6
ISSUE 1
AGM - 2011………….......PAGE 2 - 3
The Top Five Regrets of the
Dying…………….…………..PAGE 3
Joan Stewart…………………PAGE 4
Tuesdays with Morrie……PAGE 4 - 5
Jennifer Mills………………..PAGE 6
Volunteers…………………...PAGE 6
United Way report…………...PAGE 7
Ex. Director’s report………...PAGE 8
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
OCTOBER 20th, 2011
Celebrating fifteen years of working in the
community and ‘caring in a special way.’
HURON HOSPICE VOLUNTEER SERVICE
welcomes you to
HIKE FOR HOSPICE 2012
SUNDAY, MAY 6TH
OPTIMIST PARK SEAFORTH, ONTARIO
-2-
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
15th ANNIVERSARY - OCTOBER 20th, 2011
Shirley and Kathy cut the cake.
L-R Lucy Martin, Mary Catherine Lane, Yvonne Kitchen, Cathy Semple.
Bob Simpson and Janis Bisback share a laugh.
L-R Bob Dinsmore, Norma Kahn, Sandra Lee, Cathy Harkes and Dianne
Kuntz receive the Hero in the Home Award presented by CCAC.
L-R
Cathy
Harkes,
Lucy
Martin,
Joan
Chesney
and
Kathy
Adams
receive the
Ontario
Service
Award.
L-R Shirley Dinsmore, Mary Catherine Lane
and Yvonne Kitchen.
‘The Top Five Regrets of the Dying - A Life Transformed by the
Dearly Departing’ Memoir by Australian Palliative Care Provider, Bronnie Ware.
Bronnie Ware, a palliative care provider from Australia, has written a
memoir about her experiences caring for her dying patients. Ms.
Ware was interviewed by Wei Chen
on CBC Radio One’s Ontario
Morning programme on April 24th,
2012. Wei asked Bronnie about her
personal journey. Bronnie began
her career in the banking industry
but realized that this was not fulfilling to her. She became a live in
companion for a person who soon
needed palliative care. Ms. Ware
noted that this work comes from the
heart and not just the intellect. Her
relationships with her companions
were very important and made her
want to continue with this work.
She noted that as a care provider
when you put effort into your patient you will always get that much
and more back. She described her
work in palliative care as full of a
lot of emotion and anguish but also
transformational. She feels greatly
blessed by her experiences. Ms.
Ware learned about many regrets of
the dying, the top five of which are:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to
myself, not the life oth-
2.
3.
4.
5.
-3-
ers expected of me.
I wish I didn’t work so
hard.
I wish I had the courage
to express my feelings.
I wish I had stayed in
touch with my friends.
I wish I had let myself be
happier.
Ms. Ware noted that fear often
keeps people from living the life
they could live. She wants people
to learn some important life lessons
from the dying. JR
‘Bronnie Ware’ can be searched on the internet; her official website is www.bronnieware.com;
her blog is www.inspirationandchai.com
Lucy Martin (l) and Sandra Lee.
Yvonne Kitchen thanks former Board Chairperson, Janis Bisback for her years of volunteerism
on the HHVS Board.
Vice Chair, Dianne Beach, thanks
the Guest Speaker, Katrina Bos.
L-R Cathy Harkes and Guest Speaker,
Katrina Bos renew an old friendship.
-4-
THANK-YOU SPONSORS
For your support of this wonderful fundraiser,
‘Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie’.
SPONSORS
of ‘Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays
with Morrie’ fundraising
event held March 31st:
Finchers Ltd.
Tom Fincher
16 Courthouse Square,
Goderich, ON N7A 1M3
MicroAge Basics
Maureen Peet
223 Huron Road
Goderich, ON N7A 2Z8
JUNE CALLWOOD
CIRCLE OF OUTSTANDING
HOSPICE VOLUNTEERS
AWARD RECIPIENT
The June
Callwood
Awards acknowledge
outstanding
Hospice
Volunteers
from across
Ontario.
The award
was established and
named in
honour
of
Award Recipient, Joan
Stewart; volunteer
the late June
since 1995.
Callwood in
1994 in recognition of her long-term advocacy
for Hospice. Ms. Callwood was
Patron of the Award from 1994
until her death and considered the
Award Ceremony a high point of
each year.
Joan Stewart, a long-standing volunteer with Huron Hospice Volunteer Service, is a recipient of this
prestigious award for 2012.
Joan has been an active, hard
working volunteer with HHVS
since 1995, especially in the area
of bereavement. She has supported
many Grief Recovery and Rainbows participants work through
their grief. She is very compassionate, caring, an excellent listener and is a huge advocate for
hospice work. Her gifts of wisdom, humour, dedication and presence have been a blessing to our
team at Huron Hospice. KP
To realize the value…
To realize the value of a sister or brother, ask someone who doesn’t have one.
To realize the value of ten years, ask a newly divorced couple.
To realize the value of four years, ask a graduate.
To realize the value of one year, ask a student who has failed a final exam.
To realize the value of nine months, ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.
To realize the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a
premature baby.
To realize the value of one minute, ask a person who has missed a train, bus or
plane.
To realize the value of one second, ask a person
who has survived an accident.
To realize the value of a loved one, lose one.
Time waits for no one.
Treasure every moment you have. And love.
Contributed by Yvonne Kitchen.
Vodden, Bender & Seebach
LLP, Chartered Accountants
Paul Seebach
41 Ontario Street
Clinton, ON N0M 1L0
Park House
Herb and Sherry Marshall
168 West Street
Goderich, ON N7A 2K9
Hyundai of Goderich
Scott Fletcher
619 Bayfield Road,
Goderich, ON N7A 4C7
Howson & Howson Ltd.
Bruce Howson
P.O. Box 390
Blyth, Ontario N0M 1H0
Falconer Funeral Home
Michael S. Falconer
153 High Street
Clinton, ON N0M 1L0
Tiffin Funeral Home Inc.
Stephen Tiffin
4 Clinton Street South,
Teeswater, ON N0G 2S0
Schimanski Family Funeral
Home
Mr. Schimanski
401 Albert Street
Brussels, ON N0G 1H0
‘Mitch Albom’s
Tuesdays with Morrie’
-5-
Larry and Betty Burns of Brucefield
attend the evening performance.
Tim Bourgard speaks with Janis and
Peter Bisback post-performance.
Above (L-R) Peter Bisback, Janis Bisback, Bob
Simpson and Theresa Abell-Rinn attend
‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ in Blyth March 31;
below Kay Mailloux and Shirley Dinsmore
share a laugh.
HHVS Executive Director, Shirley Dinsmore poses for a photograph with Ray Wiersma
(l), who played Mitch, and Tim Bourgard, who played Morrie in the Primordial Soup
Theatre presentation of ‘Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie’, at the Blyth Memorial
Hall on March 31st. This was a fundraiser for both Alexandra Marine & General Hospital Foundation and Huron Hospice Volunteer Service.
Kathy Procter sells beautiful fabric angels..
In Memory of My Dog.
‘Live like somebody left the
gate open.’ JR
L-R Ray Wiersma, ’Mitch’,
Debra Chanter, Producer and Tim
Bourgard, ‘Morrie’ take questions
from the audience after their final
performance.
Advance Care Planning Day
A PRAYER OF FAITH
O God!
by Kathy Procter
Have
mercy,
I pray!
Advance Care Planning Day was held on
Deliver
me
from
the
onslaught
of these fears
April 16th, 2012. National Advance Care
These dark imaginings,
Planning Day is a day for you and others
These dreadful possibilities that are only that
to reflect on decisions you wish made at
Possibilities - NOT facts.
the end of life. This is a time to begin a
They roll over me like the waves of the sea,
conversation with your loved ones regardAnd fill me with despair.
ing your wishes for your end-of-life care.
Help me to realize that the voice that
Whispers them in my mind
Advance Care Planning is a process of
Is neither mine - nor Yours.
reflecting and communicating your values
Help me instead to turn my thoughts to You and wishes and to let others know your
To remember Your precious promises
future health and personal care wishes in
Given so often and so clearly in Your Word the event that you become incapable of
To comfort and sustain,
consenting to or refusing treatment for
To defend and protect,
yourself.
To fight for those who put their trust in You.
We encourage you to have discussions
Help me to go over them, Lord,
with your family and friends, especially
The ones You have given me,
Word by word,
your Substitute Decision Maker - the perPromise
by promise,
son who will speak on your behalf when
Step by faltering step,
you are not able to. You may wish to
Until I reach Your peace write down wishes after consulting your
Until I am enfolded by the Comforter health care providers, legal and financial
Until I am safe in the light of Your love advisors.
And I can truly speak the prayer
This is a courteous piece of work to do in
That never fails the event you are not able to speak for
“Thy will be done.”
yourself. Your family will thank you. If
Thank you, O Lord, my God,
your family has to make tough decisions
For Your sustaining love and grace.
for you and if you have not had these conAmen.
versations, then the family members could
experience a lot of guilt and turmoil.
HELEN ELIZABETH (MILLER) GOLDSMITH
Spare them this pain and anguish!
August 23rd, 1945 - October 16th, 2010
New Board
Member,
Jennifer Mills.
Jennifer has been in the
social services field for
the past thirty-five
years. Presently, she is
a part-time Health Care
Consultant
and a fulltime Quality of Life
Enthusiast. As
well as
working
with Long
Term Care
agencies,
Jennifer’s
work also
includes helping to
meet the needs of persons undergoing lifestyle changes, such as
seniors downsizing and
moving from their
homes. Jennifer assists
people experiencing
lifestyle changes by
helping with living
accommodation decisions, care advocacy
and selling of personal
items.
Jennifer’s interest in
Hospice began after
the sudden loss of a
beloved resident of a
home she managed.
This loss
led Jennifer to her
introduction to
grief counselor Dr.
Bill Webster’s services and
courses
and to
joining the
Huron Hospice Board.
A longtime resident of
Huron County, Jennifer lives on a small
hobby farm just outside of Seaforth, Ontario and is always up
for a cup of tea, a chat
and a good laugh.
Helen Goldsmith was a wife, mother, grandmother and an elementary school teacher.
She died aged 65 ‘after a courageous battle with
cancer.’
London Free Press, October, 2010
VOLUNTEER TRAINING
By Kathy Procter
HHVS is currently hosting a volunteer
training - an accredited 30 hours of introduction, self examination and stretching
one’s beliefs in order to be prepared to volunteer for Hospice. We hope to include 12
new volunteers to our roster by the end of
May. I always enjoy attending these classes
- learning new things, meeting new people
and building stronger relationships in the
community.
Huron Hospice wants to sincerely express
our gratitude to the presenters who gave of
their time, energy and expertise in teaching
the modules - Shiela Hallahan, Jeff Hawkins, Peggie Kinsman, Elwin Garland,
Susan Quereshi, Amber Riehl, Shirley
Dinsmore and Don and Kathy Procter.
We also want to welcome those new volunteers into our team of volunteers. I look
forward to learning more from you and getting to know you better. I have confidence
Movie Review
Monsieur Lazhar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2011 Canadian drama
Directed by Philippe Falardeau
The film was nominated for the
Oscar for Best Foreign Language
Film at the 84th Academy Awards.
Plot - In Montreal, an elementary
school teacher kills herself. Bachir
Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant, is
quickly hired to replace her though
he is still recovering from a personal tragedy of his own. He gets
to know his students despite the
cultural gap evident from the very
first day of class and despite his
difficulty adapting to the school
system’s constraints. As the students try to move on from their
former teacher’s suicide, nobody
at the school is aware of Bachir’s
painful past, or his precarious
status as a refugee.
Review - By Joanne Rowcliffe
This is a quiet little film which I
thoroughly enjoyed. Mohamed
Said Fellag who plays Bachir Lazhar was beautiful to watch. There
is no Hollywood glitz here - just a
very tender, believable story of
people dealing with grief. The
movie ends leaving us wanting
more. Do not be put off by the
English subtitles. This is an exceptionally fine film and one that
is especially appropriate for those
people working in the field of
Grief Recovery. I would highly
recommend it. JR
that your compassion will shine in the
work of Hospice.
And, a note about our ‘seasoned’ volunteers - you have been incredible. I know
that many of you have been very busy
with serving clients lately. This winter
seemed to keep us very busy caring for
those with a life-limiting illness. Without your dedication, a lot of people
would have been alone.
A BIG Thank-You! KP
‘MOST EVER’ MONEY
RAISED BY UNITED WAY of
HURON-PERTH
Over six hundred volunteers worked to bring the 2011
United Way Campaign for Huron-Perth to an outstanding conclusion. At the Celebration of Achievement dinner last February awards were handed out to
recognize both the hard working volunteers and major
supporters. The Gold Corporate Award, with donations between $10,000 and $24,999 went to the City of
Stratford, Cooper-Standard Automotive and Henrickson Canada. The Platinum Award for most Employee
Participation (with an average of $52 per donation)
went to Huron Hospice, Huron Safe Home for Youth,
Partners in Employment, The Co-operators, St. James
School, St. Marys Youth Centre, Scotiabank, United
Way of Perth Huron and Zurich Public School.
Spirit Awards went to Debbie Cuthbert of FIO, Alison
Dmytryshyn-Daniels of Brokerlink, John Miller of
Sifto Salt and Kathy Sayeau of Steelcraft.
Volunteer Awards went to Sue Donaney, Stephanie
Huitema, Jessica Keho and Carol Purkis.
VON Palliative Care
After a final effort with an ‘$11 in the 11th Hour’
event the $100,000 shortfall had been reduced to
$6,900 bringing the campaign to $1,045,184. However, with an additional amount of $193,976 having
been raised specifically for Goderich Tornado Relief,
this is the most money ever raised by the United Way
in Perth-Huron at $1,239,160.
But, the story was NOT over as three local anonymous
donors took the Huron-Perth United Way 2011 campaign over the top shortly after it had officially ended.
The generosity of the three donors was appreciated by
the Campaign Manager, Lesley Spencer-Cooper who
noted, “Just when you think people have given all they
can, they find a way to give more. I know how important these dollars are to our agencies and programs...every new dollar will get passed along and
used where needed most. Thank-you to all who made
our 2011 Campaign a success!”
From Stratford Beacon Herald, Article by Laura Cudworth, Thursday,
March 1st, 2012 and Huron Expositor Wed. March 21st, 2012.
20th Anniversary
Help VON Palliative Care celebrate its’
20th anniversary.
Enjoy a FREE concert with
JUBAL’S DAUGHTERS
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
7 - 9 p.m.
Trivitt Memorial Anglican Church
Exeter, Ontario
Angels of Hope $5
Beautiful Battenberg angels - a lovely gift for
someone who is struggling.
Available at Finchers in Goderich, Maple and Moose in
Blyth, Pete’s Paper Clip in Seaforth
From My Cluttered Desk
Shirley Dinsmore, Executive Director
The Newsletter of the Huron
Hospice Volunteer Service
24 Centennial Drive, P.O. Box 99,
Seaforth, Ontario N0K 1W0
Seaforth 519-527-0655
Fax 519-527-2665
Wingham 519-357-2720
Email: infohospice@tcc.on.ca
Website: www.huronhospice.ca
STAFF
Shirley Dinsmore, Ex. Director
Kathy Procter, Manager of
Volunteers and Programs
Joyce Lee, Office Secretary
ADVISORY BOARD
Stephen Hildebrand, Spiritual Advisor
Dr. Caroline Shepherd, Medical Advisor
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Executive
Kay Mailloux, Chairperson
Dianne Beach, Vice Chairperson
Cathy Semple, Treasurer
Jackie Dickson, Board Secretary
Board Members
Wayne West, Theresa Abell-Rinn,
Sheila Hallahan, Jennifer Mills.
*****
This is a busy time for Hospice as
we spend many working hours trying
to keep up with the new directions
Hospice is taking. Although there are
many administrative challenges, we
continue to increase then number of
individuals and their families and
friends throughout the County of
Huron. We continue to offer our bereavement programs around the county
to help ensure all those who need the
services can access them. One of our
programs I am very passionate about is
our bereavement program for grieving
children called “RAINBOWS’. We
believe that children and youth deserve
supporting, loving listeners as they
struggle with their feelings.
When a change takes place in the
family, whether it is death divorce,
separation or abandonment, it has a
profound effect on all members in a
family. Grieving is a natural process
which evolves from an emotional loss.
If it isn’t facilitated at the appropriate
time, it may be repressed or become
chronic. When grief does not have an
opportunity be resolved, its impact can
be destructive.
Adults grieve in their own way, at
their own pace, and children do so as
well. When a family member dies,
children react differently than adults.
Parents need to be aware of normal
childhood
response
to a
death in
the family, as
well as
signs when a child is having difficulty
coping with grief. It is normal during
the weeks following a loss for some
children to feel immediate grief or persist in the belief that the family member is still alive. However, long term
denial of the death or avoidance of
grief can be emotionally unhealthy and
can later lead to more severe problems.
At one time we thought that children reacted to losing a loved one the
same way as an adult would. Now we
know that is not what happens. Childhood bereavement varies according to
the child’s age and personality.
Rainbows builds the confidence and
self-esteem of hurting children; improves communications; prevents destructive behaviours and improves
school performance regardless of the
loss they have experienced.
For more information regarding our
bereavement services for children and
youth please contact the HHVS office.
SD
Joanne Rowcliffe, Newsletter editor Message from our Chairperson, Kay Mailloux
Here we are once again at the Canadian
Annual Hike for Hospice. Our Hike this
year will be, for the first time, in Seaforth
at the Optimist Park. This is the first time
the location of the Hike has been moved
from Goderich. If successful, then consideration would be given to moving the hike
to a different location in the county each
year. HHVS is very grateful to the Optimist Club of Seaforth for giving us the use
of their facilities for this event.
This past March 31st, along with Alexandra Marine & General Hospital Foundation in Goderich, HHVS held a special
fundraising theatrical event at Blyth Memorial Community Hall. Primorial Soup
Theatre presented “Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie.” Even though the attendance was not as large as we had hoped,
the audience enjoyed the show and appreciated the actors (Tim Bourgard and Ray
Wiersma) participating in a Q&A session
at the end of the performance. I would like
to thank Shirley Dinsmore and Kathy Procter for the time and effort they have put
into this fundraiser.
In the past year we have had some
changes to our Board; most recently
Joanne Rowcliffe has resigned but agreed
to work on another newsletter (We are
grateful!). We also welcome our newest
Board members, Sheila Hallahan from
Blyth and Wayne West who recently
moved to Seaforth. Our volunteers are
really special and this year we are extremely pleased to have Joan Stewart as
our June Callwood Award nominee.
KM