At Center for Hospice Care, we believe there is a great deal to be gained by treating the end of life as simply another stage in a journey that all of us must take. So we strive to meet death not with denial but with acceptance, to help patients and families make the most of every day they have together, and to palliate symptoms so the focus becomes less about dying and more about living.
Crossroads Campaign Reaches a Successful Conclusion
Center for Hospice Care’s (CHC) most extensive comprehensive fundraising campaign, known as Cornerstones for Living: The Crossroads Campaign, came to a successful conclusion on June 30, 2019. In all contributions and pledges total slightly more than $14 million – thanks to the support of many generous donors.
“Gifts at all levels make the Crossroads Campaign the most transformational fundraising effort in Center for Hospice Care’s 40-year history. As we wrap-up obtaining commitments from a few donors for major gift commitments made last year at the end of the campaign, we are struck by the collective generosity that propelled us beyond our initial $10 million goal to a total just over $14 million,” said Catherine Hiler, Crossroads Campaign cabinet chair. “We’re gratified that construction is concluding on Phase 2 of our Mishawaka Campus, and that the Crossroads Campaign finished strong.”
The campaign is one byproduct of a strategic planning process CHC initiated nearly 10 years ago. As CHC looked toward the future, a mandate became clear: the need to put into place the infrastructure and resources necessary for CHC to continue delivering exceptional quality, compassionate care to those in its service area for generations to come.
Strategic goals adopted by CHC that lead to the Crossroads Campaign:
- Create a warm and welcoming campus that brings together services in one location and facilitates care of the highest order while reducing annual expenditures.
- Ensure sustainable sources of funding that will provide essential and emerging programs over the long term.
These goals guided the process of establishing specific campaign financial goals prior a quiet launch of the Crossroads Campaign in July 2014. Lead campaign gifts secured in the early months paved the way for the launch of the public phase of the campaign which was announced during a press conference on March 16, 2017.
Momentum provided by the launch of the public phase of the campaign led to donations from a variety of donors, generating gifts and pledges exceeding the campaign’s initial $10 million goal and propelling the total to exceed $14 million. Donors included individuals, foundations, corporations, charitable trusts, medium and small businesses, service clubs, social groups and a wide variety of organizations.
Campaign Summary
- $14 million in donations and pledges.
- Mishawaka Campus Expansion:
o New 12-bed inpatient care facility, the Ernestine M.
Raclin House overlooking the St. Joseph River
opens to patients in early 2020.
o New clinical staff building opened in 2019 to
support increasing demand for care in all
geographic areas served by Center for Hospice Care.
o Established the Captain Robert J. Hiler Jr. Veterans
Memorial as a campus centerpiece.
- Thanks to a lead gift from the Vera Z. Dwyer Charitable Trust, raised more than $2.5 million to immediately fund and to establish a permanent endowment for physician education.
- Established and expanded endowment funds to sustain and grow signature CHC programs like Camp Evergreen, After Images Art Counseling and We Honor Veterans.
- Enhanced annual giving and increased support from existing donors.
Cornerstones for Living: The Crossroads Campaign Cabinet
The Hospice Foundation (HF) is grateful for the leadership provided by volunteers who served as members of the Crossroads Campaign cabinet. During the course of the campaign, they provided guidance and assistance, helped spread the word about the campaign, personally solicited contributions and introduced HF staff to prospective donors. Their work was a great catalyst in making the Crossroads Campaign a success. Cabinet members were:
Catherine Hiler, Chair
Nafe Alick
Dennis Beville
Tim Portolese
Irv Rosenberg
Mary Jane Stanley
While the Crossroads Campaign exceeded its goals, there are still several underfunded programs and endowment goals. If you would like to contribute to these please do so below.
Created in 2018 in honor of our 34th Helping Hands award recipient Sister Carmel Marie Sallows CSC, this critical fund is focused solely on supporting our charity care efforts. Last year, Center for Hospice Care provided nearly $2 million in this type of unreimbursed and discounted patient care and bereavement programming.
The Sister Carmel Helping Hands Fund will be an ongoing source of funding to sustain our commitment that no one eligible for hospice care will be turned away, regardless of their ability to pay.
Everyone processes grief in a different way and at a different pace. For some people, expressing grief through art counseling can provide a unique path to healing. The After Images art counseling program supports those who are grieving the death of a loved one. Providing this type of support is the mission of Center for Hospice Care’s Life Transition Center.
It’s not an art class; nor is it therapy. The After Images art counseling program creates a safe environment where clients can explore their grief in new ways. It’s about facilitating a healing process that is as unique as the individual clients.
Throughout the experience, participants learn that what matters is the process not the product. They begin to experiment with materials such as oil paint sticks, pastels, and acrylic paints to create pieces that allow them to express the full range of their emotions – often anger, guilt, sadness, and loneliness – in a new way.
Since 1999, this program has helped hundreds of grieving individuals through one of the most challenging times of their lives.
Camp Evergreen offers two camps: one for teenages, the other for younger children. Camp Evergreen provides a safe place for grieving children to share their grief experience with other children. In addition, Camp Evergreen kids get to enjoy lots of traditional camp activities.
Campers frequently comment on how meaningful it is to meet other children going through similar experiences. According to a 2017 Teen Camp participant, “This camp really helped me and I realized I’m not the only person going through this.” Another teen camper stated, “This camp really helped, I don’t feel as angry as I did coming into this camp.”
Camper parents also appreciated Camp Evergreen for providing their children a safe place where they can grieve and have fun. “My son believes that Camp Evergreen was a valuable asset to his grieving process,” said one grateful parent. “I love Camp Evergreen. It was very therapeutic for my daughter. She gained perspective and healing from camp that she could never get anywhere else,” said another.
The Camp Evergreen experience is made possible by a wide variety of individuals, including dedicated adult volunteers, and CHC staff. Like all CHC bereavement services, the program is free of charge to all participants. Camp Evergreen is made possible by the Linda Lloyd Mission Endowment for Camp Evergreen and through the generosity of many donors.
For more information about Camp Evergreen, please contact Center for Hospice Care’s Life Transition Center at 574-255-1064 or evergreen@cfhcare.org.