Show your support with your feet and be part of a much-loved event, Hike For Hospice, Sunday, May 1.
Hike for Hospice Palliative Care is an annual tradition across Canada that heralds the arrival of spring. Lace up your sneakers, gather family and friends and take this hike to make a difference in people’s lives. The purpose of this event is to raise funds and awareness of community-based charitable organizations that provides compassionate end-of-life care.
“With our aging population, demand for our services continues to increase,” says Lisa Sullivan, executive director of Hospice Care Ottawa. “Special events, like the Hike for Hospice, help us raise the $1.8 million we require annually to continue to provide our services free of charge.”
Across Ontario, from Toronto to Kington to Ottawa and beyond to the Ottawa Valley, there is a growing need for hospice care, so there are Hike For Hospice events in many area communities May 1, including Belleville, Kemptville, Mississippi Mills, Ottawa, Perth, Picton, Renfrew and Toronto.
Hike for Hospice Palliative Care is coordinated by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association, the national association that provides leadership in hospice palliative and end-of-life care in Canada. One hundred per cent of the funds raised through each of the hikes will stay in the community where the event takes place.
As it states on the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association’s website, “Hospice palliative care is aimed at relieving suffering and improving the quality of life for persons who are living with, or dying from, advanced illness or are bereaved.
“Palliative care is a special kind of health care for individuals and families who are living with a life-limiting illness that is usually at an advanced stage. The goal of palliative care is to provide comfort and dignity for the person living with the illness as well as the best quality of life for both this person and his or her family. A “family” is whoever the person says his or her family is. It may include relatives, partners and friends.”
