Looking ahead to 2020 – Our 20th year
We welcome you to our 20th year of supporting those at end of life. It is our deep honor to serve the community through financial support to hospice patients, education about end of life issues, and funding end of life care research.
In 2019, through your support, we served more than 100 hospice patients and their families by providing financial assistance for housing, transportation, final arrangements and other essential needs totaling $60,000. An additional 100 patients, who served in the US armed forces, received a “We Honor Veterans” ceremony, including a keepsake blanket emblazoned with their branch of the military. These blankets are often passed on as an heirloom to other family members currently serving in the military. 8,700 individuals received a free copy of the Five Wishes, an advance care planning document to help guide healthcare decision-making. 125 individuals engaging in bereavement services received free workbooks to help them navigate their grief process. In total, we invested more than $120,000 to support our community members navigating the end of life process.
In 2020, we have increased our overall fund assistance budget and look forward to supporting even more patients and their families. One of the things we are most proud of is our turn-around time in funding patient requests. Usually, we review, approve and issue payment within 24 hours of fund request submission. Other Foundations doing similar work indicate that their turn around time is 7-21 days.
With the elderly population doubling in the next decade, the resources we provide will be even more in demand. The number one priority in our current strategic plan is to become financially sustainable so that we can meet the increased needs of our community. While most of our funding comes from amazing individual donors and a few local Foundations, we believe there is room for growth. Not only through charitable donations, but through earned income. Recently, we embarked on exploring the creation of a celebration of life center to offer the community a hub where they can learn about end of life issues, as well as celebrate and memorialize loved ones.
In early February, we conducted three design workshops with roughly 80 community members to learn what type of physical space and programming appeals to most people. If you would like to be part of this conversation, please email us (info@casafoundation.org).
Another way to stay connected to end of life issues is through our FaceBook page – each week, we share short articles related to aging, navigating the medical system, grief, and joy. The collection of articles is curated by our team, so if you are craving information on a certain topic, just let us know.
We are so grateful for your partnership in making the end of life experience the final act of living well for those in our community. Thank you for all you do to support our efforts!