In an inspiring demonstration of community spirit, a contingent of St. Thomas More High School students chose to volunteer recently at Home+ Hospice House, where they decorated 14 blankets for the inpatient residents. “This is our second school-wide service day that we’ve done this year, just as a way to give back to the community and to teach the kids how to give back,” said Trina Thorn, English and Business teacher at St. Thomas More High School, and one of two chaperones, along with Mikayla Watson, Physical Education teacher, present at Home+ Hospice House for the students’ gesture of generosity.
Hospice House’s Kari Nielsen, RN, whose son, Cole, is a student at St. Thomas More, was instrumental in setting up the activity. “St. Thomas More’s Religious Studies teacher reached out to Kari and asked if we had a project they could do,” said Debra Hanna, Volunteer Coordinator and Inpatient Chaplain at Home+ Hospice House. “And so, Kari and I coordinated to make it happen.”
Debra then reached out to Monument Health Foundation, who generously purchased the blankets and supplies for the students. “Our hospice patients are often really cold,” said Debra. “They’re usually really ill and they have a hard time keeping heat, so these cozy blankets will be a comfort to them.”
After the students, who comprised a mixture of freshmen through seniors, were done trimming and adorning the fleece blankets with decorative frills, a few of them presented a blanket to a hospice resident’s family member, Mike Cain of Belle Fourche. “My wife is in hospice as a patient,” said Mike. “She’s been here a couple weeks. If you need to be here, it’s a very good place to be. The people who work here are not people. They are angels. They are truly angels. And the work that they do; it takes a special kind of person.”
Mike was emotional in showing his heartfelt gratitude to the students. “There are peaks and valleys in life. For my wife and I, this is one of the valleys,” he told them. “But what you learn will help you reach the peaks. So I think it’s important for all of us to learn about things like this, even if there might be some unpleasantries with it. My wife will love this. She loves these kinds of blankets. She’s going to know where it came from, who did it, and why you did it. We appreciate every one of you. So, thank you very much.”
Afterwards, Debra and Home+ Hospice House Volunteer, Joan Struble, took time to answer questions and talk more about what hospice entails, including the possibility of the kids volunteering in the future, a program which Debra calls “Volunteens.”
Interested in volunteering at Home+ Hospice House? Go to: monument.health/careers/volunteering/
Story: Kory Lanphear
Photos: Kory Lanphear
