OLDS — The 2020 Olds & District Hospice Society’s (ODHS) virtual Hike For Hospice was so successful that executive director Mary Smith anticipates they’ll do one every year, in conjunction with the regular outdoor hike.
The society provides hospice suites for families looking for a comfortable place for their loved one facing an end-of-life journey.
As of early last week, the hike, held May 3, had raised more than $20,000; well above last year’s total of $16,000 and money was still coming in.
Smith said there’s a chance they might match the highest amount the hike has ever raised, about $28,000 by the May 25 fundraising deadline.
Traditionally, the ODHS Hike For Hospice, a fundraiser for the society, is held in the vicinity of Holy Trinity Catholic School in Olds.
However, this year, the society was forced to organize a virtual hike, due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Smith said she and other ODHS officials weren’t sure what to expect in terms of fundraising, due to the fact this was the first time they’d tried a virtual hike.
Also, they were concerned about what sort of a response they would get as a result of the lockdown and the state of the economy, due to the low price of oil.
But they were astounded by the response.
“We are actually completely overwhelmed by how successful our virtual hike was,” Smith said during an interview.
“Like, we were expecting, hey, if we’re able to make $5,000 this year in the current state of the world, we’ll consider that a success.”
Smith was asked whether in the future, the ODHS might just run virtual Hikes for Hospice, given how successful this one was.
Smith noted that thanks to the virtual hike, in addition to Olds and area, this year they had participants from as far away as Mexico, Vancouver Island and New Brunswick.
“We couldn’t do that if we just had a community event at Holy Trinity school,” she said.
“So I think we want to in the future do both. We want to do it virtually so we can connect with those loved ones all over the world and we also want to bring people together in our community.”
Volunteer Jim Stone raised the most money. His team, Jim Stone and Friends, raised more than $3,000.
“He’s a real go-getter, he’s a real community person,” Smith said. “He’s a part of the A&W coffee group of gentlemen who are solving the world’s problems every morning.
“We were so grateful and thankful to have him be part of (Hike For) Hospice this year. “
Participants were encouraged to wear costumes. The grand prize was a year of free pizzas courtesy of sponsor Boston Pizza.
Stone, along with Sonia Munksgaard and family (whose theme was To the Moon and Back) and Heather Tookey (dressed as a corpse bride), were the three finalists.
The committee was unable to determine the winner so an online poll was conducted. Munksgaard’s team was declared the winner.
Stone and Tookey received one free pizza each for being runners-up.
“They did a great job and they put a lot of time and energy into their costumes,” Smith said.
Stone was happy to be involved because he’s seen the need for hospice suites when his wife and in-laws became ill before passing away.
Stone said a hospice suite is “such a pleasant place” for a person to spend their final days.
“It’s a very, very special thing. It isn’t everywhere they have them -- in small towns especially,” he said.
Stone managed the walk just weeks after undergoing ankle surgery.
“It’s been really rewarding for me, the whole thing,” he said.
“It’s a good feeling, and you’re doing it for such a worthy cause, so that’s what it’s about.
“I’m very proud of my friends and how it all came together, because it just proved that if you work with the right people and the right project, it’s going to work.”
If you missed out on hiking or would like to make a donation, you have until May 25 to do so. Click on the link below to donate:
https://www.canadahelps.org/…/olds-…/p2p/oldshikeforhospice/
