Hospice Breakfast To Feature Volunteer As Guest Speaker

Co-chairpersons Marg Studley and Marie Sturdevant of the Newtown Chapter of Regional Hospice and Home Care of Western Connecticut announce that Hospice volunteer Gail Honychurch has accepted their invitation to speak at the annual fundraiser and volunteer thank you breakfast, Wednesday, June 6, at The Waterview on Route 34, just over the Newtown line in Monroe.

Ms Honychurch, a retired teacher from Hawley School in Newtown, has been a Hospice volunteer for three years.

“The focus of my talk will be my personal experiences in getting to know patients and families in Hospice and the Healing Hearts programs,” Ms Honychurch said. Healing Hearts is a hospice-sponsored program to support children who have lost a parent or a sibling, and as a former teacher and a parent who has also suffered the loss of an adult child, Ms Honychurch has found that program in particular to be one in which she can relate to the clients.

“I have gotten to know patients, not as a person sick in bed, but as a real person,” she said. “What I get from Hospice is so much more than I give,” said Ms Honychurch.

“We are very much looking forward to having Gail Honychurch speak at our 23rd summer breakfast,” said Ms Studley. “Gail was a longtime fixture in Newtown, and there is no doubt in my mind that she will feel right at home, and she will recognize many familiar faces. We look forward to hearing her experiences with Hospice,” she said.

(For more about Ms Honychurch, see the special profile in the January 6 edition of The Bee, or in the Archives, search ‘Honychurch’ at newtownbee.com.)

The annual breakfast is the Newtown Chapter’s largest fundraiser each year. Sponsors are invited to “buy” a table for $100 that seats seven guests and the host. Corporate sponsorships are also available, at $500 for a table for 12. Guests are encouraged to donate “tips” to the wait staff (Regional Hospice volunteers) that become donations to the agency, as does the money raised through table sponsorship and a raffle.

Seats for walk-ins are always available, as well. Individuals may attend for $12 per person. It is also possible to sponsor a table even if the benefactor is not able to attend the breakfast. Sponsors will be recognized, whether they are present or not.

Attendees are asked to arrive by 7:45 am for the 8 to 9 am event, in order that participants can enjoy the breakfast and still get to work on time.

Tickets for the raffle of items donated by local merchants can be purchased at the entrance to the breakfast room, prior to the start of the breakfast.

To sponsor a table, call Ms Studley at 203-426-3651.

This year will mark the 23rd anniversary of the breakfast honoring the many volunteers and caregivers of Regional Hospice. The yearly event also serves as a way for the agency to thank the community, and to raise funds to support the organization known for its devotion to the comfort and care of terminally ill patients and their families. Regional Hospice and Home Care of Western Connecticut serves more than 500 patients and their families each year, including patients in Newtown, Sandy Hook, and surrounding towns.