CPAs in Action

CPAs from the Tuscaloosa area traded their laptops and highlighters for wheelbarrows and shovels as part of United Way of West Alabama’s Day of Action. It was hot, but it was worth it. Volunteers from Way, Ray Shelton (WRS) and JamisonMoneyFarmer (JMF) navigated their way around the grounds of the Helen H. Hahn House removing old and overgrown shrubs, and placing fresh mulch in flowerbeds across the campus.

The Helen H. Hahn House is just one part of Hospice of West Alabama. They are a nonprofit agency dependent on their community to support the people and families they servepeople and families experiencing end-of-life. “Without the support of our community, we at Hospice of West Alabama would have a very difficult time taking care of our patient and family needs,” said Sandy Milling, Volunteer Coordinator for Hospice of West Alabama. “The love of volunteerism is critical to existence for Hospice of West Alabama..”

Milling told volunteers before the day began how much their work would mean to Hospice of West Alabama. “By serving on the day of action, you are providing support for someone in our community who is going through a very difficult time.”

One CPA volunteer didn’t have to hear that message. He knew it, first-hand, to be true.

It had been nearly two and half years since Trenton Shepherd, Shareholder with Way Ray Shelton, had been to the Helen H. Hahn House. “The care and the love they provide families who are struggling,” said Shepherd, “it’s just incredible.”

Shepherd’s father passed away in January 2021 and had been a patient at the Hahn House.

“It was during COVID, so we really couldn’t be there as a group,” recalled Shepherd. “Immediate family could, but we had to rotate in so that extended family could visit, too. The staff was great with that.”

“The inside of the facility is great,” said Shepherd. “Big rooms and large sitting areas, some of which are outside, so that’s why cleaning up the outside was so important - that’s some of the areas families congregate in.”

Having been a United Way volunteer for many years, both as a loaned executive and a member of the allocations committee, Shepherd was already familiar with the non profit when the time came for his family to be the one in need.

He described how the not-for-profit organization works, and how anything not covered by insurance is covered by donations from community. “The family never receives a