Bluegrass Care Navigators - Philanthropy Newsletter (Winter 2022)

Camp Hope Helps Kids Struggling with Loss

In September, Bluegrass Care Navigators hosted our annual Camp Hope, a free one-day children’s bereavement camp that is geared toward meeting the grief-care needs of children and youth who are struggling with the loss of a loved one. Camp Hope is designed to help children express their grief in a positive and supportive environment; develop healthy and effective coping strategies in a fun, safe, and supportive setting; and receive the training and tools they need to deal with their loss now and well into the future.

The children participating in Camp Hope are supported by a team of caring adults who have years of experience with children’s bereavement. We ensure that the camp provides a safe place and supportive environment. Camp Hope gives children a healthy start on their journey of bereavement. BCN team members and volunteers enjoyed watching the young campers bond over shared experiences and develop new friendships.

Not only are they guided by the adult camp leaders, but the children participating in Camp Hope have opportunities to help each other through facilitated activities that engage them in supporting their peers who have a shared common experience. Similarly, the adult parents and guardians who attend Camp Hope with their children are able to engage in conversations with each other while learning ways to support their family through the grieving process.

2022 Camp Hope took place in Beattyville, Kentucky, at the Kentucky Mountain Mission Youth Haven Camp. Thirty-four children and their guardians from all over Kentucky participated in camp this year. For the first time in two-years, we were excited to hold Camp Hope in-person, where kids participated in activities together that included music, memorial rock painting, expressing emotions through art, emoji games to identify feelings, and a memorial campfire to cap off a spectacular day.

Camp Hope would not be possible without the generous support of our Caring Community and Sponsors. It is because of this generosity that we are able to offer this amazing opportunity at no charge to campers and their guardians. We are truly grateful for their commitment to helping us provide the resources and skills these kids need for their future.

“I felt I was safe from judgment and could be myself.”

“I felt free after the campfire.”

“I made a friend.”

“I don’t feel alone anymore.”

bash

Thank you to everyone who joined us on October 22 in Hazard for our annual Howlin’ Halloween Bash to support the Greg and Noreen Wells Hospice Care Center. For the first time in two years, guests were able to come together in person to enjoy a fun night of dinner, dancing, and a costume contest. Special thanks to our presenting sponsors Laura Feltner-State Farm Insurance and Fugate Family Chiropractic.

THANK YOU!

Duke Energy Foundation

We are excited to share our appreciation for Duke Energy Foundation’s support of a project in Northern Kentucky that will focus on leveraging strong community

partnerships and persons with lived experience to identify and remove systemic barriers that previously precluded Latinx/Latino households from accessing end-of-life and palliative care. Our hope with this project is to reach more of our Latinx/Latino community so that they can learn about what Hospice and Palliative Care can provide for their loved ones.

Special thanks to 3M in Cynthiana for providing heart-shaped Post-it Notes for National Hospice Month in November. This year our community activities focus on “Remembering Our Loved Ones.” The displays can be found at libraries, senior citizen’s centers, hospitals, and clinics, as well as showcased at local community events, in each of the 32 counties served by Bluegrass Care Navigators. Thank you also to 3M for their generous philanthropic donation in support of our Legacy Art Project, which will allow our art therapists to support our team members and volunteers as they make meaningful artwork with families as a tangible reminder of their loved ones.

You Have a Hand in the Care We Provide!

When 13-year-old Leonel was admitted into hospice, he and his family had already faced many ups and downs with his diagnosis of liver cancer. Despite all of those challenges, this close-knit family with four children remained full of love for one another.

“Upon meeting Leonel and his family, it was immediately clear that their hope had never truly been diminished, despite serious bumps in their path,” said Marta, Leonel’s hospice nurse.

Thanks to you and your support of our mission, our hospice team was able to quickly begin providing comfort and expert care for Leonel and his family.

“We were able to provide gentle massage for Leonel and his mom, make a family playlist of meaningful songs, and create a collaborative legacy art piece with all of the kids,” said Whitney Clay, Art Therapist and Integrative Medicine Program Coordinator.

With this legacy art piece, each sibling drew a picture, traced their hand over the piece then cut out their handprints. We painted the canvas his favorite color, and Leonel arranged each hand around a central heart to make a collage. When the piece was delivered, Leonel asked to have his parents’ hands added to complete the piece.

Legacy projects like these can be especially meaningful for our patients and families, serving as a memento and representing the lasting impact that they have all made on each other’s lives.

Remarkably, on a follow up visit, Leonel’s medical team was shocked to see that his cancer had shrunk, and he became a candidate for radiation treatment. Because of this development, Leonel was transferred from Hospice to our Bright Path Program that provides palliative care to pediatric patients living with serious illness.

“Naturally, the family’s past experiences with treatment outcomes made them hopeful, but anxious, about leaving hospice care. I believe that it brought comfort knowing that Bluegrass Care Navigators’ Palliative and Integrative Medicine teams were going to remain involved in Leonel’s care,” said Marta, “and I made a promise to them that our hospice team would be here, ready, if ever they need us to join their journey in the future.”

Today, Leonel is a young man living with cancer, but he also is playing outside, eating like a teenager, and doing the things he loves with his family and our team by his side!

Our Integrative Medicine and Bright Path Programs

are made possible through generous donations from our Caring Community and provide patients and families with access to a variety of therapies and resources that complement each patient’s care plan. By supporting BCN and these programs, you have a hand in the care we provide.

Your donations directly impact the lives of other Kentuckians when they need it most.

bgcarenav.org/newsletter

Learn how to host an event to benefit Bluegrass Care Navigators.

Shamrock Charity Golf Scramble

In late August, dozens of golf teams teed off at Houston Oaks Golf Course in Paris, KY, to raise money for Bluegrass Hospice Care and Bluegrass Grief Care at the 29th Annual Shamrock Charity Golf Scramble hosted by our friends at Shamrock Bar & Grille. The golfers enjoyed a great day of golf and fellowship – some proudly wearing tutus as they hit the links. Thanks to community events like this, Bluegrass Hospice Care can help nearly 1,000 hospice patients daily in 32 central, southeastern, and northern Kentucky counties as well as provide grief support for our hospice families and the community at large.

Just a Nutter Day –Memorial Run

On October 15, Carie Nutter hosted a Motorcycle Memorial Run in memory of her husband, Keith Nutter, to benefit Bluegrass Care Navigators. The “Just a Nutter Day” event included a bake sale, 50/50 raffle, live music and motorcycle ride that raised $4,000 to support our hospice services at BCN. We are truly grateful to Carie and the Nutter family and friends for organizing this wonderful event to support our mission!

Host Your Own “Friends of Hospice” Event!

Frequently, people offer their own time and resources to organize a fundraiser to benefit Bluegrass Care Navigators. These fundraisers include everything from lemonade stands, bake sales and car washes, to golf tournaments, cocktail parties, car shows, and more.

If you are interested in hosting your own third-party event to benefit Bluegrass Care Navigators, please call us at 859.276.5344 or email ckline@bgcarenav.org. We would be pleased to offer guidance to help make your event a success.

A Weight Lifted

Richard, a recent hospice patient in Northern Kentucky, had been battling dementia for a while when he was admitted into our care. For years, his family dealt on their own with the grief and stress that often comes with such a diagnosis. However, the comfort and compassionate expertise our care team was able to provide Richard from the start helped ease the burden for his family and allowed them to spend more quality time with him.

Richard’s daughter, Cathy, recalled feeling relieved from the moment that they started the process of admitting him to hospice. “Such a weight was lifted off of our shoulders - it is hard to describe. We were so stressed about our dad’s dementia and pain, but from the first day Bluegrass Care Navigators came into the picture, we felt such relief.” Cathy credits much of this relief to her father’s hospice nurse, Rebecca, who she describes as “loving, comforting, informative, and funny.”

As soon as Rebecca came in the picture, she instantly connected with Richard. He was a jokester and so was she. “Rebecca was there so often, telling my dad jokes—she told him a joke the first minute she met him, and that was why he loved her from the start,” Cathy remembered. He loved when they would joke back and forth, and Rebecca even bought him a “Dad joke” book.

Rebecca also brought Richard, who was an Army Veteran, a military comforting blanket. “It was so touching to all of us. He loved that blanket,” Cathy said. Blankets like these are made possible through donations to our Veterans’ programs from individuals and groups like the Military Officers Association of America. The blankets are just one of the special ways we like to honor our veteran patients.

Throughout their time with us, Richard’s family experienced kindness and compassion in every interaction they had with Bluegrass Care Navigators. “Every phone call was responded to right away, every issue addressed as soon as possible. Each person was pivotal, from our intake call to the words of comfort that were provided on his final day. We felt relief and peace,” Cathy said.

To many patients and families, having someone from Bluegrass Care Navigators by their side, like Rebecca, can make all the difference.

Honor a Caregiver!

Your support means so

much to us!

U.S. WWII Veteran Maxine Handziak

Honored for Military Service

On September 1, 2022, Bluegrass Care Navigators honored Maxine Hamon Handziak for her service with a Veteran’s Pinning Ceremony. As part of America’s Greatest Generation, Maxine volunteered for the Women’s Reserve in the U.S. Navy, better known as the WAVES, in 1943.

The pinning ceremony is a powerful moment for veterans and their families. Typically, a local veteran volunteer will perform the ceremony, thanking the patient for their service and give them a certificate, blanket, and flag pin in appreciation. The service concludes with a prayer, if desired, and a salute to the veteran.

As part of Maxine’s ceremony, her family had set up a table display with photos and memorabilia of her and Edward’s life together. This included pictures, newspaper clippings and Maxine’s military cap.

“Although she couldn’t remember a lot of stuff on that table, when Neal did the salute, her tiny, frail hand came up, and she returned his salute,” Esther Sapp, Maxine’s Chaplain who attended the ceremony, said. “Due to her hearing loss, I’m not sure what she heard, but she definitely felt honored and appreciated, and her sense of humor came out.”

Sapp described Maxine as someone who had learned to live in the present. When Volunteer Neal Riggs, also a veteran, presented Maxine with her blanket, she felt it and fiddled with the knotted ties. One of her kids approached her for a closer look. Maxine’s sense of humor shone through as she teased, “Don’t try to take my blanket!”

Upon intake, patients and families are invited to share patient care goals and are made aware of a variety of volunteer services that include veteran pinning.

Seeking Veterans to Volunteer!

BCN is a Level 4 partner in the We Honor Veterans program, a collaboration through the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization and the Veterans Administration. BCN has been specially trained to address the unique needs of our nations’ veterans at end-of-life. As part of the program, BCN trains veteran volunteers to perform the Veteran’s Pinning Ceremonies. If you are a veteran and would like to learn more about how you can give back to our veteran patients by volunteering your time, scan this QR Code to find a BCN Community Engagement Coordinator in your area.

The Story of Yellow Dog

We are truly grateful for the thoughtful donation of nearly 200 stuffed animals that will be given to children impacted by the Eastern Kentucky Flooding. This gift was inspired by the personal experience of the donor, Theo, and his daughter who lost her favorite stuffed animal, “Yellow Dog.” Here is the story of Yellow Dog:

One bright and sunny day, a baby girl named Karyn was born. She was the delight of her parents Theo and Christine. They bought her a little yellow stuffed dog which Karyn named Yellow Dog. Yellow Dog went EVERYWHERE with little Karyn – to daycare, preschool and even church. Karyn could often be found reading stories to Yellow Dog, her best friend in the whole wide world.

One day when Karyn was 10 years old, the family drove far, far away to visit Karyn’s grandparents. Suitcases were loaded, coloring books were packed, hairbows were collected – all set for the big trip.

The family stopped for the night since the journey was LONG. Pajamas were put on and books were brought out for the bedtime story. But where was Yellow Dog? Theo and Christine searched the hotel room and Yellow Dog could not be found. They called the restaurant where they stopped for lunch. No Yellow Dog. Karyn became very upset and couldn’t be comforted by her parents. Yellow Dog was her security, her best friend!

Theo believes that every child should have a “Yellow Dog” of their own to talk to and read stories. He hopes the stuffed animals he has shared will bring a smile to the faces of those kids who have lost so much, and provide some comfort and security to them, just like Yellow Dog did for his daughter.

Learn about the types of donations that our programs need most.

bgcarenav.org/wishlists

Donations can come in all shapes and sizes. Our programs and volunteer teams depend on donations of items such as scarves, blankets, toiletries and many other things to provide comfort and care to our patients and their families. You can donate an item from one of our wishlists and help make an impact!

Bluegrass Extra Care

Bluegrass Home Primary Care

Bluegrass Adult Day Health Care

Bluegrass Transitional Care

Bluegrass Palliative Care

Bluegrass Hospice Care

Bluegrass Grief Care

So Long, 2022! Celebrate with

Tax Savings

As you get ready to toast the new year, consider these tax-wise ways to wrap up 2022 on a financial high note. Not only can you save on your taxes, but you can also make a significant impact at Bluegrass Care Navigators.

Contribute appreciated stock instead of cash.

If you have owned a stock for more than one year and it has grown in value, you may be in line for two tax benefits: avoid taxes on the appreciated value and qualify for an income tax charitable deduction based on today’s market value when you itemize.

You receive the same tax saving as if you wrote a check, but with the added benefit of eliminating capital gains taxes.

Sell depreciated assets and donate the cash.

Unfortunately, 2022 wasn’t good for all portfolios. If you would like to support Bluegrass Care Navigators but your stocks or cryptocurrency have fallen in value, it is best to sell them first and then donate the cash. This allows you to record the loss as a tax deduction and qualify for an income tax deduction for the gift.

Learn more about donating appreciated securities and more ways to give.

plannedgiving.bgcarenav.org/ appreciated-securities