Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare Celebrates Volunteers at Annual Recognition Dinner

Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare recently honored its volunteers at its annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner. The theme for this year’s event was “Time Travel” in recognition of the 40th anniversary the not-for-profit hospice is currently celebrating.  

In keeping with the theme, staff members wore costumes from the French Revolution, the Roaring ‘20s and pre-historic times.  

Rebecca McCurdy, the manager of volunteer services, attended the event as someone traveling here from the future. “We function by the theory that since our work is so serious, we need to be sure not to take ourselves too seriously,” she said. “We tried very hard to make it both a meaningful and enjoyable evening.” 

Dr. Walter H. Kearney, one of Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare’s founding physicians, former medical director, and former board president, announced the recipient for this year’s Kearney Award. 

Volunteer Lynn Young was the winner of this year’s Kearney Award, which honors a volunteer who has gone above and beyond in the previous year, contributing more than 300 hours of volunteer service. She was recognized for her tremendous achievements in the areas of direct care and her role in Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare’s children’s bereavement camp, Camp Waves of Emotion.   

The event also included the commissioning of new volunteers. The evening closed with the song, “Time in a Bottle,” performed by chaplain Daron Butler, and David Hargrave, bereavement counseling professional. 

To learn more about volunteering with Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, please visit www.OhiosHospiceLifeCare.org/volunteer or call 330.264.4899.  

Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, a not-for-profit organization established in 1982, is an affiliate of Ohio’s Hospice that serves communities in northeast Ohio. It embodies the spirit of neighbors caring for neighbors with a commitment to relieve suffering, ease fears, and provide companionship along life’s last journey. Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare addresses patient and family needs wherever the patient calls home. Services also include access to the Stanley C. and Flo K. Gault Inpatient Pavilion, providing short-term patient care to manage acute symptoms, adjust medications, or stabilize patient condition.