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Hospice Quinte ends October awareness campaign

Hospice Quinte coordinators prepared for Saturday lunch rush. [1]

Hospice Quinte’s Rachel Pearsal (left) and Helen Dowdall (right) were ready for the Saturday lunch rush.

By Brittany Lane [2]

BELLEVILLE – Hospice Quinte [3] ended their string of October fundraisers with a successful hotdog stand collecting $300 last Saturday downtown.

The event took place in front of Belleville’s Giant Tiger store between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hotdogs and drinks were sold throughout the day for $2 each.

The food stand was managed by Hospice Quinte’s executive director Helen Dowdall, as well as community relations and fund development coordinator Rachel Pearsal.

Hospice Quinte is known as a visiting hospice, where volunteers who undergo a 10-week training program are matched up with patients as a companion to offer families caring for a chronically ill family member a break.

“We’re here to provide compassionate supportive care with people who are suffering from life altering and life limiting illnesses,” said Pearsal.

The month long campaign, titled Friends and Food for Hospice Quinte, was held throughout the Belleville and Trenton areas.  These events included speeches and various fundraisers. All donations went straight towards aiding the cause.

Giant Tiger wasn’t the only place to offer a venue for the awareness initiative. College Hill Church, Holy Rosary Church , Crown Ridge Retirement Home and the Seasons-Dufferin Retirement Home also worked alongside the organization.

Pearsal said they were lucky to receive so much support from the community.

Their efforts this month have managed to reach their goal of $3,000. Dowdall says Hospice Quinte has also seen a spike in new volunteers stepping forward.

“People don’t always know what Hospice can do,” she said. “Sometimes there’s a really negative perception of Hospice, and we’re trying to break down that barrier.”

Below is a map on where and when each event took place.