Main photo: Team Wagg (front from left) Marc White, Kathy Sheridan, Antoinette Wagg, Charlene Mitchell, Jean Wagg, Courtney Wagg, Addy Wagg (in wagon); (back from left) Evan Wagg, Logan Wagg, Crystal LaLone, James Parsons, Cathy Parsons, Chris Wagg, Wyatt Wagg, Tyler Wagg, and Dave Mitchell, along with a handful of supporters. (Hilary Hilton)
To gather means to collect, to assemble, to come together, regardless of differences, in support of a common cause. And when the cause is as important as Hospice Huntsville, the community gathers in extraordinary sums.
On May 1, members of Huntsville and surrounding communities did just that for the thirteenth annual Hike for Hospice event, which took place in River Mill Park, with a 5km hike through town.
This year’s fundraising goal sat at $50,000 and the dedicated participants surpassed that goal with $54,000 raised as of hike day, with funds still coming in.
“We have such a generous community. We are so lucky,” said Melissa Polischuck, fund development and public relations coordinator for Hospice Huntsville.
The sun was shining and the day was bright and cheerful. A sea of participants were appropriately adorned in purple—the Hospice theme colour—to show their support, along with the participants’ four-legged friends as they competed to be named “best-dressed Hospice hound”.
All of Hospice’s programs and services are completely free of charge to the community. They must raise at least sixty per cent of their operating costs through fundraising and donations.
Hike for Hospice is not only a crucial event for fundraising, but also for spreading awareness of hospice care and the need for community support.
This year marked the first in-person hike since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic was hard; we had to switch everything to online and virtual, and people weren’t really having celebrations of life and funerals, so it’s so amazing to see everyone here today,” Polischuk said.
Events such as these are also an opportunity for the community to gather and celebrate the life of a loved one who has died, support one another through their grief, and show appreciation for the end-of-life care that Hospice Huntsville so gracefully provides.
Team Wagg (pictured above), led by Jean Wagg, hiked on behalf of Wagg’s late husband, James Wagg. Wagg said the hike and supporting Hospice is extremely important to her and the Wagg team.
“My husband was treated so well during his ten days in [Algonquin Grace Residential] Hospice. They made him as comfortable as they could. They made the family feel very welcome, even though it was COVID that we were doing it in. The nurses were amazing; if you needed something, you got it and you got it then. This means a lot to me and my family,” Wagg said. “It’s a building that needs to stay there, and it needs the funding to keep it going as well as it is, so they can do this for other families like they did for ours.”
Various members of the community volunteered their time to provide entertainment for the event. Billy Mac and The Sound Chicks performed at River Mill Park and Josie and Lizzie Robinson along the route; the Huntsville High School robotics team performed demonstrations of their self-made robot; and owner of Muskoka Agility Dogs, Lynda Yielding, was in attendance with both her human and canine staff, which included three therapy dogs for Hospice Huntsville.
Gordon Schakelaar, Hospice Huntsville board president, kicked off the opening ceremony with a quick speech and passed the mic to executive director, Rebecca Ellerson, to express her gratitude.
“It’s so lovely to see you all here in person. I think we’ve all been waiting for this opportunity to come and gather together and remember and share stories, and have community with one another,” Ellerson said. “My role here today is to thank you for your participation, for your support of Hospice, and all the many ways that you do that.”
The event’s signature sponsor this year was Remedy’s Rx: Muskoka Medical & Campus Trail Pharmacies, and owner Bill Coon did the honours of lighting Hospice’s commemorative purple candle.
For more information on Hospice Huntsville’s programs and services, visit hospicehuntsville.com.
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