It's always a challenge to fundraise for local causes.
It's particularly difficult when it's about something people don't even like to think about let alone talk about like their own death and dying plan.
The Prince George Hospice Society, which provides services for end of life and grief support for those left behind, needs to raise $1.3 million through fundraising campaigns this year, while they fell short by seven per cent last year.
"That has since been corrected," Donna Flood, executive director for the society, said.
That was done through realignment of staff and that meant losing one care aid and the society conducting a staff review so wages properly reflected roles and responsibilities, she added.
The Prince George Hospice Society is supported by Northern Health for 44 per cent of its operating costs.
"We don't want to be completely operationally supported by Northern Health because then we lose the opportunity to provide hospice care in the way we feel the community needs it, which is really centering it around family - feeding the family, housing the family, and keeping them near," Flood said.
There are four independent hospices in B.C., Flood said, who is also the president of the BC Hospice Palliative Care Association.
Three of those are more than 50 per cent funded by the provincial government, including Kamloops, Delta and North Okanagan located in Vernon. The hospice in Penticton has since closed because they could not continue to secure the funding required, Flood said.
"So we'd like to see the provincial government come with a standardized funding model so that we're all equitably supported," Flood said.
"I believe that the community should support a hospice so that it meets the needs that the community itself requires so that they feel ownership of it but I think
$1.3 million is an excessive amount to have to fundraise to maintain operations. It's a heavy burden."
In the past, hospice would receive donations in memory of the dearly departed but since the way people memorialize their loved ones has changed, so does that revenue stream.
"People are no longer having funerals, they're no longer putting obituaries out, people are just dying and then there are celebrations of life held at a later date," Flood said.
"So that 'in memory' donation has gone down significantly in the last four years."
The society is only supported by the community of Prince George.
"We understand there are a lot of valuable competing priorities for people's charitable donations," Flood said.
"When something like the wildfires happens, all the donation money shifts and it shifts away from the ongoing needs of the community charities and that's significant. So as we all support these very important campaigns, we lose sight of the needs of our ongoing services provided by non-profits."
The concern is that those who usually contribute to local charities may have exhausted their resources early this year, leaving the remainder of this year's fundraisers supported to a lesser degree.
"We put a lot of effort into the Dream Home lottery in the fall, and if we're not successful with that there's a potential to lose a great deal of money," Flood said.
Many people believe the Prince George Hospice Society gets the house donated to them but it's purchased by the non-profit and then the profit is only made when the last 2,000 tickets are sold, Flood explained.
"Only if it's a sellout do we make money, otherwise the risk is a loss," she added.
To celebrate 30 years providing services to the community, the hospice society has created the $30 for 30 fundraising campaign, asking community members to donated $30 to signify a dollar per year of their existence.
The program allows for a recurring contribution or a one time donation.
"We're looking to the community to value the 30 years of service and help us to continue to provide another 30 years of service," Flood said.
The hospice society's latest initiative is Bucket List PG.
"It's a two-fold initiative," Flood said.
"One is really to get out there and inspire the community to think about all the important things to do. What are your goals? What are the things you'd like to achieve on our bucket list?"
There's a Facebook page called Bucket List PG where the hospice society is holding contests and giving away prizes.
"We're hoping people will support each other in both sharing their bucket lists and fulfilling bucket lists," Flood said.
The idea is for someone to post, for example, they want to ride a horse for the first time and then someone else in the community would invite that person to come and check that off their bucket list by riding their horse, Flood explained.
"So then we're really a community helping a community living our lives to the fullest because we see it all the time," Flood said. "But by the time we see it, it's too late."
Flood said hospice has been able to facilitate some bucket list wishes like marrying a person to the love of their life on their death bed.
The Bucket List PG will host a gala this fall, which includes a formal dinner to celebrate achieving personal goals and living life with intention. The guest speaker is best-selling author Ben Nemtin from MTV's The Buried Life. The show's premise is "what do you want to do before you die?"
Some of the items on the lists of the four hosts of the show was to learn to sail, how to surf, host a cooking show, have a beer with Prince Harry, and be on the Oprah show, which all aligns with Bucket List PG theme.
As the population continues to age, there is a whole demographic that will need the services of hospice long into the future.
"Right now, people's choice is to die at home," Flood said. "So we're moving our hospice services into the community as well so that we are able to support the caregiver at home."
Coffee for the Caregiver is a drop in support group.
There's virtual care, including video conferencing, for those caregivers who choose to stay in the home instead of reaching out into the community for help. There is also a community match as volunteers spend time with the person who is being cared for, while other volunteers can offer impartial listening, emotional support or allow a break for some much-needed alone time to the caregiver.
This service can be provided for one or two hours, once or twice a week.
