North Shore Hospice plans annual fundraiser walk

DANVERS – The 21st annual Walk for Hospice of the North Shore is set to step off on Sunday, Sept. 28.Registration is at 8 a.m. and the start at 9 a.m. from St. John’s Preparatory School. Participants can register online at www.hns.org/walk or call the organization’s North Shore office at 978-223-9787 or email [email protected] can guide participants through the registration process, setting personal fundraising goals, forming a team, sponsoring another walk, or simply making a gift in honor of a loved one.”It’s a three-mile, non-competitive walk that starts and ends at Cronin Memorial Football Field, with a route that goes through the neighborhood near the school,” said Susan Rogers, the special events and development manager at Hospice of the North Shore. “We always have about 5,000 to 6,000 people walking.”According to Rogers, although the event raises money through pledges, those who simply want to walk in support of the cause can do so.”Last year’s walk was the largest and most successful to date,” she said.Hospice of the North Shore has been caring for terminally ill patients and their families for over 30 years, in addition to sharing its long experience about what to do, how to cope, what to expect, and where to find help when things go awry.Founded in 1978, the all-volunteer, grassroots organization has grown into the largest non-profit hospice in Massachusetts. It provides care in 44 towns and cities, mostly in Essex County.Since its inception, the organization has served more than 20,000 terminally ill adults and children at home, in nursing facilities, and in hospitals.In 2005, the organization opened the 12-bed Kaplan Family Hospice House on Liberty Street in Danvers.The house has become home for terminally ill people who, for whatever reason, need an alternative to staying in their own home as their illness progresses. Not a hospital, nursing home or a rehabilitation facility, the Kaplan House offers a home-like setting where hospice nurses and support staff provide 24-hour care and where visiting family members can spend quality time with their loved ones during the final weeks and days of life. It is the only Hospice House on the North Shore, and was the first in the state to be built according to new state regulations for licensure of a freestanding hospice inpatient facility.