Dancing with the Shuswap Stars, an annual fundraiser benefiting the Shuswap Hospice Society will not be proceeding as planned this November due to restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision was made to postpone the event to 2021 due to uncertainty around restrictions on gatherings of more than 50 people.
“This decision was incredibly difficult when we consider that this event is the single biggest source of community fundraising for the Shuswap Hospice Society,” a statement from organizers reads.
“It has been even more heart-wrenching because the need for the Shuswap Hospice Society’s compassionate end-of-life care and grief and bereavement programs has been heightened by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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According to fundraiser organizers, as in-person hospital and care home visits have been restricted by the pandemic, in-home palliative care requests have skyrocketed. For those who have lost loved ones, the pandemic has also made typical grieving rituals and gatherings impossible.
Throughout the pandemic, the hospice society’s staff and volunteers have been continuing their work. They have connected with clients by video-conferencing and by phone and have also been able to reopen their one on one grief and bereavement program. Anyone seeking access to these services can call the Shuswap Hospice Resource Centre at 250-832-7099.
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With the hospice society’s services still in demand and donations are still required. The organizing committee asks that those who wish to support the hospice take would have spent on a Dancing with the Shuswap Stars ticket and make a direct donation.
Donations are being received at www.shuswaphospice.ca or by calling 250-832-7099.
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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