A Thank You Note From Teresa Poole on behalf of Bedford Hospice Care...
Hi! I am the new Volunteer Coordinator for Bedford Hospice Care. I just wanted to say thanks for the beautiful quilts the the Guild has donated to us and update you on how they were recently used.
The Bedford Hospice initiated a new Christmas project for 2012 and your quilts played a big role. We started celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas on December 13th with just a few of the patients we support with our services. For each of the 12 days through Christmas Eve, we took the patients a surprise gift. Most of the time, the gifts were simple but the patients delighted in the surprise each day. The grand finale was the gift of one of your quilts on Christmas Eve. The patients were thrilled with your quilts, in fact some were overwhelmed with such a wonderful gift. The quilts were so nice, I actually felt envious a couple of times.
This was a small experimental Christmas project for our Hospice. Since we were "testing the waters", so to speak, we just worked with seven patients. The positive feedback from the patients means the experiment was a tremendous success!
Our staff made the deliveries and were very enriched as we experienced the true spirit of the season, that being able to give unconditionally is a true gift. All of us feel very blessed to have the opportunity to work in Hospice and provide services and supports to patients and families who are sharing a very important time in their lives. Everyday as we serve the families, they share the wisdom they are learning from each other and in turn share those gifts with us.
I wanted the Guild members to know how happy your quilts made the Hospice patients. Thank you so much for providing the quilts that were such a thrill for our Hospice patients. We are busy planning for the "12 Days of Christmas 2013" when we plan to honor all of our patients during the 12 days before Christmas. If the Smith Mountain Lake Quilters Guild would be interested in providing quilts for the 2013 project, please contact me on my cell at 540/278-3678.
I am submitting an article on the project to the Bedford Bulletin and in the article, credited the Smith Mountain Lake Quilters Guild for the beautiful quilts that were the grand finale of our 12 Days of Christmas.
Thank you so much!!!!!
Teresa Poole, LCSW, CBIS
Clinical Social Worker & Volunteer Coordinator
Bedford Hospice Care
1621 Whitfield Drive
Bedford, Virginia 24523
Phone: 540/587-6592
Fax: 540/586-0468
