NORWICH – Hospice and Palliative Care of Chenango County held one component of its annual Spring Plant Sale Wednesday in Weiler Park, pick-up times for those individuals and businesses who placed their plant orders in advance running from mid-morning through the early afternoon. Customers located in Afton, Bainbridge, Greene, Oxford and Sherburne were able to pick their plants up at their local NBT Bank branch Wednesday afternoon.
Hospice is a nonprofit health care agency that serves individuals with life limiting illness and has been active in Chenango County since 1991.
The Spring Plant Sale is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Hospice, orders solicited from the general public as well as internal sales from more than 50 schools and businesses throughout the county.
“The whole field was covered with plants today,” said Clinical Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator Kendall Drexler as she pointed to the almost cleared field. “This is a really huge help.”
The proceeds of Spring Plant Sale go directly to Hospice, the money used to help cover its deficit of $25 per patient, per day, said Drexler.
“We do this fundraising to offset the cost, so we can continue to offer quality end-of-life care,” she added.
Drexler extended gratitude not only to the Hospice volunteers, but also to the groups that volunteered to assist throughout the day including Leading Edge participants and Oneonta Job Corps members.
Leading Edge is an adult learning program through DCMO BOCES, said Drexler, a holistic job-readiness and life skills training program open to any Chenango County resident, free of charge. It is a comprehensive five-week program offering CPR/AED training, computer skills training, a ten hour OSHA training course, and a ServSafe Starters Employee Food Safety Training Certificate of Completion. Leading Edge strives to get its participants active in the community, and their volunteer efforts with Hospice, said Drexler, shows just how committed they are to the community as a whole.
Oneonta Job Corps Work Based Learning Coordinator Michael Gray and Business and Community Liaison Victoria Pegg were in attendance with nine Job Corps members from Oneonta to lend a hand in the organization and distribution of the plants.
Gray described Job Corps as a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16 through 24 improve the quality of their lives through career technical and academic training.
“Job Corps is a great second chance for education, training and learning other skills that will facilitate these young people to succeed,” said Gray. He added the nine students that made the trip from Oneonta to Norwich were on hand to help with the distribution of the plants, and any other duties where they could be of assistance.
“This has been really fun,” said Drexler. “Those who came to volunteer have done a great job ... it’s appreciated.”
For those who missed out on pre-ordering plants but are interested in lending a helping hand in support of Hospice, there will be a cash-and-carry plant sale from 8:30 a.m. through 1 p.m. on May 15 in the East Park Gazebo, downtown Norwich. Additional information can be obtained by visiting hospicechenango.org or by calling 334-3556.