Virtual hike nearly doubles support for Hospice

By Rob Paul

Every year for the last 11 years, Bethell Hospice has hosted a hike that attracts people from all over Caledon and surrounding areas to participate in an effort to raise funds for essential programs and services.

In 2020, the hike had to adapt to circumstances of the pandemic, but still was able to raise over $95,000.

That was the first virtual hike they had hosted, and it was a trial-and-error type of situation. Between 2019 and 2020, the hike was able to raise a combined total of over $265,000 for the Bethell Hospice Foundation

“All of the proceeds go to support the programs and services at Bethell Hospice so that anyone accessing either the residential care or any of our community programs can do so at no cost to themselves or their families,” said Julie Hymers, Bethell Hospice Associate Director, Marketing and Communications.

This year, with time to prepare, the virtual hike was able to kick off on Sunday, May 2, to coincide with the beginning of National Hospice and Palliative Care Week and participants were able to go on their virtual hike anytime and anywhere until May 31. 

With the shift to virtual this year, the hike was even able to include animals to help bring attention to the cause while allowing for some extra cute social media posts. 

There were teams led by dogs like Hymers Miniature Australian Shepherd, Ariel, and others led by a plethora of farm animals, like the Barnyard Team from Riverdale Farm—led by Heidi the miniature donkey and supported by Thomas the Nubian goat, Emma and Krissy the Haflinger horses, and Muppet the Plymouth Rock Hen.

With less opportunity for fundraisers over the last 15 or so months due to COVID-19 restrictions, Bethell Hospice needed the virtual hike to attract even more support than normal to help ensure their programs can remain free to those in need; they need to raise over $1 million per year to continue to provide free services to the community 

Luckily, Hymers and staff were positively overwhelmed by the amount of support that was given from Caledon residents and beyond and pleasantly surprised with how willing people were to buy into the virtual aspect.

“We were just thrilled with the outpouring of support for this year's virtual hike,” she said. “Registered hikers were able to pick up their hike kits via curbside pickup at Bethell Hospice and leave us messages and photos for our memory board. We held our opening ceremonies online on May 2, followed by a week dedicated to the hike, and closing ceremonies on May 8. Throughout the week, people completed their hikes throughout the community—and some even chose to hike every day during the week.”

Overall, the hike attracted huge numbers, which in turn led to the virtual hike nearly doubling last year's total raised and allowed them to blow by their goal of raising $125,000.

“30 teams participated in this year's virtual hike, as well as a number of individuals who were not part of a team. In total, there were 163 participants hiking for Bethell Hospice, including a number of first-time hikers, and many first-time donors. Our community really came out and supported the hike in full force, and we could not be more grateful. We had our most successful year ever, raising over $180,000 in support of Bethell Hospice programs and services.”

Not only did people take to social media to show off their fun on the virtual hike, but the vast majority of participants reached out to Bethell Hospice to show their commitment to a needed staple in the community.

The hike being virtual also lent itself to people getting creative and even some from across the country hopping in to show they care.

“We encouraged people to share photos of their virtual hikes with us and were really excited to see all the creative ways people found to get involved,” she said. “While most people completed a traditional hike or walk, some participants chose to cycle, or even scale a rock-climbing wall, in support of Bethell Hospice. We even had some teams taking advantage of the virtual format by having family members participate from as far away as Vancouver.”

Having free services to those in need like the Bethell Hospice, is something the Caledon community has come to know, but it's clear it's not taken for granted.

The flurry of support through the virtual hike was huge for helping Bethell Hospice keep everything going as smoothly as they can in a year as tough as this last one.

The programming being offered has even gone up a notch with a need for extra support for many in the community and Hymers is thankful they've been able to be there and will continue to be there for the people of Caledon. 

“Throughout the challenges of COVID-19, Bethell Hospice has continued to provide outstanding palliative care to residents and their families,” she said. “The demand for our community programs has also increased exponentially, as people isolated during the pandemic reached out for counselling, grief and bereavement support in record numbers. Fundraising during a pandemic is a real challenge, when in person events cannot go ahead, but the need for hospice services are greater than ever. The support of this year's virtual hike shows how much our community values Bethell Hospice, and how it stepped up to make sure our care could continue. We could not be more grateful.”

Though the virtual hike is in the rearview mirror, fundraising continues at Bethell Hospice through events such as the monthly 50/50 online raffle and through personal donation. 

“People can go online to our website and buy tickets with 50 per cent of the proceeds supporting Bethell Hospice programs and services directly and the other 50 per cent is the price for the individual,” said Hymers. 

Those who wish to donate to Bethell Hospice can do so at bhf.akaraisin.com/ui/bhfdonations/donations/start and for more information on the monthly 50/50 raffle and upcoming fundraisers visit foundation.bethellhospice.org/category/upcoming-events.