News & Testimonials

This year we are all forced to ask questions and make decisions we couldn’t even imagine in January.  How do we stay healthy? Is my job secure? What will happen to my investments? Is my business going to survive?  While it is impossible to know the future, one thing we are certain of is “together, we will get through this”.

We have been grappling with the issue of what to do with our annual fundraiser. We had originally postponed it from April 4 to October 24, and now we are making the decision to cancel it for this year, but will pick it up again as usual on April 10, 2021

Finding the balance between safety and normalcy is a difficult trade off; we have all seen businesses and organizations that run too far on one side or the other.  We don’t think there’s a perfect answer for every organization, so we could never criticize the decisions of others.  But in that same spirit we want to offer some of the reasoning why we are canceling this year’s event.

First, while many projections suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic will be much lower in October, it will likely still be active at some level and it is clear that those most impacted by the disease are our more seasoned generations. While our fundraiser attracts people of all ages, the majority of the attendees are of the same generation of those at higher risk.

Second, fundraisers are meant to be fun. It’s a reason to get dressed up, see friends, catch up with old acquaintances, and hear the rich stories that make up all of our lives. Mix in dinner, a little music and drink and it’s a wonderful night out. Until we overcome COVID-19, safety protocols change these dynamics. There’s likely no buffet, and we can’t even put salt and pepper shakers or water pictures on the tables. Will we be able to have a band? It’s unclear. What will the bar look like and how will drinks be served? We frankly have no idea. Mix in a facility that can only be legally half-full with everybody wearing a mask, and it frankly can place a damper on the evening. The “fun” part of the fundraiser seems to be lost.

But most importantly, we are more concerned about the community than ourselves. In full transparency, with every fundraiser we are able to put roughly $50,000 towards the Hospice Cottage after the cost of the event. That money is incredibly important to our long-term outlook. However, we have always run our finances conservatively, and missing one fundraiser does not put the Sunset Hospice Cottage at risk. We are in this for the long-haul with the community, as all of us will go through the final stages of life. At this important time as people have lost jobs, seen their business and investments impacted, it feels disingenuous to ask the community for money when they may need it more than us.

If you are fortunate and you would like to make a direct donation, you can still do it on our website with a credit card, with a check, or just drop it off at the Cottage. For more information on donations visit us at www.hospicecottage.com. As most of you know, we take every donation with the utmost level of appreciation and humility.

For those of you who have sponsored a table for our 2020 fundraiser, thank you! We can honor your sponsorship for 2021.  If you would consider this year’s payment as a donation for 2020 and would sponsor again in 2021, we will warmly accept your generosity. If you prefer to have your donation refunded, please do so without hesitation. To request a refund you may contact Susanne Murphy at 507-360-6699 or zanner75@gmail.com or Deb Scheidt at 507-360-6657 or dascheidt@gmail.com.  All live and silent auction items will be auctioned off at the 2021 banquet, the grand prizes will be given away at that time, the purse raffle will be held and all cash donations and ads will be acknowledged in next year’s program. We will be contacting you in January 2021 regarding your sponsorship. If you have any questions prior to that time, please contact Susanne or Deb.

Please stay safe, wear your mask when you cannot practice safe social distancing, and let’s get through this together.