Local fundraiser brings in $142,000 for Hospice program
–Local non-profit Wilshire Hospice hosted its 17th Annual Hospice Hoedown Fundraiser at the Hearst Ranch this past Saturday, Aug. 3. The Wilshire Hospice Hoedown raises funds to support the music program at Wilshire Hospice which brings music to patients and their caregivers, or “medicine for the spirit,” during their end-of-life journey.
The afternoon raised $142,000, including a live auction and a Fund-A-Need program. The special Fund-A-Need story highlighted the unique music program at Wilshire, which employs multiple full-time musicians who work as part of the hospice interdisciplinary team. The team members each visit 4-6 patients a day on the Central Coast. For the Fund-A-Need, hospice musician Tim Pacheco, and hospice patient family member Lisa Daniels, shared their heartfelt stories about the music program. Wilshire Hospice’s music program provides in-home support in a way that is unique to medicine, as spiritual counselor and musician John Andrews shares, “I’ve always said that prayer is the best medicine. But music is the second-best medicine. So when we can put those things together it’s a wonderful gift to see how we help people to engage their heart, their soul, and often find resources they didn’t know they had.”
The afternoon also honored a few special people who have supported the work of Wilshire Hospice. The Wilshire Hospice Hero award, in honor of Nic Gaudiuso and Toni Erpenbach, was created to recognize the outstanding service and dedication of a Wilshire Hospice employee. This year, two Wilshire Hospice Hero awards were presented including one to Wilshire Hospice medical social worker Megan Prendeville, and the second to the late Dawn Capitain, a Wilshire Hospice liaison nurse who passed away in June of 2019. Dawn’s husband, Mark Capitain, received the award in her honor.
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