Nanaimo took to the trails at Westwood Lake to try to help hospice.
Hiking for Hospice was held Sunday morning at Westwood Lake Park. Runners or walkers chose either a six-kilometre loop around the lake or a one-kilometre stroll, with registration fees going to the Nanaimo Community Hospice.
Hospice provides support for those going through end-of-life care, as well as to their loved ones.
“This is also an event for us to remember those people in our lives that we love and are no longer with us today. Certainly in spirit they’re here,” said Paul Sibley, executive director of Nanaimo Community Hospice.
Leonard Krog, Nanaimo MLA, thanked the community for supporting hospice and said it’s an organization that speaks to the values and caring nature of Nanaimo.
“We are all going to finish our life at some point and how we finish it and who is there with us to give us comfort as we pass on is a really important thing,” he said.
Coun. Ian Thorpe, acting mayor, thanked hospice and its many volunteers.
“It exemplifies some of the qualities that we, I think, value the most, and I’m talking about hospice standing for compassion, hospice standing for care, looking after those people who need it at a time in their life when they are vulnerable. Not just those facing death, but their families, who often need counselling and some degree of support, and hospice is there,” Thorpe said.
For more information about Nanaimo Community Hospice, visit www.nanaimohospice.com.
editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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