2017 VNA Stroll for Hospice Just Around the Corner

2017 VNA Stroll for Hospice Just Around the Corner

The Visiting Nurse Association's 16th annual VNA Stroll for Hospice is right around the corner - Sunday, May 7th. Onsite registration begins at 12 noon and the stroll steps off at 1:15 pm at Central Park Plaza, 63 Lafayette Street in Valparaiso. For advance online registration, go to www.vnanwi.org/latest-events and click on the registration link. Registration forms are also available at the Visiting Nurse Association’s Administration Building at 2401 Valley Drive in Valparaiso, or may be printed from the link above. Registration is $10 per walker, with children 18 and under free. Teams of 6 or more may register for $50 per team. For more information call 219-531-8049.

VNA Stroll for Hospice brings people together to remember their loved ones and to support the VNA Hospice program, helping the VNA continue to provide compassionate hospice care to patients and families facing one of life’s most difficult journeys. Anyone in the community who has lost a loved one or has been touched by VNA Hospice is invited to attend. The route is a little over two miles long, and the pace is slow and easy. Not up to the walk? Not a problem, you can skip the walk and simply relax and enjoy the park!

Individuals and teams are encouraged to collect donations in support of their walk. Register at www.vnanwi.org/latest-events and check the box under the “Giving” section “Fundraise for the Visiting Nurse Association”. Once you’re done registering, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to create your own online fundraising page. You can include a picture and story behind your desire to raise funds. Then send your fundraising link to everybody you know! Not an “online” person? Go to the link above and print out a pledge sheet. Make copies; give to your family, friends, neighbors, gym, church and businesses, etc.

Special memorial signs in honor of loved ones will be offered to anyone collecting donations of $100 or more. The memorial signs will be personalized with your loved one’s name and placed along the VNA Stroll for Hospice route. Awards will be presented to the individual and team raising the most in donations, to the individual and team with the highest number of donors, and also to the largest team.

New Incentives this year! In addition to the memorial sign above, individuals and teams who raise $500 or more will receive a memorial sign and an 8x8-inch memorial brick, personally inscribed and placed in the Arthur B. and Ethel V. Horton VNA Hospice Center Walk of Friends. For those raising $1,000 or more, you will receive a memorial sign plus a memorial plaque, personally inscribed and placed inside the VNA Hospice Center.

Along the walk, Ben’s Soft Pretzels and Pikk’s Tavern will provide snacks. After the stroll, walkers are invited to a picnic at the new Urschel Pavilion or bring a blanket to sit in the park. The menu includes hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs from Valpo Viennas, and side dishes including Culver’s Frozen Custard for dessert. Entertainment will be provided by the VNA Hospice choir and a DJ from 27 Entertainment, as well as lots of kids’ activities, including a bounce house, balloon twister, crafts, face painting, and more. The VNA Stroll for Hospice is a great way to build a new, uplifting tradition to celebrate and remember a loved one and also support VNA Hospice.

In honor of the VNA’s partnership in the We Honor Veterans program, all veterans in attendance will be given a flag pin in honor of their service and recognized as a group during the program.

VNA is the most patient-focused provider of aging, palliative, hospice and grief support services in Northwest Indiana, providing care in Lake, LaPorte, Porter, Starke and Jasper counties. VNA’s programs include VNA Meals on Wheels, Hospice Care, and the VNA Phoenix Center, providing grief support for children and their families. For more information or to make an online donation, please visit the VNA website at www.vnanwi.org. You may also call the VNA at 219-462-5195.

Thank you to our sponsors NIPSCO, Porter Regional Hospital, LaPorte Hospital, Golden Technologies, Shive-Hattery, Wunder Company Inc, E.C. Babilla Inc, Elegan, Pines Village, Family Express, Valpo Viennas, Culvers of Valpo, Ben’s Soft Pretzels and Pikk’s Tavern.