When most people hear the name Hospice of the Valley their thoughts immediately jump to care for the elder.
This was exactly what supply chain management sophomores Lissa Leibson and Taylor Masson thought when they were put in charge of planning their business fraternity’s 5K run to benefit the non-profit organization. However, both students soon found out their service event was to benefit the pediatric unit of the organization.
Alpha Kappa Psi has been coordinating a 5K/10K run every spring since a member wanted to do more for the organization in 2008 after her grandmother received care from them.
“She reached out to her AKPsi brothers and said, ‘Hey I really want to do something for hospice, what do you think?’ and they decided to start the Helping Hand Run to benefit Hospice of the Valley’s Helping Hand fund,” Leibson says.
The Helping Hand fund specifically benefits the pediatric unit and provides money to families for things that cannot be covered by insurance, including electricity, food bills, end-of-life wishes and more.
“The vision is to provide exceptional care for children in central Arizona regardless of if they have insurance to cover the bills or any other financial means,” Reber says. “So no one is turned away.”
The nonprofit organization considers both the financial and mental pressures families in such situations are going through and works to better their process. Hospice of the Valley was founded in 1977 and now has become the largest not-for-profit Hospice in the nation, says Hospice of the Valley special events coordinator Kelly Reber.
Leibson and Masson immediately went to work once they were appointed as co-chairs for the run. The two began contacting location businesses for donations and working out the logistics of the run, such as water stations and tag names.
“I've been super impressed by the initiative, and from the beginning, it was clear that their hearts were in it as well,” Reber says.
Although Masson was new to coordinating runs, she was especially thrilled to be working on this event.
“When I was in high school I used to volunteer for Hospice of the Valley so it's actually very close to my heart because I knew a lot of those people,” Masson says.
The two students also actively worked to involve the rest of their chapter in the process, whether it was by helping collect donations or run in the event itself.
“Service is one of our five core values so it plays an integral role in how we function as a chapter and our kind of a mindset,” Leibson says. “Our practice is that in order to establish yourself in your community, the community needs to understand that you're there to help.”
In addition to the funds that the run will raise, the event aims to promote awareness of the pediatric unit and shares the success of the program. Hospice of the Valley has been working to expand their services. Events like the 5K run help get the word out about the organization’s initiatives.
“There is a general notion that people have about hospice and we're working towards changing that,” Reber says.
