More than a Swim: What Your Support Makes Possible
Every August, hundreds of women swim across Cayuga Lake to raise money for Hospicare & Palliative Care Services. Alongside them, Go the Distance participants set their own goals and fundraise all summer long, on their own schedule and in their own way. When you sponsor a swimmer or Go the Distancer, you are helping a friend reach a fundraising goal AND you are paying for care that insurance won't cover.
Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance only pay for about 80% of the care Hospicare provides. The rest comes from this community, and Women Swimmin' and Go the Distance are a big part of that. And because our corporate sponsors cover the cost of putting on the event, 100% of what you give goes directly to care.
Here is what your gifts make possible:
Patient Needs
Medications, specialized medical equipment, and whatever else each patient requires. These needs vary from person to person, and funds raised through Women Swimmin' let Hospicare meet them regardless of cost or coverage, whether someone is in our residence or at home with their family.
Grief Counseling
Hospicare offers individual counseling and support groups to anyone in Tompkins and Cortland counties who is grieving, whether their loved one was in our care or not. Community members receive six free sessions, and families of patients who died in our care receive 13 months of support at no cost.
Bereavement Programs and Events
Beyond counseling, your gifts fund programs like Walking with Grief, Illuminations, Finding Light in Darkness, writing workshops, and Arts in Grief. These give people ways into their grief that do not require sitting in a circle and talking, and they are open to the whole community.
The Residence
The Nina K. Miller Residence, the first of its kind in New York State, is a six-bed home where someone can spend their final weeks or months with round-the-clock support. Room and board is available on a sliding scale, and no one is turned away because they cannot pay. Support of Women Swimmin’ and Go the Distance ensures we can keep providing this care to those who need it.
Community Education and Outreach
Whether it’s speaking at the local senior center about the importance of advance care planning or handing out brochures and building connections at community events, part of Hospicare’s mission is to make sure more of our friends and neighbors have the knowledge and tools they need to prepare for their end-of-life needs.
Administration
This is the least glamorous thing made possible through gifts, but it’s still important. Behind every nurse at a bedside is the technology that keeps records secure, the ongoing training that keeps our nurses, social workers, aides, and volunteers at their best, the education we provide to clinical staff at hospitals and other facilities, and even things like answering the phones and preparing paperwork for the families we care for. While none of this is hands-on care, it helps make that care possible.
So, when you sponsor a swimmer, a paddler, or a Go the Distance participant, you're helping Hospicare offer comfort, dignity, and support for neighbors you may never meet.
If you know someone swimming this year, will you consider sponsoring them? There’s still a couple more days before our swim, and every dollar makes a difference to families living in Cortland and Tompkins counties.
Sponsor a participant, or make a general donation, at WomenSwimmin.org.