HOPE Helping Hospice

HOPE Students, Hefting Boxes for the Move

Twelve willing students from the Lamar Teen Center, Project HOPE, braved the heat to help transfer stored equipment and boxes of miscellaneous items to the Lamar Area Hospice headquarters. Although they were going from West Elm Street to West Olive, the distance was minor in light of the continued heat wave. A vacant business on West Elm Street has served as a temporary general storage area while construction workers have been renovating the former Lamar Hotel into the new, multi-office headquarters for the local hospice organization.

Grab Another Box, Move on Down the Aisle

The students, mostly middle school age, volunteered to donate some of their future Tuesdays to the local Hospice.  Deb Pelley, Hospice director, said, “Next week we’ll probably have them doing some yard work for some of our patients.”  Anthony LaTour, one of the Teen Center directors, said the kids came to him, looking for ways to help out in the community.  Lori Hammer, HOPE director, was on hand as well,  as the students loaded an open-top horse trailer with items ranging from walkers, bedpans, bags of knitting yard and chairs of different sizes and purposes.  The Teen Center is mostly idle through the summer months, although some activities for the students have been planned, such as an annual pool party, set for a Sunday in July.

The First of Several Loads

The students started their chores around 11am on Thursday, June 28 and worked up to their lunch break.  LaTour said they have an afternoon engagement at Juniper Village, working with the residents on a project involving the five senses.

By Russ Baldwin