Blue Ridge Hospice recognizes its volunteers for donation of 22,000 hours performing ‘acts of kindness’

Nowhere, perhaps, is the gift of giving as prevalent as it is at the area’s Blue Ridge Hospice which, last year, racked up 22,000 volunteer hours among its myriad supporters.

That was the number the Winchester-based non-profit medical establishment for those in the last few months of life announced Thursday (April 20) and for which management expressed grateful thanks at its annual — and swanky — Appreciation Dinner at Lake Frederick.

The event attracted some 150 volunteers, including the founder of the 42-year-old institution, Helen Zebarth of Winchester, and Mary Ellen Duffy, a volunteer who has used therapy dogs at the hospice for the past 10 years. This year Duffy introduced canines Keely and Bella to the crowd, Bella being an understudy to the now 10-year-old veteran, Keely, who has provided doggie therapy and patient and family support to hospice patients for almost a decade.

Trainee Bella, in the foreground, watches as handler Mary Ellen Duffy pets her veteran therapy dog, Keely. Photo by Susan O’Kelly

The overall message to those present by hospice management was: “May you be proud of the work you do, the person you are, and the difference you make.”

The stated mission of Blue Ridge Hospice Is: “Brightening life’s journey with quality and compassionate care for all whom we are privileged to serve.”

President and CEO Cheryl Hamilton Fried introduced the evening’s keynote speaker, Nancy Herzog Walker, a Tampa, Florida-based author who describes in compassionate detail the 100 days she and her family spent caring for her cancer-ridden father, Reverend Robert D. Herzog. Rev. Herzog was a well-known champion of volunteerism during his 44 years as an Episcopal church priest, serving as a chaplain at Arlington cemetery and as a priest in various parishes in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. He died in 2008.

Retired Front Royal architect Fred Andreae and his wife Christine were recognized “for making our volunteer appreciation event possible.”