I was asked to write a speech to be delivered to Zen Hospice Project’s fundraising gala, One Night, One Heart. The goal was to thank and engage donors. This is that speech.
“Tonight, as we celebrate our 30th anniversary, I’d like to take a minute to thank all of you who have helped make Zen Hospice Project what it is today. Thank you to our donors who continue to believe in the importance of what we do – our vision, our unique model of care, and our mission to change the experience of dying and caregiving.
Thank you to our residents and their families who allow us to practice our model of care so we can continue to refine it, giving people the best experience at the end of life – living fully until their last breath.
Thank you to our caregivers, our nursing team, our volunteers, and our kitchen team. These are the people who practice our model of care and give our residents a safe, comfortable home to live out their remaining days.
And thank you to our staff who support all of these groups every day, from family members to the Laguna Honda Hospital volunteer teams and everyone in between.
All of the work we do every day could not be done without each and every one of you. Our past, our present, our future – none would be possible without you. We are grateful to you.
Let’s talk about the future. We have a plan to expand our Mindful Caregiver Education. Several years ago, we strategically heightened our visibility because we recognized the need to reach more people than we can in our Guest House and Laguna Honda Hospital alone. Organizations around the globe are trying to replicate our model of care, yet we are at least a decade ahead of most in providing end-of-life care – even ahead of state-of-the-art institutions. Our progress and our ability to provide care and education are only due to your generous support. We can change the experience of dying and caregiving in the world, and we are making progress. But we need to scale our model of care in a much larger way.
Our Guest House is funded by all of you. Our care – to the residents at the end of their lives, to their families, and to the caregivers – could not happen without all of you. We are grateful for you, but we still need your help.
Mindful Caregiver Education is needed throughout the United States. Currently, there are 44 million family or informal caregivers in the US – and that’s just family caregivers. There are millions of volunteer and staff caregivers who are suffering from burnout or stress from the surroundings and policies that tie their wrists and make providing care more difficult than it has to be.
We have set out on a mission to solve the problem of caregiver burnout and stress by training thousands (and maybe millions) of caregivers throughout the country. We have a plan to make this happen, but without your support, we may fall short of realizing our goals.
Tonight, we thank you for all you’ve done, and we ask you to open your hearts and, yes, your wallets, to help us impact on this much-needed change. Zen Hospice Project has the model of care that allows people to live fully until the very end – and gives caregivers the tools they need to provide the care every person deserves. We are the experts in Mindful Caregiving, and only WE can change the experience of dying and caregiving. Thank you for supporting us in this ever-important mission.