Author Eckhart Tolle has said “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
With all the busyness that comes with work, it can be difficult to find the time to stop and give thanks for everything we have. To say thank you to the people around us who make a difference in our lives. There is an event on the horizon that allows us to do this – to say thank you to a very important organisation that helps so many people on a daily basis.
Hospice Awareness Week is coming up on the 11-18 May. As a national initiative, hospices throughout New Zealand will participate with different events. This national week is about raising awareness of hospice services in the community – helping people to understand the ways in which hospice services provide care and support for people with a life limiting condition.
Locally, many hospices are holding a number of fundraising activities during this week. Nationally Hospice NZ focuses on working with partners like BNI to tell the hospice story, to get their key messages out into the community. The goal is to ensure everyone is aware of hospice and understand the services provided in case they or someone they care about could benefit from accessing support as they approach the end of their lives.
Hospice NZ and BNI have a long-standing relationship. BNI first started working with Hospice in 2005 and has raised over $750,000 to date, with $138,000 raised by BNI groups nationally in 2013. There is a perfect synergy between the two organisations by having shared common values. BNI’s philosophy is about ‘giver’s gain’ and growing successful businesses within the community they operate in. Hospice is about supporting communities in which people live. Doing good, is good for business. Both organisations share values of people connecting with people and developing relationships based on trust.
Hospice awareness week is a great time to celebrate this relationship and pause to pay thanks for all the good that hospice does. It’s also a great time to raise some money for the organisation and reach out to your local hospice if your chapter hasn’t yet done so. Fundraising can be as simple as chapters collecting donations from their members – perhaps just a gold coin – during the week. In the past chapters have held raffles and had prizes donated. It doesn’t have to mean a big fuss for chapters and every donation helps.
With less than four weeks to Hospice Awareness Week, now is a great time to think about what you can do to help. Take some time to give gratitude – remember; givers’ gain and even the smallest bit helps.
