The shining silver bell, tied with a red ribbon, was etched with one word — “Believe.”
Clarice Duits thought it was perfect.
The Franklin resident was searching for special gifts to include in care packages for patients in hospice this holiday season. She had chocolate and candy canes, but needed something to tie the gifts together while showing each patient they weren’t alone.
“I started thinking of Santa, and doing good for others, and that made me think of ‘The Polar Express,’” she said. “One idea just led to another, and I looked up Polar Express bells, and lo and behold, there they were.”
This holiday season, Duits has crafted more than 60 gift baskets to be distributed to hospice patients. The bells, candy and more were packed into packages made of thick felt, crafted to look like Santa’s pants. She worked with Main Street Hospice in Franklin, which will distribute them to its patients throughout December.
The effort speaks to the importance community members hold to the work hospices do, said Cheryl Mioduski, volunteer coordinator for Main Street Hospice.
“All hospices rely to some extent on members of the local community to enrich the lives of hospice patients and let them know that they are not alone — that their ‘neighbors’ remember them on important holidays,” she said.
For Duits, the gesture held special significance. As her mother neared the end of her life in their small town in northeast Nebraska, she relied on hospice care to keep her comfortable.
For that, Duits is forever grateful.
“This is an opportunity to keep her memory alive and give back to an amazing organization, regardless of the city or state in which one lives,” she said.
Duits moved to Indiana in 1999, and until recently, lived with her partner Rick Viculek in downtown Indianapolis. But late last year, Viculek suggested they move to Franklin.
Duits agreed, but had a condition.
“I told him I needed a carrot, and not the kind you put on your hand. I wanted a dog,” she said.
They brought Latte, a fluffy white miniature English teddy bear goldendoodle, home with them. Duits had Latte certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, and in February, Viculek and Latte started volunteering with Main Street Hospice to provide comfort to patients every Friday.
“She’s such a gentle, loving dog that I said that we can’t keep her just to ourselves. We have to share her,” Duits said.
Volunteering is vital for facilities such as Main Street Hospice, Mioduski said. Medicare regulations require hospices to show evidence of a volunteer program, in which volunteer hours equal 5% of all clinical hours spent with patients. But volunteers routinely provide four times the minimum hours required of hospice volunteer programs.
“The first thing I tell people when they’re shopping for a hospice is to ask about the volunteer program because research shows that those hospices who have the highest satisfaction rates share one thing in common and that is having a strong volunteer program,” Mioduski said. “I’m totally convinced that our volunteers make a difference every day. We do what we do without pay. I tell our volunteers that we get paid in smiles.”
Duits first decided to make gift baskets to pass out with chocolates and decorations for their rooms during the Easter season.
“If Latte’s the hospice volunteer, and Rick is the certified handler, I guess that made me the certified gift-giver for all the ladies in the nursing home who don’t have anyone to visit them,” she said. “It was my way to be involved with what they were doing.”
The experience was so rewarding that Duits decided to do it again for Christmas.
She brainstormed ideas of what might provide the most comfort for patients in hospice. Figuring they already had plenty of lap blankets and comfy socks, she was looking for something unique.
“I love giving, and I love creativity, and I love doing projects from start to finish,” she said.
Researching different options, she gathered the candy and Polar Express bells for the patients at Main Street Hospice. She searched for the perfect red-and-green plaid wrapping paper, and bows to match. The Santa pant baskets were the final touch.
Inside the Main Street Hospice office, she assembled each gift package. After hours of work, they were ready to give out.
“With each one, I thought to myself, ‘This for someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, and the like.’ Although 60 may seem like a daunting task, I simply had the mindset of making one dozen and doing that five times,’ Duits said. “I have deemed gift-giving as my hobby, especially when it makes for a greater good.”
