With the same enthusiasm seen at some restaurants during a birthday announcement, some Illinois teenagers are bringing extra joy with a special kind of hospice care.
Rebecca Lenz is part of the Adventist St Thomas Hospice Birthday Brigade, a youth organization made up of 10 volunteers who visit hospice residents on their birthday, PinoneerLocal.com reports.
The program, which is constantly in danger of being understaffed whenever its volunteers go off to college, has organized approximately 30 visits overall for hospice patients, according to the article.
Recenlty Lenz visited Adeline Kulikowski on her 89th birthday and came bearing a card and balloon, according to the article.
"I heard there’s a birthday!" said Lenz as she walked into Kulikowski’s home, stated the website. The 89 year old smiled and accepted her presents, eager to speak with Lenz.
For Lenz, the program has a personal connection to her. She told the news provider her grandmother was a hospice patient and that she enjoys "bringing a little extra cheer to others in hospice care."
While Kulikowski’s birthday party was full of family and friends, Lenz said often times her Birthday Brigade visits are to nursing homes, which can be a more personal affair, and the patients are always happy to see her.
© Copyright
