Name: Barbara Keppen How long have you been a volunteer? 12 years. What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer? Helps in bereavement and does occasional mailings. What made you decide to become a volunteer? I lost my husband and so I know what they’re all going through. If I can be any help in the bereavement department to make it easier for them…it’s a wonderful thing. Why Angela Hospice? Because of losing my husband. I saw the ad for volunteers and came in. Then once I did the training I decided I wanted to get into the bereavement department. I got into the office part of it and it’s very rewarding. Barbara (left) with Angela Hospice staff, Margaret Levine. What is your favorite part about volunteering?   Just everything. It’s a wonderful organization and everyone is so nice. I just love it. Walking into this place is like getting a big hug. What is one of your favorite stories or memories from volunteering?...

Name: Liam Neary How long have you been a volunteer? One-and-a-half years. What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer? Delivering products and medications to patients. What made you decide to become a volunteer? My wife Charlotte  is a volunteer and I saw how happy volunteering made her. It was the eight weeks of volunteer training with Syndie [Angela Hospice Director of Volunteer Services] that changed my life. It became an honor to be able to do this for someone. I’ve taken medications on a Saturday in a snowstorm to Belleville…it’s just something that I’m happy to do.  What is your favorite part about volunteering? Giving back; that’s it. It’s the joy that you get from helping someone. Liam delivers products and medications to patients so he's often on the move. What is one of your favorite stories or memories from volunteering? I guess the thanks that you get from someone. Often times it’s not the p...

Name: Michelle Willingham-Tubbs,   Home Care Charge Nurse How long have you worked here? 15 years in August. What made you decide to work here? I had a friend that came here and just said what a wonderful place it was, and I love working in hospice because I’ve worked in hospice prior. This just had such a family, caring atmosphere. Everybody felt like…they cared so much about the patients. And that’s what it was about: caring about each other and caring about the patients. You have that in some agencies but it just went from the top to the bottom here. So it just felt like a good fit for me. What’s a typical day like for you? A lot of phone calls, a lot of multi-tasking, and trying to think out of the box to get as many people served as possible. It’s a little bit of a juggling act; serving those we have and bringing as many people on as possible. What is your favorite part about working at Angela Hospice? Hearing people’s stories; everybody has a story. ...

When David Bowie died at the beginning of the year it devastated the music industry and fans across the world. But for Angela Hospice volunteer Rosanne Stark, it brought up a very special memory with a patient. “This was maybe the day before Richard passed,” Rosanne said. “I left [Angela Hospice] and I heard three songs by David Bowie on the radio. I started saying out loud, ‘This is for Richard. I know it is.’”* Richard was an Angela Hospice patient that Rosanne had been working with. The two would often discuss their love for music, including David Bowie. Later that same night she came back to Angela Hospice, still thinking about the songs she had heard. When she arrived at Richard’s room that evening, she told him about it. He opened his eyes, looked at his sisters, and jokingly said, “Get outta here!” His sisters then showed Rosanne some videos of him from before he was sick, when he was in a band. He passed away the next day. “I’ll never forget that story...

Last week, our very own President & CEO Margot Parr was recognized at the annual Cookie Gala, where she received her “One Tough Cookie” recognition from the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan! Margot was one of 23 women and 6 men to receive recognition, all of whom are inspiring the next generation of leaders, and positively impacting the workplace and the community. She was nominated by former Girl Scout and Angela Hospice’s Board of Directors Chairman, Barb Hendrickson. Congrats Margot!

Name: Kelly Kovach-Collicott,  Social Worker How long have you worked here? Three years. What made you decide to work here? I always knew I wanted to be a social worker but I kind of fell into business related jobs so I went that route for a little bit. Then I had the opportunity to start my Masters in Social Work. I knew the minute I started that that I wanted to work for Angela Hospice. I made sure that one of my internships during the masters’ program was at a hospice. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be here at Angela’s. But eventually I made it here and just going from the business world to hospice, hospice is something I can believe in and really, truly feel that I’m helping people. So it’s much more pleasant than crunching numbers. How had you heard of Angela Hospice? Just being in the community and being Catholic in the community. Angela Hospice is what everybody used. What’s a typical day like for you? For me, I am an Admissions Social Worker...