Submitted by Windermere

As San Juan Islanders, Windermere Realtors value neighbors and the community. Staff donate money from every transaction to local nonprofits that make a difference. This month, Windermere RE San Juan Island is giving $1,000 to the Hospice of San Juan.

Hospice of San Juan, composed of trained volunteers, provides comfort and support to patients and their families when coping with life-limiting illness. They work both independently and alongside Medicare-funded hospice services. The community looks to Hospice of San Juan to help bridge the gaps in other care caused by our geographic isolation from the mainland.

The county’s demographics point toward increasing need for caregivers: while the above age 65 group averages 11 percent nationwide, San Juan Island’s above age 65 group is around 25 percent and is growing. An added wrinkle of complexity here is that many elders’ families live on the mainland and are not readily available when needs arise.

Hospice of San Juan features five main program areas: direct patient care and caregiver respite; grief support; community and volunteer education; Music and Memory (as documented in the “Alive Inside” movie); and durable medical equipment lending.

They do not maintain a physical office and are entirely volunteer-based, so all components of their budget go toward the programmatic content.

Support for Hospice of San Juan from the community really is support of the most vulnerable people who live here, and for that Windermere staff are deeply grateful.