Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice is organizing a fundraiser over the holiday season, but they hope no one shows up.
Hospice Executive Director Rick Paczkowski says that's because the fundraiser event, called the No-Show Wall Flower Ball, isn't real. The hospice sent "invitations" by mail to individuals and organizations throughout the county for the No-Show Wall Flower Ball. The invitations announce, "You are cordially invited not to attend the No-Show Wall Flower Ball, the perfect event for the true wall flower who is more comfortable at home in sweatpants than out in a black tie or evening gown."Paczkowski said a lot of fundraising events are held by not-for-profit organizations like his near the end of each year.
"There are balls that people have to get dressed up and go out to," he said. "We came up with this about three years ago as something different."
Paczkowski said when his organization looked at the time it can take to organize a fundraising event, they decided they could save themselves and donors time and energy by simply asking for donations at the end of the year. He said the invitations are a fun way to bring attention to the organization's fundraising effort.
Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice provides treatment for terminally ill patients who have six months or less to live. "Being not-for-profit, we take anyone," Paczkowski said.
He said Medicare and Medicaid don't always cover all his organization's costs for providing care to their patients. The rest the hospice has to raise in donations, he said.
Paczkowski said the hospice usually raises between $10,000 and $20,000 per year from donors. He said the hospice's donors are people who really care about the service hospice provides.
"What I'm looking for is people to look into their heart and say, 'Hey, this is an organization that deserves some donations,'" Paczkowski said.
Donations to the hospice can be sent to P.O. Box 1196, Warsaw, IN 46581-1196.
For more information about Kosciusko Home Care and Hospice, call 574-372-3401 or visit www.koshomecare.org
