April 18, 2024
Annapolis, US 58 F

Community action group uplifts pediatric hospice program with donations

Representatives from the United Communities Against Poverty, Inc., stopped into the Largo office of Hospice of the Chesapeake to donate toys and other necessities the nonprofit’s Chesapeake Kids pediatric hospice program. Pictured from left are: Director of Business Development Larry McCrea; Clinical Manager Melissa Olewnik, RN; UCAP Volunteer and Donation Services manager Deborah Ellison; Volunteer Services Coordinator Cheryl Michi; Bereavement Counselor Roberta Rook, MA, LCPC; Latrecia Jones with UCAP and Office Manager Loretta Rollins. Courtesy photo.

When United Communities Against Poverty, Inc., CEO and President Rasheeda Jamison-Harriott learned they had extra toys and other children’s gifts they had received as donations that were looking for a home, she tasked the organization’s Volunteer and Donation Services Manager Deborah Ellison to find a worthy organization.

So, Ellison did what most of us do these days. “I Googled it,” she said.

Fortunately for the Chesapeake Kids program at Hospice of the Chesapeake, it popped up in the search results. Ellison said Jamison-Harriott was quite pleased with the discovery.

The Capitol Heights nonprofit packed up more than 25 toys, stuffed animals and other necessities that pediatric hospice patients and their families could use and brought them to Hospice of the Chesapeake’s Largo office the day before Valentine’s Day. It was a sweet surprise.

 Chief Operating Officer Melody Stried, MSW, LCSW, expressed gratitude for the donation and for a new community connection. “Organizations like UCAP are important members of our care team,” Stried said. “They not only help the community they serve with their activism and generosity, but by reaching out to us, they help us learn more about the community we serve.”

The donations also will be used to support the nonprofit’s Chesapeake Life Center’s children’s grief programs in Prince George’s County.

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