Neighbors in Need

Donation will help furnish next hospice

Anita Hardin

Sentinel Staff Writer

May 20, 2008

With its latest $350,000 contribution, The Villagers for Hospice support group has raised nearly $1 million to furnish Cornerstone Hospice's next patient residence.

Villagers for Hospice chairwoman Arlene Bentz presented the check to Cornerstone Hospice officials at a recent luncheon.

Founded in 2003, Villagers for Hospice is an independent, all-volunteer organization devoted to providing support for Cornerstone Hospice, a nonprofit serving Lake, Sumter and other Central Florida counties. Villagers for Hospice raises funds to furnish and decorate the 12-bedroom Villages Hospice House as well as three similar hospice houses to serve The Villages in the future, said Cornerstone Hospice Foundation Executive Director Ted Williams.

"They've raised a total of more than $1.3 million since they began," he said. "Of that, $900,000 has been raised to decorate and furnish our planned second Villages Hospice House." No construction date has been set for the second house.

When the project is complete, all four houses will surround a central chapel on a single plot of land near the intersection of County Road 466 and Morse Boulevard in The Villages, Williams said.

Bentz said the group is offering a seven-night Bermuda cruise April 25 to May 2, 2009, aboard the MSC Orchestra. Per-person rates range from $926 to $1,876, based on double occupancy. Less than 30 of the original 100 rooms booked remain available. For information, call Bentz at 352-750-9117 or OmniTours toll-free at 1-877-787-6664.

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