The power of community connectors: Dan Finegan
Motivated by his own experiences, Dan Finegan has actively promoted our hospice and facilitated community support, contributing to our sustainability and recognition.
When Dan Finegan first learned about Dorothy Ley Hospice from his late friend Jack Cooper, a long-time board member and supporter, he was captivated by the concept of dying with dignity. He had experience with loss. His father died suddenly of a heart attack at 50, and Dan didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. Ten years later, he lost his mom to cancer — she died in hospital after visiting hours. “I was told she had three days, and she died that night,” Dan explains. “I never really got a chance to clear the deck — to fully express all my gratitude and love for her.” It still affects him today.
Dan now recognizes how different his and his mom’s experiences could have been had a hospice like Dorothy Ley been available to them. After his father died, his mom developed a fear of leaving the house, known as agoraphobia, for almost two years. She didn’t have access to the type of bereavement support the hospice offers today. And then again, at his mom’s own end of life, having access to the Dorothy Ley Hospice residence and the team’s expertise, care and compassion would have made a difference for his mom and Dan.
But what struck Dan most when he learned about the hospice was that so much of the critical support is possible because of donors and 250 unpaid volunteers. “They’re doing incredible, much-needed work in the community,” he explains. He just knew he could do something to help.
With only a portion of funding coming from the government, we are left to fundraise significant revenue each year to cover our operating costs. And we are successful because of people like Dan — compassionate givers and community connectors who help in whatever ways they can.
Dan is a St. George’s Golf and Country Club member and introduced the hospice to the club. Now we’re one of the causes members support. Dan speaks about what we do whenever he can, to whomever he can and has encouraged some donors to increase contributions. And he and another supporter the late Len Mines, whose wife Pat passed away at our hospice, were behind the installation of our Donor Recognition Wall — a beautiful tribute to the many people helping sustain the availability of hospice palliative care in our community.
“I like that it’s local and tends to typically deal with a mid- to later-life demographic. The hospice needs our help,” says Dan. “It’s only a matter of time until you’ll come to know The Dorothy Ley Hospice directly or indirectly because of the death of a friend or loved one — I can’t think of a better place to support.”