community Archives

PACE Home Care

November 7, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

TRU PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) coordinates and provides care for older individuals so they can continue living safely in their community and receive care directly in their home through our PACE Home Care program. Many of these individuals receive their care at the TRU PACE Day Center, which includes social space and programming, as well as a medical clinic and a rehab gym. At least 60% of PACE participants also get a CNA and home visit.

TRU PACE provides initial assessments for all participants in order to determine which services are needed and where they will best be served. An individualized plan of care is developed, and participants who will be better served at home will receive care where they live, within their community. Home care can include light housekeeping, grocery shopping, meal preparation and delivery, personal care, and medication reminders. It can also include physical therapy, occupational therapy, medical care, and more! The PACE patient community is very diverse, made of individuals from different backgrounds and with a variety of health issues.

Recently, a team from PACE Home Care visited a gentleman to assess his needs and health status. The man clearly takes pride in his appearance with freshly ironed clothing and his home immaculate and clean, but unfortunately had very poor living conditions. Doing the best with what the man had, he still could not afford the copays required from his benefits. When asked why he was continuing on this way the man replied, “because there is no one to help”.

Enter PACE. From the moment that PACE Home Care visited, the man has been a part of the PACE program. Their home visit assessed the man’s living situation and was able to determine the best support for his future health and overall quality of life. Everyone who comes into the program gets assistance, regardless of their ability to pay.

The overall goal of PACE Home Care is to keep individuals safe at home for as long as possible. PACE Home Care works to ensure that each person gets the right care at the right time. Things we often take for granted, such as the ability to bathe, grocery shop, and go out in public, are returned to PACE Home Care participants through simple actions of support such as installed shower chairs, meals on wheels, medication reminders, and dental care.

Kyle Engstrom, the Home Care Coordinator for PACE, shared this story saying,

“Our home care nurses get to see participants in their homes, in their own environments where they spend their lives outside of the Pace Day Center. Our nurses make sure they’re getting the assistance they need to be at home safely. The home care aides are very much the unsung heroes. They see our home care participants weekly, sometimes daily, and help prevent accidents in the home and improve the participants’ overall health and outlook on life. I think it’s cool. These are things we take for granted and are the fundamentals of health.”

TRU PACE serves seniors from all walks of life. Our program can enroll individuals who meet the following eligibility requirements:

At least 55 years old
Living in our PACE service area
Certified by the State of Colorado as needing nursing-home-level care, and
Able to live safely in the community with PACE services at the time of enrollment.

Learn more about the PACE program by visiting the National PACE Organization.

TRU PACE participants must receive all needed healthcare, including primary care and specialty physician services (other than emergency services) from TRU PACE contracted providers. TRU PACE participants may be fully and personally liable for costs of any unauthorized out-of-network services. TRU PACE participants may disenroll at the end of any month.
TRU Community Care is a Colorado-licensed, Medicare and Medicaid-certified, nonprofit health care organization serving the greater Boulder, Broomfield, Adams, Jefferson, and Weld Counties. We rely on the support of our donors, sponsors, and community to provide the services necessary. To learn more about how you can support TRU Community Care, please visit www.trucare.org/donate

The Community of TRU PACE

October 23, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

TRU Community Care’s PACE program is devoted to providing medical, communal, and preventative support to PACE participants, enabling them to live as independently as possible. PACE’s day program is filled with daily meals, activities, and laughter, building a community for an often overlooked demographic in the greater Boulder community. We are proud to provide the services to fill the needs of individuals 55 and older and their families. Our staff and participants often form friendships that are mutually beneficial.

Nataly is a Day Center CNA at TRU PACE. She, along with all of the staff, is very warm, kind, and caring with the PACE Participants. She loves working for TRU PACE, saying, “it is like a family” and “the best job I have ever had”. Nataly also enjoys creating bonds with the participants. The feeling of family is tangible in the PACE Day Center. Nataly states, “TRU cares about you, how you’re feeling, and what you’re doing” in life and professionally. Staff and PACE Participants are often learning and growing from each other. Nataly, pictured with PACE Participant, Bobbie, is honored to serve TRU PACE with her expertise and generous heart of service. Her relationship with Bobbie has grown over time and often feels like family.

Bobbie, like many participants, attends TRU’s “wrap-around services” with weekly events and check-ups, and enjoys the companionship that TRU Community Care provides for all PACE Participants. When asked how she feels about the staff of TRU PACE, Bobbie replied, “They are so loving and kind. There is always room for a joke.” Bobbie is a big hit in the Day Center and enjoys the welcoming feeling every day she arrives as she does a classic “Miss America” wave. Bobbie said she “feels comfortable here, like home”. That is the TRU goal and mission of the PACE program.

TRU PACE allows the participants to live independently within the community so they are not isolated in their homes. If interested in learning more about TRU Community Care and the TRU PACE program, please visit https://www.trucare.org/our-services/tru-pace/ .

Fall News!

October 4, 2019 by TRU Community Care

The leaves are changing, the temperature is dropping, and we are looking forward to the fall season! Read more about what’s happening at TRU Community Care in our 2019 Fall Newsletter. A few highlights are included below:

Care for Everyone in Our Community

TRU Community Care believes that everyone in our community deserves to be supported throughout advanced illness and at end-of-life with compassionate, high-quality care. By providing a continuum of care that includes PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), palliative care, hospice care, and grief services, it is our hope that more community members will be aware of and utilize our services as soon as they are needed. Access to care remains a prevalent burden that we seek to ease by providing community outreach and education as well as access to our services, regardless of an inability to pay. TRU offers “indigent patient care” for patients with an inability to pay for services. TRU seeks to reduce potentially avoidable physical, emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual suffering, regardless of one’s socio-economic status.

In one recent case, a young female facing advanced-stage cancer was torn because she desperately needed help getting her pain under control, but she was still thinking about pursuing treatment in the future. She became frustrated with another organization that she felt had too many restrictions. Our team approached her with the attitude that “we will take this walk with you, day by day.” She was admitted to the TRU Hospice Care Center where our team could focus on managing her pain and addressing her current concerns, so she could get back home to her young children. At that moment, she needed our expert hospice care. Regardless of what the future may hold, TRU is committed to doing the right thing for our patients and families each and every day as we walk with them on their journey.

Butterflies “Take Flight”

On June 22nd, TRU hosted our1st Annual “Take Flight” Butterfly Release and Memorial, serving as a celebration of life and an important step in the grief process for loved ones coping with loss. Approximately 200 hundred people gathered at this year’s ceremony to share memories, relay personal experiences with grief, read poems, and to be surrounded by others who might understand on a deeper level. The rain cleared and the sun came out just in time to release the butterflies in the labyrinth behind TRU PACE – a representation of the transition of one life form to another.

Next year’s “Take Flight” Butterfly Release and Memorial will take place on June 13, 2020.

“The butterfly event was beautiful. I loved watching my friend fly away from me. It was a beautiful visualization of what happened. Thanks for all you do to bring peace to people in grief.”
– TRU Volunteer and “Take Flight” attendee

TRU Grief Services

TRU Grief Services are available to everyone in our community. These services include extensive support and resources for people of all ages and throughout all phases of the grief process. We are honored to serve families and individuals who are grieving the loss of a loved one.

Kathy F. completed our 4 and 8-week grief groups in the Spring of 2018 after the unexpected passing of her sister and brother-in-law earlier in 2017. Her sister was her “best friend in the whole world” and Kathy knew she needed additional support to offset the burden on her family. When she reached out to Reta Morrisette with TRU Grief Services, Kathy was comforted by how calming and supportive Reta was as she walked her through all of the available Grief Services options.

The grief groups provided a place for Kathy to navigate her feelings and be accepted without judgment. After completing both programs, Kathy continues to meet with members of one of the groups once a month. Inevitably, they have become her friends on a deep level. Kathy’s advice to anyone thinking about TRU Grief Services is, “At least give it a try. It’s not always easy, but every minute counts and it is 100% worth your time.”

In addition to our free group offerings for the community and one-on-one support provided to families who have experienced a loss through one of TRU’s programs, TRU Grief Services is excited to announce a fee-based one-on-one support program for grieving community members starting this fall.

Visit trucare.org/grief for more information about our expanding grief services.

Palisade Peaches in Lafayette

Our 2019 “Perfect Peaches” Community Peach Sale fundraiser was a success, with White Orchard in Palisade providing a truckload of peaches from the Western Slope to help support our efforts. Farmer Ray White, a long-time hospice supporter, says, “Working with hospice keeps the peaches rolling out the door and helps people receive the care they need. It’s been a great experience to work with TRU and to see how the community pulls together to make it happen. I’m proud to provide quality peaches each year.”

Local businesses also rallied to support our mission. Superior Towing donated the tractor-trailer and driver to transport the fruit from Palisade to Lafayette. AAA Barricade provided the cones that allowed us to create our peach pickup drive-thru. Our printing partner, MailGraphics, even lent us a pallet jack. Event sponsors Ewing Leavitt Insurance Agency and Boulder Community Health provided generous underwriting for the event, which raises funds to support TRU’s mission to affirm life at every step of your journey with illness and loss. We’re grateful to our many 2019 Event Series sponsors, too!

Next year’s “Perfect Peaches” Community Peach Sale Pick-Up will be held on Saturday, August 15, 2020.

TRU Gives Back

TRU Community Care is dedicated to giving back to the community, not only locally, but also abroad. In 2006, TRU approached the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA), an arm of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and was paired with Bumbuli Hospice. Bumbuli is located in Northeastern Tanzania near the Kenyon border which is about 6 hours from Kilimanjaro. Currently, they serve 972 patients with just 6 full-time staff members and 43 volunteers! Over the years, TRU has helped to support Bumbuli Hospice with donations totaling over $100,000. The majority of this contribution has come from employee efforts such as bake sales, potlucks, craft fairs, and donations through payroll deductions. TRU has participated in exchange visits, hosting members of the Bumbuli team in Boulder and deploying multidisciplinary teams to Bumbuli to learn, conduct training, and offer services.

TRU staff give back in so many ways. More than 30% of TRU Community Care staff donate either to Bumbuli, TRU’s Employee Education Fund, TRU’s General Operating Fund, or in support of a TRU event. TRU employees donate their time by volunteering at our “Take Flight” Butterfly Release and at our “Perfect Peaches” event. Staff volunteers help in all aspects of the events. Our community of TRU employees and volunteers are engaged in community service beyond their efforts in support of TRU. They volunteer for and donate to countless organizations throughout the region.

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” — William Shakespeare

TRU’s Community of Volunteers

Each year more than 300 volunteers give their time and effort to assist TRU Community Care’s mission to provide patients and families with the best emotional, spiritual, and practical support available so they feel affirmed at every step of their journey with illness and loss. TRU volunteers worked 34,048 hours in 2018, providing patient care and clinical support or working at the TRU Thrift Shop.

In 2019, we expanded our volunteer program to include volunteer support for our growing palliative care patient population. Holly M. started volunteering at the beginning of the program, providing companionship for a patient twice a month at her home. The volunteer program has allowed Holly and the patient to share life’s experiences, such as work, family, and travel. Overall, the palliative volunteer program has left Holly feeling enriched by learning about the palliative patient’s life and blessed by a volunteer relationship that is now growing into a friendship. Holly would suggest volunteering with TRU Palliative Care Services because there is so much to learn from another person’s experience, even if they’re in a different stage of life.

Another exciting program at TRU is our TRU Heroes program, through which our veteran volunteers help honor and care for patients who are also veterans. One aspect of this program is our Veteran Pinning Ceremonies. These ceremonies often include a veteran patient’s family members and loved ones who recognize and wish to honor the memorable and historical efforts and sacrifices made by the veteran. TRU offers and produces these ceremonies to honor an individual’s service to the United States Military. These ceremonies give veterans the opportunity to share more of their story in a safe space as they near the end of life.

If you are interested in becoming a TRU volunteer, please contact TRU Volunteer Services at 303.604.5226 or email volunteer@trucare.org.

Best of Boulder’s TRU Thrift Shop

TRU Thrift Shop is not just a store, but a community. Did you know that our shop partners with over 40 nonprofits, including Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, Boulder Valley Humane Society, and Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA), to
ensure that resources get into the hands of those most in need in our community? We are proud to support such incredible organizations through our Giving Room program.

TRU Thrift Shop was recently named the best thrift store in Boulder County for the seventh year in a row. This isn’t just because of our amazing “one-of-a-kind finds” and our incredible volunteer program. It’s also due to the fact that TRU Thrift Shop helps to support Boulder and surrounding communities by funding TRU Community Care programs like TRU Hospice and TRU Palliative Care.

TRU Thrift Shop is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and now features a café with a beautifully shaded patio. We are excited to announce that Huckleberry Roasters of Denver, CO is now our official coffee sponsor! Stop in to enjoy a cup today.

Save the Date!

TRU Cares Fundraising Luncheon
Thursday, November 7, 2019 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Academy Senior Living in Boulder

TRU Heroes Veteran Honoring Ceremony
Monday, November 11, 2019 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Louisville Recreation & Senior Center

Go in Peace! Documentary Screening and Panel Discussion
Monday, November 11, 2019 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Dairy Arts Center in Boulder

Lights of Life Holiday Remembrance
Sunday, December 8, 2019 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Unity Columbine Church in Boulder

Visit trucare.org/events for more information.

How YOU Can Give Back to TRU

TRU Community Care relies on support from friends like you to continue our vital work: providing the best possible care to anyone who needs us, regardless of an inability to pay.
Our programs are funded partly through Medicare, Medicaid, commercial insurance, and private payments, but because we give the same unparalleled care to everyone, we also rely on the generosity of business, foundations, and individuals like to you to help bridge the gap.

When you make a gift to TRU, you make a gift of lasting value. You are ensuring that everyone experiencing advanced illness or loss in our community is treated with respectful and compassionate care they deserve. We thank you for your consideration and generosity.

Visit trucare.org/donate make a tax-deductible contribution today.

TRU Community Care and The Conversation Project Join Forces

September 6, 2019 by TRU Community Care

Two local organizations providing important end-of-life resources are coming together to better serve the Boulder County community. Acknowledging that end-of-life planning should be done far in advance of developing a serious or terminal illness, TRU Community Care (TRU) recognized that The Conversation Project in Boulder County (TCPB) approach and materials would be a welcome addition to their community education efforts.

TRU, founded in 1976 as Boulder Hospice, has been providing hospice care, palliative care, and grief services for 43 years. In 2017, TRU PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) began in order to offer comprehensive care services designed to help people continue to live as independently as possible. The Conversation Project in Boulder County formed in 2013, based on the nationally-acclaimed work of Boston Globe columnist and author, Ellen Goodman, with a mission to foster meaningful and effective conversations around care at the end-of-life, resulting in the appointment of an informed decision-maker.

Over half of us will be unable to speak for ourselves at the end of life. Choosing and documenting your choice of a decision-maker is an important first step. Talking to that person and your family is equally important. Starting the conversation is never easy, but families and health care professionals report that it is a relief when the subject of how we want the end of our life to look is brought into the open and our choices can be honored because of careful forethought and conversation.

TRU Community Care is excited to build on the work of The Conversation Project and to help community members, palliative care and hospice patients, and PACE participants begin to have these critical conversations earlier in their journey. The Conversation Project will retain its name, volunteers, and identity and looks forward to being part of TRU’s community offerings.

According to Michael McHale, CEO of TRU Community Care, “We are looking forward to joining forces with The Conversation Project to better serve our community.” Constance Holden and Jean Abbott, Co-founders of the Project, “welcome this partnership with Boulder County’s leader in end-of-life care.” Michael, Constance, and Jean feel that the organizations’ missions complement one another beautifully.

Jean Abbott, Michael McHale, Constance Holden

TRU Community Care, founded as Boulder Hospice in 1976, is a Colorado-licensed, Medicare and Medicaid-certified, nonprofit health care organization serving Boulder, Broomfield, Adams, Jefferson, and Weld Counties and beyond. TRU affirms life at every step of your journey with illness and loss, offering PACE, hospice home care, inpatient hospice services, palliative care, grief services, and community education and outreach. Visit www.trucare.org for more information.

The Conversation Project in Boulder County fosters meaningful and effective conversations about end-of-life care. It has been fiscally sponsored by The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County since it was founded in 2013. That sponsorship has now been transferred to TRU Community Care. Visit www.theconversationprojectinboulder.org for more information.

Veteran Pinning – Arthur Sidney Roberts

July 31, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

Arthur Sidney Roberts served in the United States Navy for four years on an oil tanker during the Korean War. One of his fondest memories while in service, Art (as he prefers to be called), traveled to Australia and visited Christ Church during the same time period that President Eisenhower was touring the island nation. To this day, Art still brags how he has been to both poles while serving his country.

As an ordained minister, Art had the honor of presiding over his granddaughter’s wedding last month, just days after being diagnosed with ALS. He represents America with a love of family, country, and baseball. In fact, Art played on a softball league at 83 years old until this past March. He finished his softball season allowing only one walk as a pitcher.

Art’s family gathered on Sunday, July 21st, 2019 to celebrate his 84th birthday and to honor his service in the U.S. Navy with a veteran pinning ceremony. His home in Longmont, Colorado was filled with his family and friends as the TRU Community Care team arrived and prepared for the ceremony.

TRU volunteer and fellow veteran of the Korean War, John Franko, began the ceremony with an introduction paying tribute to Art’s service in the military. Art’s loved ones watched as he received his pin and honorary military salute.

There was a depth of reverence for the sacrifices made by these men, seemingly strangers but brought together by a common thread, their service to our country. John continued the ceremony by giving Art a star saved from a retired American flag that is given only to military veterans and first responders stating,

“I am part of our American flag that has flown over the United States. I can no longer fly, the sun has caused me to be tattered and torn. Please carry me as a reminder that you are not forgotten”.

Arthur was filled with deep gratitude, mutual respect, and joy in response to the ceremony. You couldn’t help but perceive the profound and wholehearted life in service to others that Art has lived and carries with him through his family.

TRU Community Care offers and produces Veteran Pinning Ceremonies to honor their service to the United States Military. Veterans, who are near the end of their life, share their experiences both leading up to and during the ceremony. The retelling of stories is an important part of what TRU Community Care offers to individuals nearing the end of their life.

To read more by TRU Community Care, please visit https://www.trucare.org/blog.

Compassionate Care

July 19, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

TRU Community Care provides services that affirm life at every step of your journey with illness and loss. Often times it is not an easy task to know which service will best support you and your loved one’s needs. TRU is devoted to providing not only excellent care but also the consultation needed to choose the best service possible.

Jennifer (Nurse Practitioner), Michael (Patient Care Consultant), and Cynthia (Palliative Nurse), and Chad (Director of Access and Palliative Services), among other TRU Community Care employees, recently had the opportunity to assist a couple through their decision over whether palliative care or hospice care would be the right choice for the husband. At an already challenging time, the couple was actually homeless when the husband was referred to TRU Palliative Care. He was considering his options and trying to decide if he wanted to continue to seek treatment, wavering back and forth between palliative care and hospice.

The TRU team collaborated to find ways to best serve this patient and his wife. They spent hours working on identifying resources to help the couple get back on their feet and make the best choice possible. During this time, the patient made the decision to be admitted to hospice the following Sunday.

The team worked hard to provide the additional support needed to give the patient a few more days to connect with resources to find a permanent housing solution. This enabled the couple the time and space to make the decision between admitting him to TRU Palliative Care versus TRU Hospice Care without the additional burden and concern for housing.

Chad, Director of Access and Palliative Services, relayed the story, concluding, “Ultimately, the patient decided on Sunday that he still wanted to seek treatment and enrolled with TRU Palliative Care. We look forward to continuing to serve him and his family.”

At TRU Community Care, we pride ourselves in engaging our communities with innovative, resourceful, and meaningful care for those living with illness and loss. We are a Colorado-licensed, Medicare and Medicaid-certified, nonprofit health care organization serving the greater Boulder, Broomfield, Adams, Jefferson, and Weld Counties.

Learn more about TRU Services by visiting our website at https://www.trucare.org/our-services/.

Read more TRU Community Care blog posts at https://www.trucare.org/blog/.

TRU PACE Time Capsule

July 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

TRU PACE Staff Member with TRU PACE Participant

TRU PACE (Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) serves individuals 55 and older from all walks of life. This innovative program not only supports the physical and mental health of the participants, but also provides an uplifting, fun, and broad community in which the participants find meaningful daily interactions that serve the community as a whole. Staff members continuously identify activities and events that serve the participants on a deep level.

Jill Bilek (PACE Recreational Therapist) and the TRU PACE team have been searching for an activity that encourages the participants’ outlook for the future while reflecting on their past. Ultimately, they wanted to continue with the legacy of the PACE participants. After spending some time researching, Jill arrived at the idea of a time capsule box she saw on Pinterest. The team ordered a simple box that could be decorated by a fellow participant artist and planned out the items the participants would consider using for the ceremony.

Many participants brought trinkets that held individual value and meaning, while others drew pictures and brought photographs of their loved ones. One participant brought his favorite keychain from Boston, where he had grown up. For those who needed assistance processing what to memorialize, Jill found a helpful questionnaire from which the participants could choose writing topics such as: who they are, where they are from, or a letter to their future selves. Some participants wanted more wealth in the future or better health, while others admitted they were not “grown-up” yet.

The ceremony took place in the labyrinth near the TRU PACE building. Jill lined the box in the local newspaper on the day they buried the box, June 17th, 2019. A participant who was a pastor said a prayer of blessing for the participants, their memories, and the occasion. Many of the participants are unsure if they will have the chance to unearth the time capsule. With an acute awareness of how precious time can be, Jill made the date for retrieving the box two years hence, June 17th, 2021.

Memory and memorializing what people hold dear is important as it allows individuals to process their lives and the emotions that simple things can evoke. It is a healthy process emotionally and physically for anyone, at any stage in life. Whether you are a volunteer, staff member, family member, or supporter, the life and health of the TRU PACE community are tangible. TRU PACE reminds us how full life can be, at every stage, through these stories and memories.

Check out pace.trucare.org to learn more about TRU PACE.

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Healing with Horses Through Grief and Loss

June 20, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

Healing with Horses is a program of TRU Community Care and a part of our grief services for youth coping with death and loss. This week we sat down with Raegan Gyorffy, the Director of Grief and Volunteer Services, to gain insight into the immeasurable value of the program.

While describing the group and how the horses impact the participants’ lives, Raegan says, ”The group is truly special. Horses are large and intuitive, able to mirror emotions, and provide a conduit for conversation and a good alternative to traditional group talks.”

The program runs for an 8-week period in the fall and again in the spring. Each week the participants meet for themed sessions that pair conversation with interaction and care for the horses. Youth are partnered with one another based on the similarity of age, their stage of grief, and their type of loss. Additionally, they are matched with a horse for added support. Each program has eight youth and up to six adults to ensure the safety and care for everyone involved.

A coordinator of the program expresses her experience and perspective of the impact the horses have in the participant’s grief process by explaining that,

“The relationship with the horse offers connection that helps ground the kids and breaks down barriers. We often see kids who are silent during the talking circle and come alive and expand once they are with the horses. It seems to offer a non-threatening space for kids to open up, move their bodies, and engage their senses in a way that gives them access to their emotions and thoughts. Also, being outside, getting exercise and having fun are all healthy ways to cope with big emotions!”

She herself has learned from the youth participants how to cope with grief and loss, the power of connection and being understood, and the importance of the power of feeling seen in our grief. One father told her that his son says “grief camp” is his son’s favorite activity of all the things he does for fun.

Stories like these are truly why Grief Services and specialized programs like Healing with Horses are so crucial to the heart of TRU Community Care. We could not do it without the heart and dedication of our staff, volunteers, families, donors, and overarching community.

To learn more about Grief Services and how you can become involved with Healing with Horses, please visit our Services and Volunteer page.

Thrift with a Mission

June 6, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

Infectious joy. Those are the two words that people frequently use to describe the atmosphere at TRU Thrift and the volunteers who work there. And it has the ability to impact anyone who steps foot into the store.

Mary Scripter has been volunteering with TRU Thrift for over three years. She helps with everything from organizing the literacy section to working the register. She even helped start the TRU Thrift Online Amazon Bookstore. She loves volunteering with TRU Thrift because of their mission — and the first look at all of the items coming in the door doesn’t hurt either.

Originally from South Dakota, Mary went to college in Wyoming and has lived in Colorado since 1971. She has been volunteering with hospices across Colorado since ‘76. She started her volunteering in Colorado Springs, until she found TRU Community Care.

Mary began working with hospice communities because of her experience through her sister’s death.

“When you’ve been helped by a hospice, you want to give back.” Mary tells us. “TRU Community Care has such a wonderful community, who donate furniture and goods to TRU Thrift.”

She understands that when people go through the death of a loved one, they want to give back and support others who are going through a similar experience. Mary’s favorite section is in the book stacks. There are days that she organizes 100’s of donated books.

Mary loves to organize and research the books for their value. If at any time you find yourself at TRU Thrift, check out their amazing book section. You may even find Mary there to help you support your efforts in finding the perfect summer read or even a treasure.

In the words of TRU Thrift’s Store Manager, Lynn McCullough, “Shopping at the TRU Hospice Thrift Shop can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Who doesn’t love the hunt for a bargain?”. Merchandise includes high-end furniture at reasonable prices, gently worn clothing from designer to basics, jewelry, collectibles, art, books, sporting equipment, housewares, and more.

TRU PACE Art Gallery Opening

May 28, 2019 by Elizabeth Neufeld

Last week, more than 60 people joined TRU PACE to celebrate the opening of our art gallery featuring the works of PACE participants and visiting artist, Al Canner. The artwork created by PACE participants was produced through the therapeutic art program, Purple Art.

Al Canner, a fiber artist, is the chairman of the TRU Ethics Committee and our first featured community artist. We are grateful to have his intricate work featured with the works of PACE participants.

TRU PACE participants artist cards are available with a small donation in support of PACE programming by emailing LeslieMader@trucare.org.

If you were not able to come to the TRU PACE Art Opening and would like to view the pieces, showings are available by appointment only. Please make a scheduled viewing by contacting Leslie Mader at 303.665.0115.

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the TRU PACE Art Gallery Opening a hit!

Stay in the loop for our next TRU PACE Art Opening and other events by signing up for our newsletter at https://bit.ly/2ZbzPdk.

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