Hillsdale hosting Hornets for Hospice wrestling meet this Saturday
HILLSDALE — Sports, like many social events, can be a perfect time and a place to raise awareness and bring together a community around important causes. Across the United States, families and communities have been stricken by life limiting illnesses such as cancer, and many non-profit organizations, funds, and health practices are used to treat, and care for patients and their families through difficult times. Hospice care is one of the many forms of health practices across the country that help families.
The Hospice of Hillsdale County is a non-profit organization that specializes in hospice care. Hospice care operates under the philosophies that death is a natural and last stage in life. Hospice care organizations provide care for patients' physical, emotional, and spiritual needs as themselves and their families confront terminal illness. The first patients admitted to the Hospice of Hillsdale County were admitted in 1984, and since then the organization has served 3000 patients.
Many community members and their families have been helped and cared for by the Hospice of Hillsdale County. To help raise funds, and awareness for Hospice of Hillsdale County, The Hillsdale High School wrestling program will be hosting a wrestling dual meet called Hornets for Hospice of Hillsdale County.
The event will take place on Jan. 8, 2022, 10:00 a.m., at the Hillsdale High School gymnasium. Teams that will be wrestling include Niles-Brandywine, Blissfield, Decatur, Quincy, Springport, and Hillsdale.
A percentage of the events entry fees will be donated to Hospice of Hillsdale County. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and donation boxes set up around the gymnasium and cafeteria.
First-year head coach Nate Spieth and the wrestling team, like many Hillsdale County residents, have seen or personally been a part of the process of a patient receiving care from Hospice of Hillsdale County, and wanted to recognize their importance to the County and community, whom before the founding of the organization had little or no access to such care in the area.
For coach Spieth, the event is a personal and emotional one for his family. Nate Spieth's Father In-Law Bob Yoder passed away after a short battle with cancer in August.
"Fortunately, we were able to call Hospice of Hillsdale county to help us with nursing care that we could not do on our own," said coach Spieth. "They also provided us with information about grief and the healing process."
For Spieth and his family, Hospice of Hillsdale County was a huge help to their family in their time of need. Coach Spieth wanted to find a way to give back to the organization, and he used his outreach with the wrestling program to host a tournament to benefit Hospice of Hillsdale County.
"We have a special group of guys on our team," said coach Spieth. "When I first mentioned that we were going to do this event, they were instantly all in. I think it is important to give back to a community that invests so much into us."
The Hillsdale Wrestling program is looking forward to seeing everyone Saturday to support not only Hillsdale wrestling but the hardworking people at Hospice of Hillsdale County who are there to help everyone when they need them most.
This is the inaugural Hornets for Hospice event. Hospice of Hillsdale County are a community in-home care program that operates as a non-profit independent not affiliated with any organization. They are licensed by the State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Bureau of Health Care Services. They are members of the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, the Home Care and Hospice Association of Michigan. They are governed by a 15-member board. Jim Hubbell is the current President.
Hospice of Hillsdale County offers a variety of services to families and community members at no charge, and more information on their organization can be found at www.hospiceofhillsdalecounty.org. For questions specific to the event, community members can contact coach Nate Spieth for further information.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hornets for Hospice wrestling meet will take place this Saturday
