The mission of the Allina Hospice Foundation is to support programs that touch patients and families in end-of-life situations and, in doing so, bring peace, dignity and comfort 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Allina Hospice is the largest not-for-profit hospice in Minnesota, serving over 4,000 patients and family members a year in the Twin Cities and 28 surrounding counties. We provide over 48,000 visits a year.

With the help of donations we can fulfill our mission to provide quality, compassionate care regardless of individual's insurance coverage or ability to pay for services. Your tax deductible gift, at any level, will be gratefully appreciated by the many people served.

Groundbreaking: Residential hospice

On April 13, Allina Hospitals & Clinics broke ground on a 12-bed residential hospice in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. This facility will start serving hospice patients and families from across the Twin Cities in February 2012. This video includes interviews with Gloria Cade, director, Allina Hospice Care; and Chris Downey, MD, with his therapy dog Mister Socks.

More about J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice

Hospice care stories

Shared Journeys

In our latest issue, you can learn more about the construction of the J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice and the efforts to make residential hospice care available for all.

Winter 2011

Love of baseball bonds patient and volunteer

Julie shared her love of sports with Elnora. In the process, they developed a special bond.

J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice

Read video transcript.

Bob Chandler: The greatest single development in medical care is hospice, to allow people to die with dignity and with the lack of pain and with the support that is needed for the family.

Moderator: If you or a loved one were approaching the end of life, how would you choose to spend this precious time? Most people wish to die at home, surrounded by family and friends or within a home like setting, in a residential hospice.

Kim Buhr: Well my grandpa was 97, when he passed away and he knew he was deteriorating obviously, because he made the choice to go into hospice, but he was happy there. You could see it in his face, he was so appreciative. You know the inevitable is coming, you just make that time as enjoyable as possible and I think we accomplished that. I mean I have no regrets whatsoever.

Janell Kraus: When my father first found out that we were going to admit him into hospice, he was really scared and he wanted us to take him home to my childhood home, where he raised all three of us girls. We were very scared to take dad home and we said no, and he ended up dying in the hospital setting and we, to this day we regret that we couldn't have a hospice house to bring him to.

Moderator: Each and everyday, Allina Hospice professionals help patients live fully during their last months of life, in dignity, comfort and according to their wishes. This hospice care also helps their loved ones in many ways, including respite care and grief guidance.

Bob Chandler: The minute you find out somebody's dying and particularly if that someone is your spouse and your best friend, and the only person you ever dated and all of a sudden you realize you're going to lose the center of your life – that was devastating. And hospice helped us know what to expect, supported us physically to give Kathy the kind of treatment she deserved. It was indispensable.

Moderator: Unfortunately today the Twin Cities lacks adequate residential hospice resources, by as many as 60 beds. This means anyone of us or anyone we love may have no other choice then to spend their last days in a hospital or a nursing home.

Kim Buhr: Think about your mother or your dad and if you found tomorrow that they're dying, you want to put them in the best place possible. It's not probably a hospital. It's probably not a nursing home. It's some home like facility whether or not it be that individual's home or a facility that creates that environment, because that's what's enriching at the end of your life.

Moderator: The Allina Hospice Foundation needs your help to make a dream come true. The building of a new J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice.

Don Grossbach: All patients, all people should have a choice towards their end of life, when they know the outcome is going to be. I feel that the patients should be in the position of deciding for themselves what kind of care they want to have.

Moderator: The J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice is feasible, because of donated land in Brooklyn Park and a generous matching grant from the J.A. Wedum Foundation, established in honor of John Wedum, a grateful Allina hospice patient. During the 2009 Community Giving Campaign, Allina employees donated more than $350,000.00.

Don Grossbach: It's just a phenomenal thing that we have so many employees and so many caring people that work for Allina that are willing to extend themselves for our hospice patients.

Janell Kraus: I gave in 2009, because I thought the cause was so important having lost a loved one and I will most definitely give in 2010 again, because I feel it's every bit as important if not more.

Moderator: This year's 2010 Community Giving Campaign seeks your help to cross the finish line. Every dollar you donate will be matched by the Wedum Foundation dollar for dollar. This gesture essentially doubles the impact of your donation. By contributing to the J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice, you are helping ensure patients and families have a choice in where they will spend their final precious moments together.

Don Grossbach: There are so many opportunities for giving and so many needy organizations. If we can help to build this facility with Allina name on it, we are going to be extending ourselves to a community in ways that no other organization can do.

On April 13, Allina began construction on the J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, thanks to the support of Allina employees, hospice families, the business community and a $2 million challenge grant from the Wedum Foundation.

We need your support to complete the $5 million fundraising campaing before construction is complete in January 2012. By contributing to the J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice, you are helping ensure patients and families have a choice in where they will spend their final precious moments together.

Learn more about the J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice

Give now.

Compassionate care when it is needed the most: JA Wedum Residential Hospice

Why we need support

Allina hospice care:

provides many services to patients and families that are not covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or other private insurers
serves over 4,000 patients every year in the Twin Cities and 28 surrounding counties throughout Minnesota
provides more than 150 grants every year to patients and families experiencing financial hardship
serves uninsured or underinsured patients and families
has over 447 trained volunteers actively supporting patient and their families
relies on charitable contributions from families and friends to continue to serve those in need.

A night worth celebrating, Allina Hospice Foundation eighth annual benefit.

Friday, May 6 truly was a night worth celebrating as we took another step forward in funding the J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice, now under construction.

The elegant dinner and auction, held at the McNamara Alumni Center, raised $185,000. Sponsorships, tickets, auction and raffle proceeds will be matched by the J.A. Wedum Foundation and applied to the construction of the J.A. Wedum Residential Hospice. Thank you to all who came out to support this much needed facility!

Congratulations to Tom O'Conner, who won the Caps & Corks Raffle!

A special thank you to our sponsors:

Presenting sponsor

Gold sponsor

Silver sponsor

Patron sponsors

Venetia and Robert Kudrle

Bronze sponsors

AgeWell
All Systems Installation
Arges Group
Benedictine Health System
Boyer Trucks
Coffee Mill
Electric Resource Contractors
Graybar Electric/Comm Data
Kraus-Anderson Construction Company
McKesson Medical-Surgical
M&I Bank
Salter Labs
Sound 80
Tierney Brothers, Inc.
Verizon Wireless
Washburn-McReavy Funeral Chapels & Cremation Services

Ways to give

Outright gifts
Cash
Securities
Personal property
Real estate
POD accounts

Income producing gifts
Charitable gift annunity
Charitable remainder annuity trust
Charitable remainder unitrust

Estate gifts
Bequests from wills or living trusts
Retirement plan assets
Life insurance

Other planned giving opportunities
Charitable lead trust
Gift of home or farm (retaining life use)

Allina Hospice Foundation, on behalf of Allina Home & Community Services, welcomes outright gifts as well as deferred gifts. As you review the different ways to give, remember that your tax-deductible donation can be designated to a particular area of interest or left unrestricted for use where need is greatest.

Payment methods

Give now online

Make a gift to the Allina Hospice Foundation online. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diner's Club or Discover.

Phone

Call Allina Hospice Foundation at 651-241-5460. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover.

Check

Make your personal or company check out to Allina Hospice Foundation and mail with a completed donation form to:

Allina Hospice Foundation
333 North Smith Avenue, Suite 4640
St. Paul, MN 55102

Mail in donation form

Memorials

Many donations are graciously given by individuals in memory of loved ones who have died or in honor of a living person.

If you are sending a memorial or honor gift, please include on the note that the gift is in memory/honor of, along with the name and address of loved one of deceased or address of the one honored so that we can send them a letter telling them of your donation. All donations are confirmed by mail with a thank you letter acting as your receipt for tax purposes.

All memorial/honor tributes are acknowledged to the family or individual. Contribution amounts are not disclosed to the family or individual.

Our mail in donation form includes space to designate a gift in the memory or honor of someone special.

Matching gifts

Double or triple your gift! One of the smartest ways to increase your giving is through a matching gift program, where a company or corporate foundation will match donations which you make to us. The following information will help you make the most of your charitable contributions:

Ask your employer if they participate in a matching gift program.
Obtain a matching gift form and donation guidelines from your employer's human resources or payroll department.
Complete the donor section of the form and submit it along with your check to:
Allina Hospice Foundation
333 Smith Avenue North, Suite 4640
St. Paul, MN 55102
The form is processed by us and returned to your employer.
If approved, the company matching gift checks are sent to us to match your gift.

Board and staff

Allina Hospice Foundation staff

Ron Bagnall - foundation director
Ron.Bagnall@allina.com

Sarah Bretl - development specialist
Sarah.Bretl@allina.com

Olivia Tise - development assistant
Olivia.Tise@allina.com

Allina Hospice Foundation Board of Trustees

Jason Bradshaw, chairman
Tina Decker
Mike Dickson
Matthew Drawz
Geoff Grassle
Karen Harrison
Krista Hensel
Venetia Kudrle
Britta Orr
Dennis RaDue
Dennis Rasmusson
Rickie Ressler
Rosemary Rosengren
Brian Senger
Jason Von Bank