It's 6:00 p.m. and Karen glances at her watch, exhaustion setting in after a day of caring for her dying mother. She heads wearily to the kitchen, anticipating another bowl of cold cereal for dinner, when she hears a car in the driveway. With a sigh of relief she sees that Dinners with Love has arrived with a meal from her mother's favorite restaurant in town.

This scenario plays out every day in homes across the country, except for most hospice patients and their families the day does not end with a warm, delicious meal donated by a local restaurant through the Dinners with Love program.

Dinners with Love volunteers delivered more than 2,500 meals to Karen and families like hers in 2016, but there are so many more hospice patients out there who could benefit from the comfort of a warm meal and the support of their community.

That is why we are asking you to help fill their plates. In return, you will fill your heart, knowing that your contribution is going a long way to helping us bring our program to more communities in Vermont and throughout the region.

Our goal is to raise $10,000 between #GivingTuesday (November 29) and December 31. Your gift of $10, $25, $50, or even $100 will spread this simple kindness and lighten the load for hospice patients and their families in Vermont and the region. With your donation, we can forge new partnerships with hospice agencies and restaurants and get even more meals delivered to patients next year. This can only happen with your support.

Linda Bryant has always wanted to join a non-profit board. She set a goal for herself to join one by the end of this year. When she saw DwL founder Sheri Sullivan's recent call for board members on the Brandon Front Porch Forum, she thought, "Wow, this is a good fit."

Linda has spent years working and volunteering with seniors, including providing at-home care for a few hospice patients. "That's why I was very excited to see the announcement for new board members," she said.

It just so happens that Linda joining the Dinners with Love board coincides with the start of hospice volunteer training at one of our partner agencies, the Rutland Area VNA & Hospice. Though the training is not required to be on the board, Linda jumped at the opportunity to learn more about hospice care.

Linda says she has already learned so much during her hospice training. One key lesson is how to meet hospice patients where they are, mentally and spiritually. "Some hospice patients accept that they are going to die, while others believe that they are going to beat 'this thing,'" she explained. "You have to feel each patient out and support them in how they feel about their own death."

Apart from being a new DwL board member and hospice-volunteer-in-training, Linda  is the owner of Senior Circuit, an in-home service for seniors to learn how to use computers and technology. Linda has an Associate’s degree in Medical Information Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Johnson State College. Earlier in her life, Linda spent many years working in the billing departments of various medical offices. She moved to Vermont from Colorado by way of New York in 2007, having followed her sisters up here after one married a Rutland native.

Are you interested in joining the Dinners with Love Board of Directors? We are looking for new members. Contact us to learn more.