Print Article Your Gifts at Work — Mission Grants 2024
The Home Nursing Agency Foundation, a community benefit, non-profit organization, recently awarded 20 Mission Grants totaling $187,550 to Agency programs and services. The grants will directly impact patient care and services that are provided in the home and in the community throughout 2024.
The Foundation’s mission is to provide financial support to create, improve, or enhance the Agency’s programs and services that ultimately results in a benefit to the individual, the family, and the community. The Foundation uses donations from individuals, community contributions, and proceeds from fundraising events, like Mercedes Moment, to annually award Mission Grants. Since 2005, the Foundation has awarded 454 grants totaling $2,764,898.
All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law and all dollars remain in the community—close to home within the cities, towns, and boroughs served by the Agency. Your support is greatly appreciated!
For more information about how you can make an impact, please visit contact Kim Helsel, Director of Development/Marketing Communications, 814-947-7024 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The following programs and services were awarded Mission Grants for 2024:
Family Hospice
Hospice Emergency Fund
To help individuals who are facing a life-limiting illness with emergency one-time funding for utility or fuel costs, medications, air conditioners, and other emergencies to ease the emotional and physical challenges occurring at the end of life.
Hospice Educational Resources
To purchase educational booklets to be used by the family as a resource for the signs and symptoms of what to expect during the various stages of dying and large-print resources. Education decreases fears of patients and their caregivers, allowing them to have more peace of mind about the future.
Hospice Quality of Life
To enhance the quality of life for our patients by providing funds for a meal at restaurant to celebrate an anniversary for a dying patient/spouse, for a television for a patient with no other means of entertainment, or for CDs for an anxious patient calmed by music.
Hospice Veterans
To recognize hospice patients who are veterans through the presentation of a certificate and special American flag blanket.
Hospice Pill Planners/Education
To pay for pill planners and education that ensure medication is dispensed correctly and safely.
- To provide bed sheets, pads, hospital gowns, and baby monitors. Additional items, should they be requested or needed, include cups with straws, sippy cups, neck pillows, and fleece throw blankets.
- To recognize hospice volunteers through appreciation luncheons and other efforts to demonstrate appreciation for volunteers' service to hospice patients and families.
- To provide individualized patient kits containing blankets, socks, puzzles, activities, voice preservation tools, etc. specific to the patient's needs.
- To provide bi-monthly or monthly greeting card outreach to patients who have otherwise declined participation in the volunteer portion of hospice services.
- To provide mileage reimbursement for volunteers who are driving extended distances for patient visits.
Hospice Bereavement
- To purchase stationery items (cards, grief support literature) for the extended support mailings to bereaved families. Also to purchase books “Healing After Loss” and journals to be used for those bereaved.
- To fund a specialized retreat for bereaved individuals in Blair and surrounding counties.
- To provide emergency funding for life necessities of bereaved family members impacted by the hospice patient's care or passing.
Healing Patch
- To supplement overhead costs, including staff time/facility costs, craft/activity supplies, and food. In addition, to cover expenses for staff to facilitate six-week in-school groups with children who would not otherwise have access to a center or grief resources.
- To recognize and thank volunteers who serve in Blair and Cambria groups or as sewing volunteers.
Nurse-Family Partnership
To be purchase safety and development items, such as baby gates, safe sleep spaces, gun locks, car seats, foam play mats, board books, sort shapers, and activity centers.
Home Health
Home Health Emergency Fund
To provide funds for local Home Health patients and their families who have need beyond normal circumstances and need assistance to purchase life’s basic necessities, i.e. nutritional supplements, bathing/safety aides, bedding, and emergency medications.
Home Health Hospitalization Prevention Tools
To fund devices to facilitate self/home monitoring of health conditions and increased use of telehealth, including but not limited to blood pressure cuffs, scales, incentive spirometers, and pulse oximeters.
Early Intervention
- To provide feeding equipment, communication boards, developmental/therapeutic materials educational and safety items, including more costly equipment such as an adapted walker and stander to accommodate clients with multiple disabilities.
- To provide developmental screens of children who may need referrals for service.
WIC (Women, Infants, and Children)
To offer diapers or training pants as an incentive for continuing in the WIC program after a child turns 1 or 2 years old, as this is a critical time of growth and development.
Critical Needs
To cover any critical need for which no formal Grant request had been made or insufficient dollars had been approved. This allocation will be at the discretion of the Grants Committee.