Local hospice care service needs help collecting Valentine's Day baskets

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - ?

A local hospice care company is worried it won't be able to deliver their annual Valentine's Day gifts to as many patients this year.

Hospice Care of America, a company that offers services to hospice patients, is collecting "Baskets of Love" for their patients for the third straight year.

"We desperately need some great baskets," said Deeanna Enfinger, the community liaison for Hospice Care of America.

The countdown to Valentine's Day is on, and by then, the company hopes to have more than 100 "baskets of love" to deliver to hospice patients throughout the Lowcountry.

"Sometimes they don't get the attention that they need during the small holidays," said Enfinger.

By this time of the year, the organization normally has already collected 25 baskets. But this year, Enfinger said they have fewer than 10.

For some of the patients, Enfinger said the baskets represent the first Valentine's Day gift they've received in years.

"We took the basket to her and we handed it to her and she started crying," Enfinger recalled of one patient. "And she said I haven't had anything since my husband died ten years ago. She was so thankful for it."

The gifts can be in bags or baskets, big or small. Anything one thinks would bring a little joy to a person in hospice can be placed inside. Baskets often contain everything from slippers to crossword puzzles to books and Bibles.

Laura White, a hospice social worker, said there is one gift in high demand: lotion and body wash.

"I've heard several people say it just feels so good to have lotion on and how nice smelling it is and its really a comfort measure," White said.

The baskets will be hand-delivered on Valentine's Day.

"If they want to write a handwritten note, they can do that," Enfinger said. "It just brightens their day."

They say this small gesture sends a big message to their hospice patients.

"The community loves them, they still support them and that they're still there for them," Enfinger said.

"This could be their last Valentine's Day or their last holiday."

People can drop off baskets at any Goose Creek, Town of Summerville, North Charleston or Mount Pleasant fire department. Additional drop-off locations include the Joint Chiropractor locations and the Hospice Care of America office at 1470 Tobias Gadson Blvd., Suite 107 in Charleston.

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