Christmas Trees to Silverado Patients and Personal Care Homes 12/29/17

10 Trees donated for Silverado Patients

Several years ago a wonderful hospice Chaplain named Linda Vogel began a project which she now calls “Hope in the Forest” in Kingwood, Texas. She motivated friends, fellow employees of a small hospice, and church members to purchase small artificial Christmas trees. The trees decorated, donated, & displayed in the hospice office. She then coordinated a Memorial Service for those persons who had died under the care of the hospice during the past year & invited their grieving families & friends. Upon departing from the service, each family was invited to choose from any of the trees displayed & take it home with them to be a comfort for the holiday season. Trees not chosen that night were taken out by members of the hospice team to families with loved ones still under hospice care.

The project grew tremendously for the next year. News of the project reached to Atascocita, Humble, Cleveland, and Crosby & throughout many of the northeastern suburbs of Houston. Trees were decorated by elementary school classes, businesses, Sunday school classes, assisted living facilities, community groups and many individual families. Tremendous creativity was tapped and the trees all had different personalities – one was decorated with fishing lures, another with toy soldiers, some had butterflies and some with dog biscuits!

For this year the project took a different turn and the decision was made to give the trees to families who had lost all their possessions from the Harvey flood. Linda was no longer an employee of this hospice but living in Kingwood, she was painfully aware of the destruction all around her.

Lee Ann Hyatt, RN, BSN, Silverado North Houston’s Clinical Educator is also a member of a nationwide sorority called PEO that has been in existence since the 1890’s. She serve as the Chaplain of Chapter GQ in Atascocita. PEO has participated in this project every year. As it was discussed it in their meeting, the ladies were happy with the trees going to flood victims but still felt very strongly that they wanted some of their trees to go to hospice families.

Ten trees were donated to Silverado North Houston! They, in turn, found homes for the ten trees that were so lovingly decorated by the sorority women.  Also, today, the vote was that this project will continue from here forward…..so plan on trees next year and perhaps Silverado staff can join in to create & donate trees, as well!