With twenty-four names in the Grand Nest database, the Westchester Pond is one of the smaller Ponds in the Honorable Order. But when it comes to charity, they’ve come up big for years. They are an inspiration and prove year after year that your Pond can touch people’s lives regardless of the size of your Pond’s roster.
Their main charity is the Rosary Hill Hospice, and they have been hosting a Holiday Gala for their clients for over twenty-five years.
MLG Lisa Kane’s family and the Pond have volunteered their time and money to support the Rosary Hill Hospice’s clients at their Christmas Party with food, refreshments and companionship for a few hours.
Rosary Hill is dedicated to the palliative care of people afflicted with incurable cancer during the last days of life. On November 12, we posted on the Blue Goose Facebook page and asked our Ganders to consider making a small donation to Rosary Hill on behalf of Blue Goose. We were thrilled to see checks come in from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Jersey. When added to the Westchester Pond’s $300 check, we presented Rosary Hill with $575 in Blue Goose donations.
On Saturday, Sue and I joined Lisa and Monica Kane and six Westchester Pond Ganders at Rosary Hill to spread some holiday cheer to Rosary Hill’s clients, their families, and staff. We brought in homemade cookies, three pizzas, platters of vegetables, fruit, cheese and crackers, and charcuterie.
We helped wheel ten patients into the party room, visited with them, held their hands, and served them food and poured them drinks. I even saw one Gander holding a bed-ridden patient’s hand and dancing with her.
Gander George Schiff and his wife also brought in 7 bags of blanket pads crafted and donated by the St John Church in Darien.
Music was provided by Gerard Corbett, and he played and sang pretty much all the Christmas songs out there, including that famous duet by Bing Crosby and David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen’s version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”.
It was a very humbling and touching experience and showed me once again why I love Blue Goose.
Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones.
Dan Rich,
Grand Nest Historian
Most Loyal Grand Gander 2019-2020, 2020-2021
