Foundation support for Hospice House of the Carolina Foothills now includes a $150,000 award from The Duke Endowment, a private foundation established in 1924 that fulfills the legacy of James B. Duke by enriching lives and communities in the Carolinas through higher education, health care, rural churches and children&squo;s services.

&dquo;Two things mattered most to the endowment in weighing our proposal,&dquo; said Beth Child, director of development. &dquo;First, they considered it very important that we were adding 12 skilled nursing beds to the community. And secondly, they were impressed with the extensive planning that we had put into the project, which has resulted in a smooth construction process.&dquo; A &dquo;skilled nursing bed&dquo; refers to one that is located in a facility that has a nurse on duty 24/7, and the number a community has is critical in providing the best health care for an ever-growing aging population.

Other foundations have supported this project, helping the campaign generate $4.5 million so far. Two community foundations, Polk County Community Foundation and The Spartanburg County Foundation, have supported the project. The support from the Inman-Riverdale Foundation, Child said, is representative of Hospice&squo;s work in the Inman community, where Hospice maintains a strong presence in the nursing homes, holds volunteer training and grief support groups, and is active in the chamber of commerce.

The Mohawk Carpet Foundation is also helping build Hospice House. Some of the Landrum plant&squo;s employees have become volunteers or United Way donors to the organization. The company says it believes strongly in supporting non-profit organizations that strengthen the communities in which their employees live and work.

The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation in Philadelphia might be better known for its support of the arts and graduate education, but it also supports hospices throughout the country. In 2000, the foundation awarded a grant for the building of the Hospice Administration & Program Center in Columbus, behind St. Luke&squo;s Hospital, and now it has done so once again for Hospice House.

These foundations, together with individual gifts, have helped make the dream of a hospice house a reality for our community, Child says. If you would like to donate to this project, call Beth Child at Hospice of the Carolina Foothills at 894-7000 or visit the website at www.hocf.org.