Summer Regatta Series Benefits Center for Hospice Care

Information provided by Center for Hospice Care

Sailors - Come sail away and invite your friends and family to support your efforts in raising funds for Center for Hospice Care’s Regatta Series – now in its 24th year. All can join this sea-faring adventure – if you are a landlubber, there is still plenty of fun at the race parties hosted by area yacht clubs along the shoreline – all while supporting the Center for Hospice Care. Celebrate the intrepid spirit among the 700 sailors – our friends and neighbors – who participate in the regatta, and soak in the summer ambiance. 

The Regatta Series will launch July 10, 2013 with the Niantic Bay Yacht Club hosting the first race in the series.  On July 17, 2013, Stonington Dinghy Club and Thames Yacht Club will host their Wednesday night races. 

The series thrives on the support and organization of a stellar Regatta Committee chaired by Judy Gibbs of the Thames Yacht Club and club volunteers.  “I was an avid supporter of Hospice before I became a sailor.” explains Judy, hospice supporter since 1973 and member of the Center for Hospice Care Regatta Committee since 2001. “Now I can support the great work of Center for Hospice Care by doing what I like best, sailboat racing.” 

Rob Amerin, Thames Yacht Club’s top fundraiser in 2012, feels a strong personal bond with Hospice - “My family has chosen to support the Center for Hospice Care because of the care and understanding my mother received in her final days.  We spoke daily and she felt like she was finally being treated and her needs understood.  We feel that in the end she was allowed to pass on with dignity.  Although she was in the Lake Placid Florida area and not this area, we felt it was important to support Hospice in any way we could so that others would have the same opportunity in their final days.” 

The colorful regatta continues July 20, with the Mystic River Mudhead Sailing Association, for an 11 a.m. Benefit Cup. The Mudheads will host their MegaParty that evening, at 5 p.m., in the Mystic Shipyard, under the Sperry tent. The ticket price for the MegaParty is $25, and includes food, drinks, and a gourmet spread by Mystic restaurants – as well as dancing to the beat of the band, Rock ‘n’ Soul Revue. The fun-filled evening is topped with prize drawings and a silent auction. 

“I love the fact that the sailing community can join together, doing something they enjoy, to bring awareness and funding to an organization that can help EVERYONE in one way or another”, explains Ann Bergendahl, Mystic River Mudhead Board Member.  “Center for Hospice Care provides so much for so many people.  At this year’s Mudhead Benefit Cup, I will be thinking of my father-in-law, Bruce Lockwood who passed away this past October.  He always enjoyed this race and was a longtime supporter of Center for Hospice Care.” 

Socialize and unwind - and savor the last vestiges of summer on the serene shoreline. With delicious food and drinks, and silent auction items donated by area businesses, the elegant cocktail party and silent auction hosted by the Niantic Bay Yacht Club will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. September 6, 2013, at Black Point. This event is a casual, fun, and fitting end to the festivities that accompany the Center for Hospice Care Regatta Series. 

Please visit our website at www.hospicesect.org/newsevents to join the fundraising for more details or call (860) 848-5699. We are also on Facebook! Whether by land or by sea, we hope you can join us at one of the events and support us through your generous donations. 

About Center for Hospice Care

Center for Hospice Care is the new name for Hospice Southeastern Connecticut, which began serving the greater New London community in 1985. We are the largest hospice based in this community and we focus our services exclusively on our regional community. We are the only provider that delivers all the care and services needed by patients and their families – including extended group/individual bereavement counseling to anyone who needs it. 

Our staff is the most qualified and experienced in the field and is augmented by more than 100 specially trained volunteers who provide companionship to our patients and respite to their families. Center for Hospice Care is the only regional hospice affiliated with both Lawrence + Memorial and The William W. Backus Hospitals. We are Medicare/Medicaid certified, state licensed and CHAP accredited. With Center for Hospice Care, every moment matters.