Hospice center holds trivia night

Hospice of Washington County held its annual fall trivia night fundraiser at the fairgrounds Friday, drawing a crowd of around 100, all dressed in costume.

Many trivia teams coordinated their costumes by a theme, including members of the hospice staff.

“The theme of this year for hospice members has been construction,” Executive Director Katrina Altenhofen said at the start of the night. “As you know if you drove by our building, we are getting a new building put up, so we have a lot of construction going on.”

Altenhofen said the turnout was lower than in years past, but still commendable.

“We’ve had in the past as many as 22 teams, but we’ve been trying with the whole COVID and all that to keep it a little bit limited so we could have a bit of space,” she said. “We’ve been averaging last year about 10-12 teams, and tonight we have 15 teams so that’s great.”

With contribution from Hills Bank to cover the rental space, Altenhofen said the hospice center would maximize its returns on the fundraiser.

“This is actually a cost-neutral space for us because Hills Bank sponsors it, that covers the cost of the rental of this building,” she said. “Anything we bring in is full profit for us.”

Altenhofen said she was happy to see so much community support.

“We fundraise because we love to be able to provide hospice and compassionate end-of-life care for anybody and everybody regardless of their ability to pay,” she said.

On top of being an effective fundraiser, Altenhofen said the event was just plain fun.

“I always say I think the spring one is the most fun, and then I get to the fall one and I think, ‘No, the fall one is the most fun,’” she said. “They just love to dress up and do it. It’s a good night out for everyone.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com