The Red Carpet Lounge in Portage recently held their 11th Annual Car Show and donated $2,000 in proceeds to support the Visiting Nurse Association hospice program. Sheila Raye, owner of the lounge says they selected VNA Hospice as the recipient for the second year in a row because it seemed that all their customers had been touched by hospice. Raye’s own mother was a VNA hospice patient 10 years ago. “They were angels. Mom didn’t let too many people get close to her, but she made fast friends with her caregivers. She wanted to be at home, and with hospice we were able to keep her there until the end.”
The car show began as a little dream of one of the patrons, with only 20 cars the first year. This year, 66 cars entered, with Mike Orcutt’s 1932 Roadster winning Best of Show and Gene Shirley’s 1958 Pontiac Bonneville taking home the People’s Choice prize. “The cars show is a family affair, we all pitch in to make it happen,” says Joyce Zaragoza, Raye’s daughter and Red Carpet Lounge manager.
The VNA is a nonprofit home health care agency providing skilled nursing; physical, occupational and speech therapy; home health aides; social services, telehealth, home and inpatient hospice care and bereavement programs. The VNA also provides assistive care, including Meals on Wheels, Homemaker/Companion Care and Lifeline as well as grief support for children and their families at the VNA Phoenix Center.
For more information about the VNA and programs and services offered, call the VNA at (219) 462-5195 or visit the VNA’s website at www.VNAportercounty.org.