Jackson, CA…The board of directors for Top Cop Challenge (Top Cop) has unanimously donated $3,000 to Hospice of Amador & Calaveras, to be used to support the agency’s veteran and first responder patients and families, as well as help develop other programs within the agency’s veterans’ services.

Pictured in the photo (left to right): Joe Dirickx – Top Cop (TC) Founder, Curt Campbell – TC, Karen McLean – TC, Jackson City Council Member Steven McLean – TC, George Stathos – Hospice of Amador & Calaveras (HOAC) Chaplain, Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman – TC, Thomas Johnson – HOAC Support Nurse, Heidi Hebert – HOAC RN, Chelsea Stillwell – HOAC Medical Records, Mandee Ybarra – HOAC LVN, Ariane Debien – HOAC Executive Director, Melissa Justice – HOAC Volunteer Coordinator, Tanya Andriese – HOAC LVN, Kristi O’Neill – HOAC Clinical Supervisor, Tim Johnson – HOAC Chaplain, & Karen Mason – HOAC HR Manager.

A portion of the money will help fund the purchase of supplies for the memory bear program. Memory bears are handmade by a Hospice volunteer for the family of every veteran who comes on service. An embedded recording of the patient’s voice inside the bear allows the families to hear their loved one’s voice even after they are gone. In addition to the memory bear program, Top Cop grant funds will allow Hospice to expand the agency’s veterans’ holiday meal program to include first responders, and finally, it will provide additional education to clinical staff that serve both veterans and first responders.

The Top Cop Challenge (www.topcop4vets.org) is an annual event held in August. Founded in 2012 by Joe Dirickx of Gold Country Firearms, Top Cop raises funds for wounded and disabled veterans, and more recently, for our wounded and disabled first responders as well. Top Cop financially supports non-profit organizations that are not only equipped to aid recovery from every type of service-related injury, from the physical to the invisible, but that also support, encourage, and help the injured and their families meet essential daily needs, adjust to their new normal, and work toward a brighter future.
Hospice of Amador & Calaveras has been serving the community continuously since 1982, and in the 40 years of operation, has never turned away a patient for end-of-life services because of inability to pay. For more information, please call 209-223-5500 or visit www.hospiceofamador.com.

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