2015-274-E Arts - SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals Arts Grant

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DocuSign Envelope ID: EOF5D034-4BD2-4108-A49B-B7DF76BF3EBB SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals Grant Application May 21, 2015 Orange County Arts Commission Application Narrative Page 1 Since 2008, SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals has provided an affordable, safe, nurturing home away from home for seriously ill patients, their family members, and caregivers from 'PA throughout North Carolina and beyond. HOUSE In our beautiful 40-bedroom home, families seeking world-class care at UNC Hospitals find a at UNC Hospitals community of compassion and care that supports them through their treatment or the treatment of a loved one. Our guests are coping with cancer, severe burns, life-threatening eating disorders, traumatic injuries, post-partum depression and essential surgeries. The majority come from all 100 counties in NC, with another 10 percent or so each year traveling cross country to be here. Forjust $35 a night for a standard room, families have access to private rooms, complimentary video and book libraries, a computer room, laundry, peaceful common areas, and a kitchen equipped to serve our 40 rooms. Most nights, volunteers prepare home-cooked meals, and a pantry stocked by the community ensures that there is always free food for other meals. Most important is the sense of caring that guests here experience through compassionate volunteers, staff and other families who offer empathy. Family House strives to be a sanctuary to families so that when they return from a long day at the hospital, they feel comforted and comfortable. Current Programs and Services • Operations, includes: • Volunteer Program, includes: • Music & Arts Program Our primary program is our operation itself. It costs us $82 nightly to operate each of our 40 rooms, every day of the year, though we charge just $35 nightly for our standard rooms, and $50 nightly for our kitchenette-equipped suites. (These suites serve our transplant and other immuno-suppressed patients.) While many of our guests have insurance plans, including Medicaid, that may cover the cost of lodging during extended hospital treatment, many are uninsured or have plans that do not cover the cost of lodging. We raise funds so that we can afford to lower our rates to $5 or $10 nightly when families cannot afford to pay more. Each year, volunteers contribute well over 10,000 hours to Family House. Front desk volunteers, laundry folders, kitchen cleaners and organizers, event committees, and some of the entertainers participating in our Music & Arts Program donate their time and talents. Through the Music & Arts Program, Family House aims to offer evening entertainment one or two times a week. Imagine: After a long day at the hospital, you are welcomed to the kitchen of Family House for a warm, home-cooked meal that you didn't have to make. You sit and converse with a family whose loved one is also hospitalized. As dinner winds up, you hear the strains of a banjo, or a harp, or a French horn,