Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Edmarc Announces Expansion to Williamsburg, Gloucester, and Surrounding Region

(WYDaily Media)

WILLIAMSBURG — Edmarc, a nonprofit that offers in-home care and support for children with life-threatening diseases, has announced that it will be expanding to Williamsburg, Gloucester, Mathews, and the surrounding counties by early next year.

The Portsmouth-based nonprofit made the announcement it has raised about 89% of the organization’s $2 million goal for its “The Next Chapter” capital campaign. Additionally, Edmarc was recently the recipient of a $2 million grant from the state it says will assist with its expansion into other counties.

“Our vision is a community in which every child and family in need has access to pediatric hospice services and palliative care,” said Edmarc Executive Director Debbie Stizer-Brame.

Edmarc has already started the process of hiring additional staff and plans to open an office in the Williamsburg area by the end of 2022 or in the first quarter of 2023, Stitzer-Brame said.

The move to the Peninsula means families and children in need of these services will have access to a team that provides physician-directed care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

According to a news release related to the announcement, Edmarc’s nurses, social workers and volunteers currently serve 70-80 children (280 individuals, including their families) a month in its clinical program and 164 families (575 individuals) in its bereavement program.

Edmarc was established in 1978 by volunteers and members of Suffolk Presbyterian Church in Suffolk, who offered support to Joan and Dr. Allen Hogge when their son, Marcus, had developed a terminal neurological condition that left him blind and immobile. Edmarc is named after the memory of Marcus, and for Reverend Edward Page of Suffolk Presbyterian Church, who helped found the organization. Joan and Allen Hogge are active board members.

Contributors to Edmarc’s expansion capital campaign include the Beazley Foundation, Children’s Health Foundation, Mark and Debbie Jones, The Perry Family Foundation, Martha and Royden Goodson, Joan and Allen Hogge, Impact 100 Greater Peninsula, Jimmye Laycock Charity Golf Classic, Hon. Joseph P. Massey in memory of Al Taylor and in honor of Fran Taylor, Robert and Elise Balcom, Bernardine Franciscan Sisters Foundation, Patrick and Susan Blake, Blake and Jennifer Boykin, Bud Brame and Debbie Stitzer-Brame, Langley for Families Foundation, Dr. Linda D. Pegram and Dr. David B. Dorofi in memory of Ione D. Pegram, David and Ginny Pritchett, TowneBank Foundation and Charity Volman.

For more information on Edmarc and the services it provides, visit its official website.

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