Following a recent fundraising event, The Toy Tree welcomed Regional Hospice Marketing & Development Coordinator Barbara Patrick into its Church Hill Road location on February 20 to present her with a donation.

Patrick accepted a check from Toy Tree Store Manager JoAnn Whiting. The check represented funds raised during a February 10 Valentine’s Sip & Shop promotion. Guests were invited to enjoy refreshments during a three-hour window, with 15 percent of the evening’s proceeds promised to Regional Hospice.

This week, Patrick said Regional Hospice “is deeply grateful for the support of such a vibrant boutique.” Joined by Toy Tree Store Manager JoAnn Whiting, Patrick offered her thanks to Whiting and the store’s employees for their effort.

“Regional Hospice has served Newtown and the area for 40 years,” Patrick said Tuesday afternoon. “These third party fundraising events and support from local businesses are so important to us.”

Hospice was founded in London in the 1960s by Dame Cicely Saunder, who saw a need for the grassroots movement offering care of dying patients. Its goal remains comfort and symptom management.

Hospice is a philosophy, not a place, according to information shared this week by Regional Hospice. Each hospice is a separate location, and patients choose the location where they wish to be cared for. There are nonprofit and not-for-profit hospice providers.

Based in Danbury and founded in 1983, Regional Hospice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to approach death by creating human connection and honoring each unique journey through a shared vision for living.

The Regional Hospice Center for Comfort Care & Healing offers 12 state-of-the-art suites in Danbury, with hospital quality services in a comfortable homelike setting. The interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, hospice aides, social workers, chaplains, bereavement counselors and hospice-trained volunteers also cares for patients and their loved ones in their homes, assisted living and nursing facilities, and in dedicated, private hospice suites at Danbury, New Milford and Norwalk Hospitals.

Its service area covers Fairfield County, much of Litchfield County, and some of New Haven County.

“It’s amazing how many people have been affected by our work,” Patrick said Tuesday afternoon. “So many family members and friends of people I talk to have been cared for by Regional Hospice.”