Hospice of Chenango County just started a very unique program. As our Elyse Mickalonis tells us, volunteers are helping patients record special messages in order to help families celebrate life during a dark time.

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CHENANGO COUNTY, N.Y. -- Kendall Drexler said she's proud of the work her volunteer program is doing at Hospice of Chenango County.

"Whether it is recording a family recipe, funny stories or letting kids know
you love them and are proud of them. It’s important for people to leave that kind of message for their family,” said Kendall Drexler, Volunteer Coordinator.

What she's talking about is the Remember Me Legacy Program. It allows people of all ages to share memories, funny stories among other things through videos, letters or audio recordings.

"It can be however they want it to be, we’re trying not to put too many parameters on it,” said Drexler.

One patient agreed to let us use a portion of his video.

Video:
"You left a life legacy for your family, do you think that’s important to do?"
"Yes I do. Anything to show them how much you care.”

"I know the man who we’re working with now is planning on giving them out as soon as possible, which I hope should be the end of this week,” said Drexler.

The program is a branch off of the volunteer program. Volunteers undergo a four-week training program before meeting with patients. Drexler says a new round of training will start at the end of April and she hopes the program will grow as more people help out.

"It helps to have volunteers who have the technical skills, because out of everything, that’s what gets people hung up,” said Drexler.

People here say that this program underscores exactly what hospice is all about, celebrating life.

"People come into hospice, because they are terminally ill, but the philosophy and essence of hospice is spending your last days or months however you want to spend them and that includes making sure your family knows how important they were to you throughout your lifetime,” said Drexler.

Video:
"I told them, that I'll be dropping pennies from heaven.
When they find a penny on the ground, it's me thinking of them."

A new way for getting special messages across.

To help out or find out more about the Remember Me Legacy Program visit www.hospicechenango.org or call Kendall Drexler at (607) 334-3556.