Volunteers help hospice upgrade landscaping

WESLACO — In a place where grief is an every day emotion, Aurora House board members have taken steps to help its clients and their families cope with emotional pain.

The Aurora House, a hospice devoted to end of life care located off 18th Street and Milano Road, has undertaken the first of three landscaping projects to give residents and their families a comforting setting to deal with their emotions.

Officials said the projects will include the planting of fresh grass, a new memorial garden, a gazebo and picnic benches.

On March 7, South Texas College Mid-Valley Campus students and community members began work on the initial phase of the project, volunteering two hours of time to plant cypress trees in the memorial garden, Duranta shrubs along a fence, butterfly-attracting flowers and several perennial blooms in flower beds.

Volunteers included members of the Weslaco Lions Club, Weslaco Beautiful Committee and Master Gardeners Program and the STC Biology Club, Education Club, Criminal Justice Club, Nursing and Allied Health Program and Emergency Medical Technology Department.

Aurora House Director Cathy Sherman said she was grateful for the volunteer effort.

"It was a windy day, but they got it all done," Sherman said. "We had ordered pizza, but by the time they came, they were all gone. They were fast."

Sherman said the landscaping will help families work through their emotions.  

"We need it to be beautiful, more for the families," she said. "They're grieving, it's a beautiful place to go outside, sit and reflect."
Sherman said that while Phase 1 is not yet 100 percent complete, more volunteers are stepping up to finish the initial stage of the project.

On Wednesday, students from the First Baptist Church also chipped in to continue the project. Sherman said she hopes Phase 2 of the landscaping would begin sometime in the fall. 

STC biology professor Deborah Villalon said she was happy to see her students continue their work in the community.

"I was very excited and proud to see so many diverse South Texas College volunteers participate in this beautification project for our local hospice," she said. "The students are setting a good example for the community to be concerned about making our environment a more peaceful place to live."