PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Aroostook Hospice Foundation, the non-profit organization that oversees the Aroostook House of Comfort, recently received a donation from former Presque Isle resident Mary Barton Akeley Smith to support the hospice care facility.
Rick Duncan, chair of the Aroostook Hospice Foundation, said that Smith’s $138,000 gift will go toward payments for the mortgage of the building on 18 Green Hill Drive.
Reducing the building’s debt will allow the foundation to better financially support Northern Light Homecare and Hospice, who operates the hospice care and rents the space from the foundation.
“Contributions from donors like Mrs. Smith will help sustain the house as we go forward into the future,” Duncan said.
Smith, who now lives in California, made the donation in honor of her late husband Rodney Smith, who was successful in California’s Silicon Valley. The donation resulted in part from a Silicon Valley Community Foundation grant.
“Mary’s generous gift will help us in our mission to give patients the comfort and attention they deserve in a peaceful, home-like setting,” Duncan said.
The Aroostook House of Comfort opened in 2018 after nearly a decade of fundraising and the building of a 6,828-square-mile hospice home that provides 24/7 end-of-life care to patients and emotional support to family members.
