Helen Cochran, Staff Assistant at Wakulla Correctional Institution, was taught early on by her mother that it is better to give than to receive. She, along with her co-workers, has taken that lesson to heart.

For the past several years, Cochran has spearheaded a gift drive to benefit the patients and families of Big Bend Hospice.

“We all felt a need to give back to the community, but we weren’t sure how.” said Cochran. “I remembered that Big Bend Hospice had provided such wonderful care for my father-in-law many years ago here in Wakulla County, and more recently, my aunt, and I decided that would be a good place to start.”

She said she was surprised to learn that many of her co-workers had also had loved ones cared for by Big Bend Hospice.

After connecting with Laurie Ward, who coordinates the Patient/Family Holiday Gift Drive at Big Bend Hospice, Cochran was ready to get started.

“Helen and I were fast friends following that very first phone call several years ago,” recalls Ward. “She was so enthusiastic about the project and had such kind words to say about our services!”

Once lists of wishes and needs were provided to Ward by the patients and their families, she in turn gave them to donors in the hopes that the lists could be filled or at least partially filled.

“I’m always hopeful that the lists will be filled, but this year we had close to 200 turned in and I was really worried,” she explained.

“When Helen called and said they could fill 30 lists, I was beyond excited, but then she called back and asked for 20 more!”

Cochran said that the prison staff has tripled in size to 647employees since their first gift drive experience, and that it wouldn’t be as successful without the encouragement and participation of upper management, including Warden Russell Hosford, Colonel Chason and others.

“There was friendly competition between shifts to see who could get their gifts in first, and that made it fun,” said Cochran. “Some of the lists were so meager: blankets, lotions and food, that it tugged at our heartstrings.”

Once Cochran had collected all of the gifts, she, Sherry Allbritton, Secretary to the Assistant Warden and Officer Jerry Dicks, drove to Tallahassee to drop off the gifts at Big Bend Hospice.

“I was there when the gifts were delivered to our office,” said Carla Braveman, Big Bend Hospice President and CEO. “There must have been six huge boxes of gifts that filled an entire room, and in addition they presented us with a check to use throughout the year for patient needs.”

This year, through community donations, Big Bend Hospice was able to provide gifts for 195 families including 18 in Wakulla County.

“We simply could not have met this need without the help of the staff of Wakulla Correctional Institution.” said Ward.