Burlington, Vt. resident Greg Giro's spends most of his time in Hanover frequenting performances at the Hopkins Center, listening to public lectures at the College and eating dinner at Molly's restaurant. His visits, however, are punctuated by treatment at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for prostate cancer, which he was diagnosed with in December 2003. The Upper Valley Hostel, located on South Street, allows Giro to avoid the commute and to attend event's at Dartmouth.
"It's difficult to wake up everyday and have to deal with remembering being told that what you have is going to kill you," Giro said. "[The Hostel] is a way to make your sickness an adventure."
The Hostel is a non-profit organization that provides overnight housing for outpatients and family members of DHMC patients. For $15 a night, visitors receive a place to stay, breakfast and access to the facility's communal living areas and kitchen.
The facility celebrated its 30 year anniversary on Sunday with a silent auction for donors, board members and Hanover community members. The event was held at the home of Mary Donin, an oral history editor at Rauner Special Collections Library and member of the hostel's board. The auction aimed to raise about $4,000, according to Karen Ryan, executive director of the hostel.
The hostel is an attractive alternative for patients and families who would otherwise have to stay in hotels while seeking treatment or visiting loved ones, Ryan said, calling the facility an "instant support network."
Donin described the hostel as a place where visitors can "sit around in their jammies and drink a cup of tea."
Pat Vlamynck, a board member of the hostel, said that the facility helps visitors to focus on "the healthy part of their lives" by completing seemingly routine activities like purchasing food to cook dinner.
"It's a place to come home to," Vlamynck said.
It costs the hostel approximately $40 to host each overnight visitor at the facility, according to Bob Field, the hostel's treasurer. The hostel's expenses are primarily financed by the visitors' fees and supplemented by investments and an annual fund drive.
"[Funding] is always a struggle with any non-profit," Field said. "The hostel does a pretty good job."
The facility's budget has encountered some deficits in recent history, he said, though in most years the organization breaks even. The facility now hopes to increase its publicity and attempt to build a more substantial endowment, which will ensure that the hostel can keep its rates affordable.
"[The Hostel] doesn't have the visibility they deserve or need in the community," board member Jeffrey Harris said. "They can work to achieve that."
Sunday's event may therefore be the first in a line of events designed to increase awareness of the hostel.
The organization faces some fundraising challenges because of the clientele it services, Ryan said. Since the hostel's visitors come from varying locales, it can be difficult to show potential donors that the facility plays a key role in the community. In addition, Ryan said, the hostel may not attract funding as easily as similar facilities designed for children and likely loses donations to other causes.
"Donation dollars are really transient right now, that's the trend," Ryan said. "I think we'll be needing to do more."
Additionally, the building is in need of renovations, Field noted, which is a "lurking" expense for the hostel.
The hostel was established in 1978 after a committee from DHMC determined that many of the facility's patients traveled long distances to receive treatment. Initially, the facility targeted cancer patients, whose treatments could last for many weeks, Ryan said.
During its first two years of existence, the facility was located in a rented home on Sargent Street. The hostel moved to its current location two years later, following significant fundraising efforts.
"We didn't even have $100 in our bank account," Ann James, one of the hostel's founders, said.
Once the decision had been made to purchase the South Street home, however, the organizers gathered the $104,000 necessary to purchase the house in just one year.
Ryan said she hopes the hostel will continue to be a community resource in the coming years.
"It's been in existence for 30 years," Ryan said. "I don't think people will allow it to disappear."
