By Haley Jones, Director of Development and Marketing
Home Health and Hospice of Dickinson County in Herington, an affiliate of Memorial Health System in Abilene, has selected the next Herington Hero Award from the nominations gathered in February. Congratulations Cindy Roether, and thank you for taking care of Herington!
Cindy’s nomination had this to say about her:
“I wear many different hats in the Herington community. Most of those require some kind of fundraising or donations. It is very seldom that Cindy does not contribute. I have seen her on almost every public post for donations/fundraising asking how she can get them some money. She is just this super nice lady who wants to make sure everyone thrives. Just today, she dropped of $100 to me for the cheerleaders that are going to cheer camp that won’t have the money to eat with. She also handed me another $50 and said ‘this one is for (a specific student was named).’ Cindy knows I am taking kids to a Christian youth camp in Colorado in July. As she pulled away this day she said, ‘I will see you next paycheck to get you camp money for the kids’. She highly believes in supporting local businesses and during COVID she shopped downtown every Friday because she knew the businesses were struggling. She isn’t a person with a ton of committees on her belt, she is simply someone who wants everyone to thrive; she wants everyone to be included and she will do whatever needed for that to happen. If there is an event happening in town and she is off work, you beet she will be there. I would imagine that many folks don’t even know who she is because she is pretty quiet and reserved. I just can’t imagine how many times myself, my kids, my cheerleaders, or our low-income families would have struggled without her generosity.”
“Cindy was part of the Herington Hearts Core Community for a short period of time as a participant. When she found out that there was an option to be a friend to other participants going through the program, a mentor role in the project, she jumped right on it. The person she was paired with dropped out of the program, but Cindy continues to support it by donating paper products, money for meals, and donating to the annual budget. She isn’t one to take on leadership roles, but she will cover your shift, work your fundraiser, or do anything else you might need. All you have to do is ask. I don’t know that any of the above incidents required service, but she is always friendly and makes you feel good about yourself when she is in the room.”
“I have heard others say, ‘I can’t believe she did that, that was so nice of her’ numerous times. She often says, ‘just paying it forward when I can.’ I think this is a good thing for us all to remember. When we are down, we need others to help us. When we rise let’s help others. She is a good example of that. She doesn’t have fancy stuff; she lives minimally and chooses to spend her money to help others rather than herself. This to me, means she is a hometown hero!”
Kesa Riffel, Office Coordinator for Home Health & Hospice of Dickinson County, contacted Cindy to let her know that she had been nominated, and Cindy was very surprised. Kesa said Cindy told her that she is a private person and never would have expected something like this to happen.
We at Memorial Health System, think this is what makes a hero so special. They do the things they do without needing notoriety, and they don’t even seem to understand the power of their giving hearts, and how they are changing lives. They expect nothing in return. They are rewarded just by knowing they are doing good in the world! This world needs more heroes!
Home Health and Hospice of Dickinson County in Herington plans to continue doing this every month. March 1 starts round ten of nominations. If you know someone deserving of this award and want to share it with the Herington community, please fill out the form online at: http://mhsks.org/herington-hero-award/ or stop by the Herington office at 11 N Broadway, we’ll be happy to see you!
If you or your business would like to help sponsor a hero for a month, please contact us at 785-258-3611 or stop by our office. We not only recognize our hero by sharing their story but also give them a small token of appreciation. We would love to open this opportunity up to anyone who wants to help us award these amazing individuals.