By Sam Shriver
Times Bulletin Reporter
sshriver@cherryroad.com
VAN WERT — CHP Home Care & Hospice held its annual Hospice “Beacon of Hope” dinner and charity auction Thursday at the Junior Fair Building at the Van Wert County Fairgrounds, bringing the community together to support local hospice care and honor the family of a young man who died of cancer.
The event featured a social hour, dinner catered by Burtch’s Barn to Table and silent and live auctions hosted by Bee Gee Realty and Auction. Proceeds benefited CHP Home Care & Hospice, a nonprofit organization supported by the United Way of Van Wert County.
Kim Mason, event coordinator for CHP Home Care & Hospice, said the Beacon of Hope is the largest annual fundraiser for the agency’s Van Wert office.
The event also provides an opportunity to educate the public about hospice services and recognize a family that has experienced hospice care firsthand.
Each year, CHP selects a family to honor. This year, the agency recognized the family of Jared Fleming, a former Van Wert High School and Ohio State University athlete who died at age 31 in May 2025 after a year-long battle with neuroendocrine cancer.
“He was a quite an athlete,” Mason said, recalling Fleming’s accomplishments in track and field. “Here was a healthy young man at 31, and cancer took his life early.”
Fleming graduated from Van Wert High School in 2013 and went on to earn a degree in sport industry from Ohio State. He was a state champion at Van Wert High School and held Ohio State cross country and track records in the 800-meter run. His favorite Bible verse, Hebrews 12:1-2, was displayed on his running shoes.
Known to friends and family as the life of the party, Fleming was remembered for his generosity, quick wit and leadership. He worked in sales and lived in Chicago and San Diego before returning to Van Wert to be with his family before his death.
CHP Hospice cared for Fleming before his passing. His family shared its experience with hospice during Thursday’s event.
Mason said the story of Fleming’s experience also helped illustrate an important point about hospice care: It is not exclusively for older adults.
“I think a lot of times people think hospice is just for the old, and it’s not,” Mason said. “We serve all ages, and we serve all diseases and all different illnesses.”
Red Oak Realty and OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital also were honored as “Friends of Hospice” for their continued support of the CHP Hospice program and its events.
Supporting patients and families
Mason said fundraising is essential to helping CHP meet the needs of patients who face financial challenges while dealing with serious illnesses.
Although hospice care is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance plans, patients can still encounter gaps in coverage or delays in insurance authorization. Some patients also lose employer-sponsored insurance when their illnesses force them to leave their jobs.
CHP’s patient care fund helps cover expenses in those situations and pays hundreds of thousands of dollars in patient costs, according to Mason.
“As a nonprofit agency, we can only meet these important patient needs through fundraising events like this one,” Mason said in the event announcement.
The Beacon of Hope is intended to make a difficult subject more approachable while raising money for patient care and increasing awareness of the services available through CHP in Van Wert County.
Mason encouraged families who have questions about whether hospice might be appropriate for a loved one to contact the agency and speak with a nurse, social worker or other staff member.
She also emphasized that entering hospice care does not necessarily mean a patient will remain in hospice until death. Some patients improve and can be discharged back to skilled services.
“It’s a type of care is what you need to look at it,” Mason said. “We’re looking at the quality of their days, not the quantity of their days.”
Through the annual fundraiser, CHP aims to help local patients and families receive the care and support they need while ensuring the community understands the range of services hospice can provide.
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