ALMH Garden Party June 13 offers food, fun and fundraising 

[May 26, 2010]  As the grand opening of Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital's new campus approaches, groups continue to contribute to the creation of unique opportunities for community involvement in the project. Most recently, the ALMH Auxiliary and Dr. Don, Jan and Anna Sielaff have announced that they will co-host a Healing Life Society Garden Party, which will benefit the gardens at the new campus.

The event, which will take place Sunday, June 13, at Memorial Park in Lincoln, will raise money for landscaping materials around the new hospital. The sponsorship of ornamental grasses and perennials, blooming shrubs, evergreen shrubs, and trees allows one to become a founding member of the Healing Life Society.

If community members desire specific recognition in the garden, they may choose to sponsor engraved walkway bricks, trees, garden planters or garden benches -- all of which can include a plaque for personal inscriptions. Representatives from the Preserve the Mission capital campaign will be on hand to discuss these giving options.

Lynne Metz, the manager of volunteer services at ALMH, stresses the event's dual nature as both a social gathering and a wonderful way to become a part of the new hospital in a distinctive manner. Her work with ALMH Auxiliary members has led her to expect the kind of caring that has gone into the creation of this event.

"Though the ALMH Auxiliary has already made a significant donation in the amount of $25,000 to the Preserve the Mission campaign, they also wanted to be part of the gardens. Creating the Healing Life Society extends the Auxiliary's mission of promoting public interest in hospital affairs," she said. "The partnership between the Auxiliary and the Sielaffs has been very natural, because Dr. Sielaff has been a major contributor to garden projects, and his family has a history of philanthropic community support," added Metz.

The Healing Life Garden Party, which will run from 1 to 4 p.m., allows community members the chance to stop by when time allows and offers wine and hors d'oeuvres from Lincoln College's Warren Wendlandt to all guests. The Lincoln String Quartet will provide music.

Landscaping around the event's white tent, with plants donated by Ace Hardware, will be supervised by Master Gardeners of Logan County and constructed with the help of FFA members from both Hartsburg-Emden and Lincoln high schools.

Tickets are $15 per person and are available at the ALMH Gift Shop, Pink Shutter, Three Roses Floral and Cape Landing. Attendees may also use their credit card to purchase tickets online through a link on www.almh.org.  

[Text from file received]