Page 16 February 2 0 14 Bucket list founder recognized for hard work and love By Amanda Savage Phoenician Kimberly Iverson flew to New York City in December to attend an event in the company of celebrities like Diane Keaton and Lea Michele. Not in vain, but to spread the awareness of what she refers to as “the forgotten generation.” Iverson was one of 10 honorees selected out of 4,000 participants across the nation for L’Oreal Paris Eighth Annual Woman of Worth awards. Iverson founded The Bucket List Foundation, a local non-profit that grants the wishes of terminally ill seniors. “Every person has things they wish they could do,” says Iverson. Iverson’s lifetime of experience with seniors, from interaction with her terminally ill grandfather to 20 years as a hospice care nurse, gave her a rare insight into the minds of terminally ill seniors. In an interview with Iverson, she shared her grievance surrounding the idea that because someone is elderly and dying, they must have lived a full, fulfilled life. A misconception that drove Iverson to start the Bucket List Foundation. “I knew something needed to be done to offer them hope and quality of life,” Iverson told Arcadia News. Hospice nurses are trained to never cross the boundary from professional to personal relationships. They are taught not to get attached. Iverson struggled with the immunity to empathy she was taught to surround herself with. As a nurse she heard the mumbles and whispers of her dying patient’s last wishes daily. Instead of letting them slip into the air and float away as if unsaid, they began to weigh on her heart and mind. Iverson recalls her interaction with an elderly man who “just wanted to go to a movie again” as the final wish that would motivate her to break the rules and start acting. This man died before he was able to fulfill his last wish. After this incident Kimberly started granting wishes. A rebel nurse with a cause, she began to bend the rules to bring smiles to the faces of, as she describes, a forgotten generation. “I asked them: how can I help you live? I did not want to be the angel of death they saw me as.” She formally organized her wish granting into a business two years ago, and managed to juggle her passion between being a full- time hospice nurse, mother of eight and wife. The first wish granted by the Bucket List Foundation was the wish of a 53 year-old man named Kevin diagnosed with metastatic skin cancer. He wished to be removed from the trailer he could no longer afford into a home where he could be cared for. The wish was granted when Golden Sun Housing in Peoria opened their doors and offered Kevin a free stay for his final months. The Bucket List Foundation has granted 59 wishes to date. “We have granted every eligible wish,” states Iverson. Eligible meaning the person was physically capable of completing the wish, over 50 and terminally ill. Wishes come in all forms. From a woman who wanted to ride the light rail and have “a nice Italian dinner,” to a man who wanted to be reunited with his son in Dubai but couldn’t afford the airfare. Although the most common wish is reuniting with family, Iverson explains that requests can be to see estranged family again or to be relocated to spend their last days surrounded by family. The Bucket List Foundation has quickly gained national attention in its short life, and has grown faster than “we were ready for,” explains Iverson. The foundation is 100% non-profit and Iverson says she has never paid herself. The foundation runs solely on Iverson and her husband, volunteers, donors and her children whenever they can. “I’ve always tried to teach them (her children) that giving back is more important than getting,” says Iverson. Iverson sees the organization growing to a national level in the near-future, with chapters that will eventually span coast-to-coast. Until then, she wants to focus on “doing it right” in Arizona. The Bucket List Foundation is currently seeking volunteers and donors who have skills that can directly help make a wish come true. Please visit bucketlistfoundation.org or call the foundation at 480-779-0706 for more information. A Bucket List recipient attends a Cardinals game. Kimberly on a airport runway with a Bucket List recipeint. KACHINA Quality Dry Cleaning 602-955-5540 3926 E. Indian School Road Arcadia Family Owned & Operated Since 1959 Home & Office Pickup & Delivery Available

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