The Compassionate Friends E-Newsletter

Walk to Remember® Offers Unique Opportunity to Participate from Home

Interested in participating in this year’s Walk to Remember, even if you can’t be in Dearborn, Michigan July 16?

A unique, new concept allows you to participate in the annual TCF Walk to Remember and honor the memory of a special child, while helping to assure that TCF will always be there to assist bereaved families following the death of a child.

It’s very simple. First, visit the Walk to Remember website at www.tcfwalktoremember.org. Decide your level of involvement—support an existing individual, family, or chapter team, or create a team of your own in memory of a special child. Second, if you decide to form a team of your own, you easily create and personalize your own web page with pictures and stories that honor the memory of one child or many. Third, set a fundraising goal and attain this by inviting friends and family to visit your web page and provide their support. It’s that simple!

All team names will be carried in the Walk to Remember on a specially designed banner.

Darcie Sims Presents at 2006 TCF National Conference in Dearborn

Darcie Sims, popular TCF keynoter, will be presenting a special program with daughter Alicia Franklin-Sims Friday evening during The Compassionate Friends National Conference July 14-16 in Dearborn, Michigan. No other major activities are planned for the evening, making this an ideal choice for those seeking a bereavement program using Darcie’s unique abilities.

There will be a lot to do at the three day event, the first national conference to be held in Michigan. More than 100 workshops on various aspects of grief following the death of a child are already planned. There will also be a complete sibling program, plus the seventh annual “Walk to Remember.”

Keynoters include Chet Szuber, who received national news coverage when he accepted his daughter’s heart following her death in 1994, Marilyn Heavilin, three time bereaved parent, author of Roses in December, and popular TCF presenter (see her story Loss of Innocence, below); William Ritter, bereaved parent, minister, and author; and Patricia Loder, bereaved parent, bereaved sibling, and executive director of The Compassionate Friends.

Theme of this year’s conference is “Caring Is at Hand.” The conference is expected to draw bereaved parents, siblings, grandparents, and other relatives, as well as professionals who help families before, during, and after the death of a child.

Online registration for the conference, the pre-conference Professionals Day, and the Walk to Remember, is now available at online registration. The full registration brochure will be available online within the next 7-10 days. For the most up-to-date information on the upcoming conference, watch the TCF national website at www.compassionatefriends.org.

Whether or not you are able to attend the conference, you have an opportunity to have a special child be a part of the conference by sponsoring a Caring Hand in memory of your child, sibling, grandchild, or loved one through the “Caring is at Hand” mitten program.

“Helping Each Other—Helping Ourselves” with Frankfort, KY Regional Conference

Time is drawing short to register for “Helping Ourselves~Helping Each Other,” an action packed one day regional conference in Frankfort, Kentucky Saturday, March 11. Keynote speaker is Linda Casey, a bereaved parent, medical educator, and past TCF board member. Registration fee of $35 includes light breakfast pastries, catered box lunch, and access to full day’s activities, including workshops.

The regional’s location is First Christian Church, 316 Ann Street. Hotel accommodations are available. Download conference registration brochure.

For more information, contact Karen821285@yahoo.com.

“Caring, Sharing, and Healing” with Meadville, PA Regional Conference

The Meadville, Pennsylvania Regional Conference, with the theme “Caring, Sharing, and Healing” will have plenty of that in abundance March 31-April 1. Many workshops and sharing sessions are planned. Keynote speaker is Pat Loder, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends. Registration fee of $30 includes all materials, access to all workshops and sharing sessions, refreshments during breaks, as well as a buffet luncheon on Saturday.

The conference will be held at the Meadville Days Inn and low conference hotel rates are available. To reserve your room, call 814-337-4264. Mention that you are coming for The Compassionate Friends regional conference and pay only $54 plus tax for single/double occupancy. To receive a conference registration brochure, contact Norma McClay at 814- 333-9299 or by e-mail at rcorvette@alltel.net.

The Best of We Need Not Walk Alone---

Every month, a selected story from an early issue of TCF’s national award winning publication We Need Not Walk Alone is being featured. We also are including a past column from the popular WNNWA column, “Ask Dr. Paulson,” which answers questions related to sibling grief and its effect on the family.

Loss of Innocence

By Marilyn Heavilin
Keynote speaker at the 2006 TCF National Conference
A friend, who is a nurse midwife, called me last week. A two day-old baby had just died. Would I go to the hospital with her to help the parents? Of course. I grabbed a copy of Roses in December and a “Memory Box,” lined in satin and filled with little mementos to help parents gather fleeting memories of their precious child.

We were greeted by the distraught father as we entered the Emergency Room, and he quickly took us to Mama. I looked into that tiny little room and I saw a lovely young woman holding a tiny little baby and gently weeping. My mind leaped back 32 years ago when my 10 day-old baby died in a hospital . . .

Read on . . .

Ask Dr. Paulson

Mary A. Paulson, PhD, is a bereaved sibling as well as a child and adolescent psychologist at Harding Hospital in Worthington, Ohio. Her question and answer column, aimed at bereaved siblings and the family that loves them, appears in the quarterly TCF national magazine, We Need Not Walk Alone.

Q. My husband’s lack of grieving after the death of my brother really bothers me. I know he did not know my brother well, but how can I get him to at least be supportive and help me through the grief process? I truly believe that he is indifferent.

A. Those who have never experienced the loss of a loved one have difficulty relating with those who have. Often even very caring and loving individuals don’t understand the full magnitude of just what the death of a loved one entails . . .

Read on . . .

How to Subscribe to We Need Not Walk Alone

Four times a year, the award winning national magazine of The Compassionate Friends brings stories and articles designed to help bereaved families cope with their loss. If you wish to subscribe to We Need Not Walk Alone, you may order a subscription at TCF Exclusives.

You may also receive a free subscription to We Need Not Walk Alone by becoming a TCF Patron Donor.

Healing the Grieving Heart Web Radio Show

A 10 CD set from the “Healing the Grieving Heart” web-radio series, dedicated to The Compassionate Friends, remains available at the introductory price of $45 The set, normally priced at $60, includes 10 of the most popular of Dr. Gloria Horsley’s web-radio shows. Its availability was the result of many requests received from TCF chapter leaders and members of the bereavement community.

Normally priced at $60, the set is available for a limited time at the lower introductory price, with all proceeds benefiting The Compassionate Friends. To obtain an order form, please visit The Compassionate Friends national website at www.compassionatefriends.org and click on either “TCF Exclusives” or “Healing the Grieving Heart Radio Show Archives.” The set may also be ordered by calling toll-free 877-969-0010.

Show topics on the disc set include: A Child Dies; What Bereaved Families Can Expect as Time Goes On; Grief in the Workplace; Death of a Sibling; Surviving the Death of a Child by Homicide; How Can I Help Them? Adolescents Grieve, Too; Suicide Changes Hearts; Grandparents Dealing with Grief; No Chance to Say Good-by: A Son Killed by Terrorists; and Pregnancy Loss and Death of a Child in Early Infancy.

Dr. Horsley is a respected family therapist and her show airs every Thursday at 9 a.m. Pacific (noon Eastern time) on the web at www.health.voiceamerica.com. Experts are featured who delve into the varied aspects of the death of a child and its effects on the family. You may listen to streaming audio of already recorded shows on the TCF national website at Healing the Grieving Heart.

Upcoming Scheduled Shows:

March 2—The Afterlife Connection
Dr. Jane Greer is a nationally known marriage and family therapist in private practice for more than 20 years. Dr. Greer has written several books regarding family dynamics. She also has an advice column in Redbook magazine.

March 9—Suicide’s Legacy of Complex Grief and Compassion
Cay Randall-May, author and minister, was writing a book on prayer groups when her 27 yr old son Paul ended his life in August of 1998. She has learned much about the severity of untreated depression and the complex grief that suicide leaves for those left behind. She and her husband co-facilitate a survivors of suicide support group in Phoenix, Arizona.

March 16—Supporting Grieving Children and Their Families
Guest: Valerie Molaison

March 23—Traumatic Grief and Anger
Guest: Lew Cox

Sign up for San Francisco Chapter Leadership Training Program; Dates Announced for New Jersey

The first CLTP of the year is now history, but chapter leadership can register for the second CLTP or make plans for the third and final program of the year. The second CLTP of the year will be held in San Francisco, California, April 21-23. San Francisco will be a full program, so early registration is suggested to assure a spot. Registration forms can be downloaded from the leadership website or obtained by calling the National Office at 877-969-0010. The final CLTP will be Sept. 15-17 in Newark, New Jersey.

The CLTP is an excellent opportunity to help chapter leaders:

• understand TCF’s heritage and future
• share ideas with leaders of other chapters
• find funding in your community
• conduct chapter meetings that provide comfort and hope to your members and create minimum stress for leaders
• learn community awareness techniques to make sure your community understands and supports The Compassionate Friends
• organize your chapter to share the workload and ensure leadership transition

One person may attend from each chapter at no cost except for travel expenses.

Newly Chartered Chapters

The Compassionate Friends welcomes the following recently chartered chapters:

• TCF of Monterey Bay – Monterey, CA
• Compassionate Friends Four Corners Chapter – Cortez, CO
• TCF of Wylie – Wylie, TX
• TCF of Georgetown TX – Georgetown, TX
• TCF of Tennessee Valley – Jonesborough, TN
• TCF Jackson Chapter – Jackson, TN
• TCF South Rockwood Chapter – South Rockwood, MI

Contact Information