Bereavement Professional

  • 1.  Navigating the Holidays - Kits

    Posted 08-17-2020 01:05 PM
    Generally we provide an annual 'Navigating the Holidays' Seminar available to anyone in the community who has faced a death loss and wants to seek support around going through the holiday season. We anticipate this year not being able to do this in person and have obtained funding to put together Navigating the Holidays "kits" per say. 

    We plan to pre-record the main parts of our regular program and put them together to be available both on our website as a video as well as in DVD format in our 'kits'. Part of our regular program is a meditation "craft" and so we'll be including the votive candles from that in the kit as well. 

    I'd like to include several other items in the kit to help promote self care through this time but I'd love your thoughts on what you would include if you were able. For reference, I have about $40 per bag budgeted (without shipping) and I'm hoping to be able to fit them in large USPS flat rate boxes.

    Some ideas we have thus far are - 
    DVD of program
    Booklet we normally give out at the program
    Votive activity 
    Peppermints 
    Something warm (small throw blanket or scarf?) 
    Some kind of hand cream or lip balm ? 

    I'm hoping to tie each item into promoting healthy bereavement rather than just basic comfort items, but I keep getting stuck on that. 

    Thanks in advance!

    ------------------------------
    Bethany Burgess, LCSW
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Navigating the Holidays - Kits

    Posted 08-19-2020 08:30 AM
    This is a lovely idea.  You could also add tea or hot chocolate and a mug.

    Good luck!

    ------------------------------
    Diane Snyder Cowan, CHPCA,MA,MT-BC
    Director of Western Reserve Grief Services
    Hospice of the Western Reserve, Inc
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Navigating the Holidays - Kits

    Posted 08-20-2020 09:14 AM
    That is a great idea, Bethany! 

    Who are you planning to send the packet to?  Will people register just like your in-person events?

    Last year we provided holiday support to around 70 folks via our workshops, different dates and times.  The largest one had about 30 people attending, so that won't work this year.  I've been pondering alternatives and this sounds like a great idea!  Thanks for sharing it!

    ------------------------------
    Nancy Arnold CDP
    Manager, Bereavement and Volunteer Services
    Supportive Care Services
    Visiting Nurse Association
    Southcoast Health | 200 Mill Road | Fairhaven, MA. 02719
    office: 508-973-3227 / cell: 774-319-3007
    ArnoldN@southcoast.org
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Navigating the Holidays - Kits

    Posted 08-20-2020 12:38 PM
    Thanks for all the responses I've been looking into each thing. 

    I also recently discovered how to narrow my Etsy search to local vendors and am thinking about trying to use just local people and tie that theme of "Alaskans for Alaskans" into it somehow. 

    We're making 100 kits, but I'll probably get more DVDs made as I suspect 100 to 150 won't be much of a price hike and then if I run out of kits I'll still have something to give people. For our normal event, we ask for RSVP but generally only about 50% of people RSVP. We're doing curbside with our Resource Center right now, so I think we'll do the same for distributing the boxes, have people call and request and then we'll leave it in our drop box outside and they can come pick it up. 

    I'm hoping to get partnership from other agencies in town to help with distributing to their people, give 10 to the senior center, the other hospices etc. We'll probably mail the boxes out to our bereavement list but not advertise the mailing option. As a volunteer hospice, it's pretty easy to get some media coverage for something like this so I'm hoping to use it as a bit of outreach to the community as well.
    Original Message


Related Content