Upcoming Meeting Dates
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 (7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 (7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 (7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 (7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 (7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 (7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 (7:30 p.m.)
CHAPTER UPDATES
34th NATIONAL CONFERENCE, Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN July 15-17, 2011
The National TCF Conference will be in Minnesota in 2011. This will be a wonderful opportunity for bereaved families to gather together and support, comfort and provide resources for each other. This is such a unique experience, it is hoped that everyone will take the opportunity to attend.
All Minnesota Chapters are hosts for this conference and we are looking for people who would like to be involved in helping with this conference. There are many different ways to help. If you have any interest in this, please give Paulette a call at 320-366-3421. We will continue to keep you informed.
BRAT STAND FUND RAISER
Again this year, our group will be running the Brat Stand at Cub Foods in Willmar on July 22 and 23, 2011. This has become a great way for us to inform the community about The Compassionate Friends and to raise funds to help with the cost of this Newsletter and other projects. If you would like to help out, please call Bob and Betty Hermann at 320-693-6782. We welcome all volunteers for any amount of time you are able to give. Be sure and come have a brat and visit with us!
ANGEL OF HOPE MEMORIAL
The sign to be added to the Angel of Hope Memorial did not get completed this summer as we had hoped it would. Because of all the rain we got, the ground was too wet for a bobcat to get to the Memorial without doing damage to the landscaping.
There have been some requests for bricks to be added to the wall at the Angel of Hope Memorial. The bricks should be carved sometime this spring. Families will be notified when the carving has been completed.
~ Mike and Nancy McNamara in memory of their son Andy McNamara
~ Marilee Sordahl in memory of her daughter Robin Sordahl
~ Donna Thostenson in memory of her daughter Stacey Wasik
~ Donna Thostenson in memory of her son Danny Thostenson
If you are interested in a brick in memory of your child, please call Paulette at 320-366-3421 and she will send you the order information. The cost of a brick is $125. If you would like to make a donation to the Angel project, you may send it to Kay McLane, 613 Lakeland Ave SE, Willmar, MN 56201.
Note: Whenever you stop at the Angel of Hope we would greatly appreciate any help you can provide by helping us keep the area clean. Picking up debris or pulling weeds you see can help us keep it looking nice.
MONTHLY MEETING INFORMATION - 7:30 PM
We meet the thrid Tuesday each month at 7:30 PM. We meet at the Lakeland Health Center on the lower level, 502 SW Second Street, Willmar, MN, the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Website & Email Newsletter Information
Contact our webmaster at ddblackwell@hotmail.com if you have information you would like to see on the site or if you want to receive the newsletter via email. For more information about Compassionate Friends, visit TCF’s national site at www.compassionatefriends.org.
YEARLY EVENTS
The Compassionate Friends Fall Picnic
The 2010 Picnic was delightful. Our fall picnic was at the home of Bob and Betty Hermann. There was a Potluck Meal (beverages, bread, dishes and silverware are provided). Everyone brought a dish to share. The picnic theme is "Come and explore the Crow River and watch for eagles".
Bob and Betty’s address is as follows:
66608 Mn Hwy 24
Phone 320-693-6782
When you come into Litchfield on Hwy 12 from the west, turn east onto Hwy 24, which is across from the Dairy Queen. The farm is 8 miles on Hwy 24, on the left (or north) side of the road. Watch for the green “8 mile” marker.
If you cannot attend and would like a balloon released in your child’s name during the balloon release, send a note/postcard with a message to your child on a 3 x 5 card with your child’s name to Bob and Betty Hermann at the address listed above. We will release a balloon with their name with the others. This is a beautiful and special experience. It is a nice way to remember our children.
World Wide Candle Lighting
Held annually the 2nd Sunday in December. This unites families and friends around the globe as they light candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age form any cause. As candles are lit at 7:00 p.m. local time, hundreds of thousands of people commemorate and honor children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries. This years date is December 12, 2010.
Believed to be the largest mass candle lightning on the globe, the Worldwide Candle Lighting creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held and thousands of informal candle lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who are no longer with them.
The Worldwide Candle Lighting started in the United States in 1997 as a small Internet observance but has since swelled in the numbers as word has spread throughout the world of the remembrance.
The Worldwide Candle Lighting gives bereaved families everywhere the opportunity to remember their child/children....that their light may always shine.
