Sharing Kindness

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Sharing Kindness through Difficult Times

Flowers have traditionally been the most common gift to express your condolences to the family who has recently lost a loved one. But today, more and more people are choosing to make a memorial donation in place or in addition to sending flowers to the grieving family. While it can be difficult to find the words to share comfort and gratitude for a life well-lived, a memorial gift allows the memories to live on and help others.

FPS considers memorial gifts one of the most special ways to support our mission, and we treat these gifts with utmost care. When we learn of a directed memorial, we send a memorial package to the next of kin and we share grief support resources. If the next of kin prefers, we create a page on our Beach of Inspiration that can be personalized with a photo and story about their loved one. Donors can give directly to their page on the beach and leave a meaningful message for the family.

We know grieving is unique to each person and we try to meet everyone where they are at with the utmost sensitivity. We listen, we hug, we support.  A prayer card (donated by Life Celebration by Givnish) is creatively customized to remember each precious person and to celebrate their memory. We then share these cards with the surviving family as well as every individual who has gives a donation in memory of their loved one.

We share this thoughtfulness with the surviving family and provide them the contact information for each donor and when the gift was received. At no time do we share the amount of the gift as it is not the size of the gift that matters, but instead the idea that their donation will change lives for our families who take a break from cancer.

Saying goodbye to a loved one is difficult and heartbreaking. We meet the loss with compassion and kindness. Our hope is to spread love along the way and support our donors and travelers through their grief process. Through FPS, their loved one’s memory lives on.

Posted by: Cheryl Pompeo, FPS Chief Philanthropy Officer

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