2012

Learning the steps to “Precious Memories” choreographed for Delaware Grief Awareness Week by instructor, Joanne Brady

November 4 -10, 2012 is Delaware’s Grief Awareness Week.
Please join us to help the many Delawareans who have experienced grief from the loss of someone they love. This week is a time to share your creativity and/or your organization’s public mission to raise awareness of the grief process and the role of art in its expression. Grief Awareness Week, the first full week in November every year, as proclaimed by Governor Markell in 2009, is “set aside for grief awareness to enhance solidarity with our human mortality and our common need for mourning and healing”.

We urge you to plan, provide and participate in community and educational events during this week. Please consider featuring a selected piece of art in your gallery, museum or webpage that tells a story of love, loss and grief or exhibit a number of works created by people who have expressed grief through art. It could be a display of books from writers who can enlighten us about their experiences and suggest how to express feelings through writing. It might be the discussion of a famous poem about grief or writing a new one. Tell a story or listen to one. It may be listening to the lyrics of songs that help those who are grieving or making a list of songs to share with others at their time of need. What can you do to “change the world” — of your family, workplace, faith community or neighborhood– to be more supportive of its grieving members?

Grief Awareness Week is a time to remind all Delawareans of the far-reaching universality of grief in the lives of family members, friends and colleagues. While grief is a natural and healthy coping response to death and tragedy, it is often misunderstood, unrecognized, unacknowledged and unsupported. Learning leads to a more supportive and healing environment for those who are in mourning. Exposure and involvement in the Arts offers the opportunity to learn how to express one’s feelings and thoughts during bereavement.
Throughout the year, the Delaware Grief Awareness Consortium brings together people with a professional and/or personal interest in bereavement, to expand knowledge of the grieving process, and to foster the use of resources and expressive arts in living with loss. We ask that you and/or your organization identify a way to help your friends, neighbors and patrons learn more about grieving and its expression. We envision involvement of communities statewide in many simple and creative efforts.

The Delaware Grief Awareness Consortium wants to support you and your organization by providing media support for planned activities. We want to work with you so that your contribution can be shared. Please let us know your thoughts and plans by leaving us your contact information and idea as a friend on www.degac.org or by emailing one of our Steering Committee members (Download Flyer and Contact List).

Thanks!
Delaware Grief Awareness Consortium