THE
COMPASSIONATE
Manhattan Chapter
Newsletter
Our
quarterly newsletter announce TCF activities and include articles which are
helpful to families grieving the death of a child, as well as original writings
by bereaved parents and siblings from throughout The Compassionate Friends'
600-chapter nationwide "family." Mailed to all chapter members and to
other interested individuals, each issue reaches approximately 350 households.
Support
Group Meetings
Our
twice monthly support group meetings are the heart of TCF.
They are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month with the exception of December where there is only one meeting, the second Tuesday of the month. These gatherings provide a caring environment in which bereaved parents
and adult siblings can talk freely about the emotions and experiences they are
going through and receive the understanding support of others who have
"been there." Through the years, the hope provided through these
sharing sessions has been more helpful than anything else in resolving bereaved
parents' grief. Grandparents are also welcome at our meetings.
Siblings
Our chapter provides sibiling support with a special Siblings Group with special siblings sharing sessions at each meeting. We realize that siblings not only lose their sister or brother, they lost their parents as they knew them. Our siblings meet to share these special issues as well as the turmoil that the death of a sibling brings. Our siblings group is open to teenagers and older and has had attendees as young as 16 and as old as 80.
Lending
Library
A lending library of books, audio tapes and videos are available at each meeting. Members may browse the library and check out materials for home reading or viewing between meetings.
Phone
Friends
Each
year hundreds of telephone inquiries are received from bereaved parents,
referring agencies, individuals and the general public.
Some of these calls are the result of TCF members in other cities
referring friends to us.
The chapter also maintains a list of "phone friends," members
who have "been there" who can be called at any time a bereaved parent
needs someone to talk to. A list of these phone friends can be found in our newsletter or can be requested by emailing tcfny@aol.com.
Funding
There are no individual dues or fees of any kind. The Compassionate Friends depends entirely on voluntary contributions from individuals and organizations to meet chapter expenses. The Compassionate Friends is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; all donations are tax-exempt.