1. November 2, 2009
Name
Address
Address2
City State Zip
Dear Constituent Name
Last year’s economy was a testing time for many people and businesses in our community. The
continuing economic challenges have increased the number of people seeking our services and the
complexity of issues that we support at The Center.
Fortunately, to date, we have weathered those challenges so that the hundreds of children, teens and
families who have been impacted by the loss of a loved one can still receive support free of charge for
as long as needed. We have managed to maintain those services by tapping into our small reserves
and our deepest hope this year is that we are able to restore those reserves and continue to meet
expanding demand.
In the last year we have increased support for adults by expanding our Bereaved Parents Group and
adding a support group for widows, widowers and others who have lost a partner to death. Our
Tender Living Care program has added a group for young adults dealing with a serious or life
threatening illness and we are translating our TLC book, A Family’s Journey, into Spanish to meet a
growing demographic throughout our region. It has been critical to provide additional adult services
to ensure that spaces for grieving children remain open on our nights of service as families were
staying longer.
We have increased the number of support groups offered to incarcerated youth at the Long Creek
Youth Development Center, enhanced our speaker series for our families, volunteers and the wider
community with guest speakers such as Donna Schuurman, Lynn Plourde and Ann Hood and also
added a third school to our Multicultural Peer Support program.
As an agency that does not receive state or federal funding nor charge for services, we trust that you
will continue your generous financial support as you have for many years to provide for those in need
after the death of a loved one. Children who are supported in the grief are less likely to complete
suicide, abuse alcohol and drugs, experience behavioral disorders and more likely to complete high
school. Without your consistent commitment, the impact The Center provides to families in our
community would be significantly reduced.
My hope is that you will remember The Center at this time of year as you have done for so many
years in the past and help each child, teen and family member work through their own unique grief
and find new hope.
Warm Regards,
Anne Lynch
Executive Director