Real Estate Council honors heroes at annual
gala
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 -
The Real Estate Council (TREC) will honor four people who have made
significant contributions to the community at its “Dreamers, Doers and
Unsung Heroes” annual Fall Gala on November 18. By publicly recognizing
these individuals, TREC hopes to encourage others to emulate their good
deeds.
“In our community, where the needs are endless, these unsung heroes are
helping touch the lives of so many,” said Jim Berry, Deloitte partner
and fall gala chairman. “We celebrate this year’s honorees and their
actions, such as helping school age children who are dealing with grief,
organizing an entire neighborhood’s turnaround, providing horseback
riding therapy to special needs children for free and volunteering many
hours at a camp for grieving children.”The award recognizes one person
each in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Each honoree
receives a $5,000 honorarium for their organization.
Collin County honoree Dr. Geraldine Haggard, Journey of Hope Grief
Support Center, Inc.
An educator for 46 years, Dr. Geraldine “Gerry” Haggard has become a
lifelong teacher to many school-age children, with 36 of those years in
Plano ISD. Even though only one of her parents is literate, Haggard has
spent her career and retirement promoting literacy, with a primary role
as a reading specialist.
Four years ago, friends introduced her to Journey of Hope (JOH), which
provides grief support to all age groups with its main focus on school
age children. Haggard embraced this organization wholeheartedly and has
served as a facilitator, curriculum writer and presenter for JOH. In
addition, she has written a book that is being used nationally in grief
support activities for elementary school age children. She has donated
all the royalties for the book back to JOH so that it can further its
mission.
According to her nominators, “Her wealth of knowledge and understanding
of children’s developmental needs coupled with her vast mental library
of books and her never-ending fondness for discovering new books and
creating new lessons benefits every grieving child at Journey of Hope.”
Brooks and Dunn inspires "Believe" in the Journey
Plano Profile
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Brooks and Dunn inspires
"Believe" in the Journey
November 2006 - Britney Porter
Country music legends Brooks and Dunn’s hit song "Believe"
has inspired Journey of Hope founder, Mark Hundley, to create
“Believe” in the Journey. The free presentation will serve
bereaved families, those grieving a loss, and those seeking
information or personal enrichment.
Hundley is a counselor, author, and noted speaker on grief
issues. He is also a longtime friend of Ronnie Dunn. The song
"Believe” is about the power of faith, wisdom and meeting loved
ones after death.
The presentation is from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday,
November 7 at McKinney North High School (2550 Wilmeth Rd. in
McKinney). Guests may enter a raffle drawing to win Brooks and
Dunn autographed memorabilia like an autographed guitar, an
autographed "Believe" cap and T-shirt, and an autographed
"Hillbilly Deluxe" CD.
The fundraiser will benefit Journey of Hope Grief Support
Center for families who are learning to mourn the death of their
loved ones. For more information, visit
www.johgriefsupport.org. |
Believing in the power to heal while grieving
McKinney Courier-Gazette
Believing in the power to heal
while grieving
By Brandi Hart,
(Created: Saturday, November 04, 2006)
Helping people learn how to successfully cope with grief after
losing a loved one and knowing there is hope and people who can
help them is what Mark Hundley hopes to achieve at his lecture
Tuesday night.
The McKinney North High School counselor will speak from 6:30 to
8:30 p.m. in his free lecture titled “Believe in the Journey,”
which will talk about the phases of grief.
He helped start the Journey of Hope Grief Support Center in
Plano, which opened in June 1998.
The purpose of the center is to provide support at no cost for
children, teens and their families as they learn to mourn the
death of a loved one in a safe, caring and nurturing
environment.
Hundley wanted to start a grief support center after his first
wife, Christy died Jan. 24, 1989, in a single-car accident while
driving to work at Plano East Senior High.
“That left me to be the dad of a 7-year-old daughter. There were
no organizations here at the time. The Dougy Center in Portland,
Ore., was the first grief counseling center in the nation,”
Hundley said.
“There is a difference in grief counseling and grief support.
The support end of it is a wonderful place where families can go
to twice a month and be a part of an event to sit with other
families who are experiencing the same thing. We started with 24
families and now we serve 3,500 people,” Hundley said.
People would drive from Gainesville and Wichita Falls and from
surrounding cities, such as Anna, Frisco and McKinney, to get
help from Journey of Hope Grief Support Center, Hundley said.
He's been a licensed counselor for 13 years and will draw on the
things he's learned and from personal experience to help others
Tuesday night.
“There is a misconception in businesses, schools and society
that when you get to a certain stage of grieving that you're OK.
I prefer to focus on phases of grief. People think that with
grief resolution that when you get to a certain point that it's
fixed and you put everything into a little box and don't deal
with it. You have to look at grief resolution as grief
reconciliation where you're reconciling yourself with those
changes,” Hundley said. “That's not going to be the last loss
you ever have.”
Grief is the sum total of all the experiences and emotions
someone goes through when someone dies, such as anger, fear,
sadness, crying, sleeping too much, not sleeping enough, eating
problems, anxiety attacks, and the questioning of your spiritual
component, Hundley said.
People heal through the mourning process, he said.
“The healing is the mourning part and you have to find a way to
express your emotions in an open, public manner through creative
ways or physical activities, such as walking, running, sports,
gardening, or getting a therapeutical massage. Mourning is a
process and not an event. It's individual. Everyone will heal in
different ways and at different rates,” Hundley said.
Helping others through their times of mourning and grief and
letting people know that they are not alone and can talk to
others who are sharing the same pain and situation is what
Hundley hopes people remember.
“That's the philosophy of the Journey of Hope, that we really
are companions to their family and we have to believe in the
power of the person,” Hundley said.
He's been a counselor, author, corporate trainer, and used the
song “Believe” from his longtime friend and former college
roommate Ronnie Dunn's band, Brooks and Dunn, for inspiration
for Tuesday night's event.
The song is about the power of an elderly man's faith and that
he will meet his loved ones after he dies.
“I don't think there has been a day since June 27, 2005, when I
heard it on their bus that day that I haven't listened to it. It
talks about making a connection with the journey inside you -
the personal journey and your journey with others,” Hundley
said.
Autographed Brooks and Dunn memorabilia, including an
autographed guitar for the grand prize, T-shirt, and “Hillbilly
Deluxe” CD will be offered in an auction at the event.
For more information, visit the Journey of Hope Grief Support
Center's Web site www.johgriefsupport.org/believe or call
972-964-1600.
Contact Brandi Hart at
hartb@acnpapers.com.
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Holiday grief support
Lifestyles Solutions
Nov./ Dec. 2006
Issue
Holiday Grief
Support Article - pg 29
With the holiday season upon us it is important for our community to
remember the children and teens grieving the loss of a loved one.
There’s no set way children grieve and no specified amount of time
for grieving to last. But there are certain things that you can do,
during holidays, to help kids make the time a little easier. Holiday
Mourning for Kids-
1. Memorialize your loved one by talking, sharing
and carrying on his or her spirit.
2. Remember it is normal to feel heightened grief during
anniversaries and holidays.
3. Talk openly about your loved one who has died.
4. Reach out to your support system. Hang out with friends and
family or call Journey of Hope for support.
5. Journal memories of your loved one.
6. Remember holiday traditions shared with your loved one. On a
sheet of paper, write or draw traditions that were shared with the
one who died.
7. Develop new traditions without your loved one. On the other side
of the paper, write or draw new traditions and memories without the
one who died.
8. Design a memory box by wrapping a shoe box in paper. Design the
outside of the box with pictures, ribbon, buttons, shells or other
items that remind you of your loved one. Place pictures, cards and
other items in your memory box.
9. Write a card or letter to your loved one. Then write a card or
letter from your loved one to you.
10. Live life…life is precious and although moving on after a loss
is difficult remember, your loved one would want you to enjoy the
season.
At Journey of Hope Grief Support Center our mission
is to provide support at no cost for children, teens and their
families as they learn to mourn the death of their loved one in a
safe, caring and nurturing environment. For more information
on how to support children and teens that are grieving, please call
the Journey of Hope office
972-964-1600 or visit www.johgriefsupport.org.
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