The Miller Family Story
 My
mom always told me that life is not fair, but no matter what, I need
to keep living each day as it comes with my head held high. As
a young teenager, I understood the definition of this phrase, but
only perceived it as an excuse parents use to get out of buying the
latest PlayStation. I lived my life as a passenger, always
observing the actions of others, until one fateful day life forced
me into the driver’s seat.
I was 14 at the time, and
slowly rolled out of bed to start off my first week of high school.
I briefly nodded “hello” to my dad drinking his cup of coffee at the
kitchen table as I wiped the summer sleep out of my eyes. As I
was pouring milk onto my Cheerios, I was startled by the loud crash
of my dad’s chair falling to the floor. Sprawled across the
floor, my dad reached for the phone, but it was too late; the heart
attack had already sent his body into convulsions. The next
minutes were suspended in a wicked time warp as I desperately tried
to bring life back into his body, screaming to God to let it be a
dream. My dad was then held in the ICU at our local Plano
hospital for eleven days in a coma until he was pronounced dead.
At this point in time, the
stark reality of the “life is unfair” quote struck me with an
unforgettable harshness. Here I was starting out the ninth
grade, and I was instantly labeled as (gasp) “The Girl Whose Dad
Died!” I wanted the random classmates who approached me to
compliment my outfit or invite me to the football game, not inquire
loudly, “How did your dad die?” This left me in a constant
state of choking down tears and feeling completely isolated from the
remainder of the student body.
Being the wonderful parent my
mom is, she quickly noticed the need for me to grieve in a place
where I could fit in, but receive specialized attention. A
friend of hers recommended for our family to attend Journey of Hope,
and the rest became history. For the first time I was able to
communicate with other teens who felt the same deeply inflicted
wounds as me. I was provided a place where it was ok to show
emotion, which I had a tendency to avoid around my mom and brother.
At JOH we shared tears, embraces, shouts, and laughs.
Sometimes just moments of silence worked wonders as I was able to
look around the room and know I was not alone. No longer was I
isolated under the burning spot light.
 As
I grew to accept and conquer the “unfairness” through high school
and then college, I realized it was my turn to give back. I
became a facilitator at JOH in May 2006 as a way to say “thank you”
to the facilitators who once helped me years ago. I have a
deep desire to help kids and teens who are experiencing pain only
understandable from the inside looking out. JOH was there for
me through the most difficult years of my life, and I can only hope
to pass that along to someone else.
- Danielle K. Miller
The Journey of Hope 4th Annual Golf Classic on July 24,
2006 at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney was a great
success with many wonderful sponsors, donors and volunteers helping
Journey of Hope raise more than $25,000. Over 77
terrific golfers entered the tournament for a fine day of
golf, fellowship, and all around fun. The weather was fantastic; a
break from the triple digit temperature was a true gift, and the
tasty bits of steak and ribs donated by Outback Steakhouse could not
have been a better treat. Our deepest thanks to
Mark
Reis and all the Outback
staff who donated their time and talents.
The funds raised
are used in our mission to serve grieving children, teens and their
families. We have grown our program over the past eight years, and
we are able to serve more bereaved families than ever before. Every
month, more than 120 participants attend support groups. And this
year we added two new groups—one for young adults and another for
families who face the impending death of a loved one.
At the end of the
day, the team of Charles Stokes,
Joe Woolfolk, Jim Wilkin and Jack Dixon,
took home top honors
as the 1st place Gross winners.
Darren Rak, Larry Moore, Brian Le and Mike Franklin
took home 1st
place Net
position.
Other winners for
the day were: Closest to the pin:
Hole #5,
Mitch Blackwell
and Closest to Painted Line: Hole # 7, Kevin Spain.
We appreciate each and every participant. We know that many
sponsors, golfers and volunteers participated because they
understand first hand the pain of losing a loved one. Others came
to show support for grieving families of our community, and still
others came to enjoy a great day with friends, knowing they were
supporting a worthwhile cause. Whatever brought you to our Golf
Classic—we sincerely thank you on behalf of all the families of
Journey of Hope.
See you
next July at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club for our 5th
Annual Golf Classic. We will be sending reminders to you as the
date approaches. Again, we thank you for your support and look
forward to seeing you next year!
A huge thanks to Michelle Weihing,
Dorothy Barnett-Griffin and
Glenna
Blackstone, the JOH golf committee, for treating us all to a
great outing. Your tireless devotion to the tournament and the
mission of Journey of Hope is commendable. Thanks for
inspiring us all with your talents!
Platinum Sponsors
American
Institute of Gastric Banding
Medical Center of Plano
Outback Steakhouse
Silver Sponsors
AR Schell & Son
Agency
In Loving Memory of John Barnett, Jr., M.D.
Presbyterian Hospital of Plano
Hole Sponsors
Albin Harrison
Roach
Aviation Enterprises
Jodi D. Danna, DDS
Fred & Donna Hansen Family
In Memory of Odd & Jonell Williams
Foster Financial
Friends of Journey of Hope by Russ & Sandra Aikins
Levi Strauss & Company
Seals & Connie McCarty
Muns Enterprises
Plains Capital Bank
Wells Asset Management
Hole-in-One Sponsor
Reliable
Chevrolet
Contributing Sponsor
Rick Ochterbeck –
American Express Financial Advisors
Special thanks
to Stonebridge Country Club
for providing wonderful staff support
Young Adult
Journey of Hope Grief Support Center with
Healing Matters of Medical Center of Plano
offers
Young Adults age 18-35
grief support in a warm, caring,
and nurturing environment where the feelings of grief, pain, and
loss may be expressed.
Anticipating
Loss
Grief Support Group for those who face prolonged
illness and/or the
impending death of a Loved-One.
“Learning that
someone in your family is ill and/ or dying is a blow to everyone
the news touches. If the onset of the illness was sudden or
unexpected, you and the rest of your family will likely feel shock
and numbness at first. This is a natural and necessary response to
painful news. Perhaps the most compassionate thing you can do for
your family during this stressful time is to reach out for help on
their behalf”
Dr. Alan Wolfelt
Director of the Center for Loss and
Life
Transitions
Additional Information
No cost for support groups
Nine week
programs
CALL for available sessions
and locations
972.964.1600
Journey of Hope Grief Support
Center received a matching grant of $30,000 from the Meadows
Foundation. The match was part of a two-year grant of $88,000. The
funds included $58,000 which was distributed in 2005. The
$30,000 e award required a one to one match from funds raised by JOH.
Journey of Hope successfully raised
their end of the match, far exceeding the $30,000 requirement. Funds
for the match came from several major gifts: City of Plano
Community Services, $10,500; Live
from Plano, $9,025; Metrocrest Medical Foundation, $5,000; and American
Institute of Gastric Banding, $5,000. Many other corporations,
community groups and individuals made contributions ranging from $5.00
to $1,500.00, totaling more than $50,000 to well exceed the required
match.
“Journey of Hope’s match
represented an outpouring of community support and underscores the
generosity of individuals and their understanding of our mission to
serve grieving children and teens,” said Susan Williams, executive
director.
So
many good things are happening at Journey of Hope!
For additional information,
visit the Meadows Foundation online,
http://www.mfi.org .
From intern to staff position…A journey worth
the wait.
Sherry Williams the new
Community Outreach Coordinator. A recent graduate of the
University of Texas at Dallas with a Bachelor of Arts in
psychology, Williams completed her internship at the Journey of
Hope. As an intern she built a new website, and facilitate the 3rd,
4th, and 5th grade grief support group.
A native of the Dallas area,
Williams is charged with educating the public and raising awareness
about Journey of Hope’s mission in North Texas communities. She
also assists in recruiting, training and managing
volunteers. Williams is a masters in social work student at UT
Arlington.
“I am really happy to be
associated with such a worthwhile cause and look forward to
being able to speak to many community groups about Journey of Hope,”
said Williams.
Williams position is part of
the two-year $88,000 grant from the Meadows Foundation.
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So many
good things are happening at Journey of Hope!
Children, Families
& Programs - 400 Children and family members will be helped by JOH
this year as they grieve the loss of their loved one. As the community
grows, so does the need for grief support. JOH has just added two new
programs to help meet these growing needs. Anticipatory Grief
curriculum and Older Youth groups have recently been added to respond to
these needs.
Staff
– Two new, wonderful people have been added to the staff of JOH in the
last few months.
Karen Lindwall-Bourg is the new
Program Director. She helps recruit and train volunteer facilitators;
makes sure JOH has adequate program resources; helps organize support
groups and meetings; facilitates intakes with new individuals and
families; and so much more.
Sherry Williams is serving JOH
in the newly created position of Community Outreach Coordinator. She is
the new guru of the JOH web site, having completely revamped it within
the past few weeks; is in charge of the newsletter content; and, most
importantly, she is charged with raising community awareness about the
importance of grief support in a group setting, especially for children.
Events
– The 4th Annual Golf Tournament was just held at Stonebridge
Ranch CC on the famed (and challenging!) Pete Dye course. It was a fun
day for all! Other recent events held in the spring were the Date with
the Easter Bunny, and participation in Live From Plano. Proceeds raised
from each of these events are used to help offset the costs of the
programs since no fees are ever charged to program participants.
GHS
– The Golden Heart Society is a very special group of benefactors who
have made a special pledge to the programs of JOH. Pledges begin at
$1,000. and may be paid out in any manner chosen by the donor, in one
lump sum, or in periodic installments for up to ten years. JOH will
recognize this wonderful group of people at a special event on Friday,
September 22nd at Neiman-Marcus in the Shops at Willow Bend.
As always,
JOH is here to help individuals and families at no cost. Participants
can attend group support sessions for as long as they like. An evening
meal always precedes the evening group sessions. If you know anyone who
has experienced the recent loss of a loved one please refer them to JOH.
If you have an interest in working with caring people, please contact
the JOH office to volunteer. You will glad you did!
-Jamie
Schell
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