Butterfly event raises awareness of hospice
Participants share stories of grief and joy
(Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series that looks at different ways to reach and involve the community to increase awareness of hospice care. This month, we learn about an event that invites the entire community to participate and, next month, we learn how a television documentary about hospice care raised awareness in one community.)
One way to raise awareness of your service is to sponsor a community event that gives everyone a chance to participate. Unfortunately, for hospice, the services provided are very personal and involve grief, so developing an event that is appealing to a wide range of people is difficult.
The staff members at Faith Presbyterian Hospice in Dallas have found a way to reach out to everyone and saw more than 200 people attend their butterfly release in 2009. "Butterflies are a symbol of joy, freedom, and resurrection, so they are the perfect symbol to use when celebrating the lives of people we knew," explains Wendy Fenn, director of spiritual services at the hospice. "We were already giving families porcelain butterfly ornaments during the holidays as a way to remember their loved ones, so a butterfly release made sense," she says.
The butterfly release has been held two years and will be an annual event, Fenn says. The entire community was invited through mailings, press releases to the newspaper, articles in the hospice's newsletter, and fliers to local churches. "We wanted anyone who had a friend or family member to remember to participate, not just families of our patients," she adds. "This event provides a lot of wonderful opportunities for photographs as well as a chance to be with other people who have lost a loved one."
The first year of the event included a butterfly release at two locations to reach people who used different branches of the hospice, but the second year's event was held at one location to streamline planning. "The event is free to attend, but we did ask for reservations so we would know how many butterflies to order," says Fenn.
Finding butterflies for this type of event is not very difficult, points out Fenn. "We ordered them online," she says. There are different varieties of butterflies, which affects cost. "We ordered Monarchs the first year, then switched to Painted Ladies the second year to save money," she says. Other costs included printing programs and purchasing food, but those costs were covered by donations, she says. Her agency ordered them packaged separately in small paper boxes so a box could be handed to each event participant. "The butterflies are chilled, so you have to thaw them at room temperature for about one hour before the event," she says. After a speaker talked about grief and letting go of grief, she asked everyone to open the boxes and let the butterflies out.
"You can't control everything, so sometimes you have butterflies that are dead," admits Fenn. "We always just tell people to raise their hand if their butterfly is not ready to fly, and we bring them another," she says. Also, be ready for anything, she suggests. "We had rain this past year, and a tent kept the people dry, but the butterflies flew straight for the trees for shelter rather than into the air as they did the first year," Fenn says. "We also had a bird swoop down and grab one butterfly the first year," she adds. Even with these glitches, the event is meaningful to the participants.
Although the agency doesn't have a way to track response to the event, Fenn often has people tell her that they couldn't come to this year's butterfly release but they plan to do so the next year. "It is a very different event that people notice," Fenn says.
Social workers or chaplains should be on hand at the event because strong feelings of grief may develop, suggests Fenn. "We have a caterer provide food, but it doesn't have to be fancy. Simple appetizers and finger foods are all that is needed," she says. "We also hold the event at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and that seems to work well for many people."
A butterfly release is a good way to symbolize the "letting go" of grief and the joy of remembering someone you love, says Fenn. Not only did the agency receive media coverage before and after the event, but the event attracted people with whom the hospice had not had contact, she says. "It is a good way to remember a friend or family member in a joyful setting," Fenn says.
Need More Information?
For more information about butterfly releases, contact:
Wendy Fenn, Director of Spiritual Services, Faith Presbyterian Hospice, 12379 Merit Drive, Dallas, TX 75039. Telephone: (972) 401-9090. E-mail: [email protected].
Several web sites list butterfly farmers who can provide butterflies for your release. Costs are based on total number and type of butterflies ordered, but prices can range from $2.50 to $8 per butterfly. To find butterflies online, visit the following web sites.
The Association for Butterflies lists farmers in different states that offer butterflies for sale. Go to www.butterflies4sale.org to see the list.
The Butterfly WebSite has a request form that you can complete to solicit proposals from a wide range of butterfly breeders. Go to butterflywebsite.com/store/stckyard/index.cfm.
This is the first of a two-part series that looks at different ways to reach and involve the community to increase awareness of hospice care. This month, we learn about an event that invites the entire community to participate and, next month, we learn how a television documentary about hospice care raised awareness in one community.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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