October 15th is National Remembrance Day for families who have experienced the death of a baby. In observance of this day, and in honor of all the babies who lived such brief but beautiful lives, Sweet Pea Project is holding its 5th Annual Remembrance Gathering. The event is free, but registration is required. Please sign up now at www.sweetpeaproject.org/
Our hearts are both sad and fulfilled as we, the dedicated Sweet Pea Project Board of Directors, announce that this will most likely be our final Remembrance Gathering. We are proud to have been able to offer this sweet and sacred event for the last five years. We thank you for allowing us to celebrate the lives of your children and for helping us see our dream of creating a compassionate community for bereaved families turn into a beautiful reality. As life pushes forward, our family and personal circumstances continue to grow and change, and we have decided to retire this annual event at least for the time being. We thank you for your support and we look forward to celebrating with you one last time as we remember together, the short but precious lives of our deeply loved and desperately missed little ones.
As always, the Remembrance Gathering will take place in the grassy field in front of the amphitheater at Long's Park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Sweet Pea Project volunteers will be handing out balloons from 5pm until 5:45pm and the release will take place promptly at 6pm. There is ample parking at Long's Park, but you will need to walk a bit to get to the field, so please come early to ensure time to personalize your balloon. Compostable seed paper will be provided for you to write a small note to your child. The notes will be inserted into the balloons so that when the balloon bursts, the notes will be reclaimed by the earth and wildflowers will sprout out of your love letter to your child.
We have taken precautions to make sure that this is an eco-friendly event. For this reason we must insist that you do not bring your own balloons. Biodegradable sap-based balloons, all natural vegetable dyed raffia and compostable seed paper will be provided.
Thanks to a generous donation from the Robert J. Gunterberg Charitable Foundation, we are once again able to offer two complimentary shirts for each family as a gift from Sweet Pea Project in honor of your beloved baby. Additional T Shirts are available for $5 a piece. The shirts will feature our event logo on the front and include a list of the names of the children we are remembering on the back. If you would like to order shirts please be sure to register no later than September 28. Registration will remain open after that date, but your child's name will not appear on the shirt, nor will you be able to order any shirts. Shirts are for attending guests only, no shirts will be mailed.
Singer/songwriter Bobbi Carmitchell will once again be providing beautiful musical accompaniment to our evening. She has traveled all across the country and even played for presidents, but she always makes time to volunteer her talents for Sweet Pea Project in honor of our children. We are so grateful for her compassion. Please check out her website at www.bobbicarmitchellmusic.
Thank you, and we hope to see you at the park on October 15.
